RL independence day arrives - NRL Independent Commission announced for November 1

[abpanther]

NRL clubs demand independent commission
BRAD WALTER

January 18, 2010 - 1:19PM


National Rugby League clubs have called on News Ltd and the Australian Rugby League to hand over control of the game to an independent commission by the start of the upcoming season in mid-March.

The chief executives, coaches, captains and chairmen of the clubs passed a resolution at their historic meeting at Sydney's Sheraton On The Park hotel declaring their unanimous support for the independent commission and setting a date by which they want it up and running.

"It has been resolved in principle that the 16 NRL clubs here today agree to create and to support an independent commission for the administration of rugby league in Australia," Gold Coast chief executive Michael Searle said.

"The independent commission would be truly independent from its inception and in accordance with the criteria outlined in today's meeting.

It is also desired that the operative date for the establishment of the independent commission is the date of the kick off of the 2010 NRL season or earlier," Searle said.

Searle, who has been driving the force behind the push for an independent commission and organised today's meeting, said it was now up to News Ltd and the ARL to negotiate the handover.

"I think it is fair to say there was an appetite for change and certainly for the establishment of an independent commission," he said.


"One would hope it will happen sooner rather than later. We just hope that those in power can see a way through to this proposal. We show respect and certainly acknowledge the contribution that many have provided our game over 100 years but we feel it was pretty clear from the meeting today that the model proposed will see us move forward for the next 100 years."

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...and-independent-commission-20100118-mfm7.html

 

[andrew057]

bravo

 

[Doug2234]

Good start.

Hope it gets the green light for this season

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

There has to be a selfless, unified front here & the club solidarity can easily be broken by the self interest of just one club. To me, the Roosters could be the fly in the ointment as Politis has the most to lose and does Arko still have any pseudo control at Manly?

This is a good start, but they must stick rigidly to their guns and adopt a hardline approach. For too long the "Powerbrokers" have held sway in their ivory towers. Now is the time for action & I prey that the clubs, to a man, stick to this approach.

 

[Perth Red]

pressures now on the ARL/NSWRL/QRL/CRL and News to deliver. Think doing it in two months is somewhat ambitious though!

 

[Quidgybo]

Think doing it in two months is somewhat ambitious though!

Not really. Because the commission is being proposed within the structure of the existing NRL company, once everyone agrees it's really just needs one NRL Partnership Executive Committee meeting to pass the vote. That'd be the last meeting of the six representatives of the partners. Next meeting would be of the eight commissioners. That could be a month later or the very next day. Meanwhile, Gallop and his staff continue running the day to day operations of the comp as if nothing was changing. We're only changing the chairs at the top, not the entire pyramid. At least until everything settles.

Leigh.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I still don't understand how this commission is going to run the game outside the NRL and the NYC. As far as I can tell it simply won't. So the ARL etc will continue to operate in exactly the same way, except that it will not have an input at NRL board level. I don't think anyone believes the ARL has a direct input in the NRL anyway. The only difference is the ARL and others will have to beg the commission for $ instead of News Ltd. The commission will be good for the top level of the club game, anything would be better than News Ltd running it, but I can't see it doing much for the rest of the game.

 

[Quidgybo]

I still don't understand how this commission is going to run the game outside the NRL and the NYC. As far as I can tell it simply won't. So the ARL etc will continue to operate in exactly the same way, except that it will not have an input at NRL board level. I don't think anyone believes the ARL has a direct input in the NRL anyway. The only difference is the ARL and others will have to beg the commission for $ instead of News Ltd. The commission will be good for the top level of the club game, anything would be better than News Ltd running it, but I can't see it doing much for the rest of the game.

No, the proposal is that the ARL would vote itself out of existence. All old ARL assets, if any, would be sold to the reconstituted NRL for a nominal amount of $1.00. Everyone involved in the game outside of the NRL would have to submit applications for funding directly to the new Commission and the Commission would meet those applications as it sees fit. It's a fundamental shift in power being proposed.

Leigh

 

[East Coast Tiger]

So we'll have a QRL, a NSWRL, a CRL and no ARL? Nonsense. Can't happen. Who will run the national team? Who will organise international tournaments? Who will run junior development across the country? This club-centric commission can't do all of that surely.

 

[Quidgybo]

So we'll have a QRL, a NSWRL, a CRL and no ARL? Nonsense. Can't happen. Who will run the national team? Who will organise international tournaments? Who will run junior development across the country? This club-centric commission can't do all of that surely.

Why not? They clubs generate most of the money, by virtue they have most of the power. The Commission will run and fund the national team, and the Commission will fund junior development. Even today the ARL doesn't do that. It gives funding to the NSWRL, QRL and CRL. The ARL is just a wasteful middleman. In fact I even question if we need the NSWRL, QRL and CRL. Let the regional and metropolitan leagues deal directly with the Commission.

Leigh.

 

[Fairfax]

There has to be a selfless, unified front here & the club solidarity can easily be broken by the self interest of just one club. To me, the Roosters could be the fly in the ointment as Politis has the most to lose and does Arko still have any pseudo control at Manly?

What do you base that idea on? Politis has been instrumental in trying to get the thing set up! The idiotic trash that people talk in these threads about the Roosters is astounding. Politis has an empire worth over $100m outside of rugby league. It's not anything to his lifestyle. If there's any substance to to this tripe i'd love to hear it.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

pressures now on the ARL/NSWRL/QRL/CRL and News to deliver. Think doing it in two months is somewhat ambitious though!

Thats my impression to be honest with you as well.

I'd rather wait a year if need be to ensure that all the crinkles are ironed out rather then a poorly formed one.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

You have no idea. The ARL funds ARL Development, the main junior development organisation across the country. An eight man commission cannot run the game at grassroots level. They will have abolutely no way of doing so, especially if you get your way and the entire structure of the game in this country is dissolved and run by some club-centric jokers in Sydney. And you reckon "regional" leagues are going to deal directly with this commission. FMD you don't know how the game works at all.

Also how will an NRL commission run the Kangaroos when they are not the recognised governing body of the sport in Australia? And they can't be either because the Warriors will be as much a part of the commission as the Australian clubs.

 

[Quidgybo]

I'd rather wait a year if need be to ensure that all the crinkles are ironed out rather then a poorly formed one.

As Cullen said yesterday, if we're still here in a year then we aren't serious about doing this. At its core, we're replacing one board of six people with another of eight. Once everyone signs on that can be done overnight. If it takes another year for everyone to sign on, it ain't going to happen at all.

Leigh.

 

[Quidgybo]

You have no idea. The ARL funds ARL Development, the main junior development organisation across the country. An eight man commission cannot run the game at grassroots level. They will have abolutely no way of doing so, especially if you get your way and the entire structure of the game in this country is dissolved and run by some club-centric jokers in Sydney. And you reckon "regional" leagues are going to deal directly with this commission. FMD you don't know how the game works at all.

Also how will an NRL commission run the Kangaroos when they are not the recognised governing body of the sport in Australia? And they can't be either because the Warriors will be as much a part of the commission as the Australian clubs.

You can rage all you like about how it can't be this way, but none the less that's the proposal on the table. The new Commission *would* be the recognised governing body of the sport in Australia. All external parties, whether they be the QRL, NSWRL, NZRL or the Townsville and District Rugby League *would* submit applications to the Commission for funding. And the Commission *would* fund those on a case by case basis to the level it sees fit for the good of the game.

Legh.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Then it won't work.

Which is why I'm convinced that this is not the proposal at all and you don't know what you're on about.

The proposal can only be that the ARL and News hand over the running of the NRL to the commission and the ARL, QRl etc remain almsot exactly as they do now. That's the only feasible situation and anyone who thinks otherwise has no idea.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

and does Arko still have any pseudo control at Manly?

Thats a pretty stupid post since he is neither of the private owners at Manly.

 

[Quidgybo]

Which is why I'm convinced that this is not the proposal at all and you don't know what you're on about.

The document presented at the ARL board meeting of December 7th...

http://resources.news.com.au/files/2009/12/08/1225808/419135-dt-file-nrl-restructure-outline.pdf

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

There has to be a selfless, unified front here & the club solidarity can easily be broken by the self interest of just one club. To me, the Roosters could be the fly in the ointment as Politis has the most to lose and does Arko still have any pseudo control at Manly?

This is a good start, but they must stick rigidly to their guns and adopt a hardline approach. For too long the "Powerbrokers" have held sway in their ivory towers. Now is the time for action & I prey that the clubs, to a man, stick to this approach.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...eague-revolution/story-e6frexnr-1225808415972

Dinosaurs hold up league revolution

Time to show leadership...ARL chairman Colin Love. Source: The Daily Telegraph

THE Daily Telegraph can today reveal the plan for the most dramatic restructure of the game since the Super League war. A plan that will hand the game of rugby league back to the people - for the grand total of one dollar.

The landmark four-page document, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, outlines the most dramatic restructure of the game since the Super League war and reveals the competition could revert to its old name - the ARL. The only problem is that the dinosaurs of the Australian Rugby League continue to frustrate and stall attempts to deliver independence.

Yesterday, at an ARL board meeting in Brisbane, directors had the chance to make history by rubber-stamping a plan that would modernise the game and position it to take the fight to the AFL. Instead the meeting gave only conditional support to the commission, but stopped short of giving it a final stamp of approval.

Under the blueprint, fans and their clubs will regain 100 per cent ownership of the game for the first time since News Limited and the Australian Rugby League formed the NRL in 1997. Intriguingly, the dossier proposes a possible name change from the NRL to the ARL as the single brand for rugby league under one management umbrella.

It also proposes:

DAVID Gallop be appointed for four years as chief executive;

EACH NRL club to have an equal share and ownership of the game;

DISSOLVING and selling all the game's assets and copyright to the commission for one dollar;

TO offer Melbourne Storm a six-year subsidy worth around $20 million until they are self-sufficient;

NEWS Limited has first and last media rights until 2027 - a five-year extension on its current term; and

COLIN Love be appointed the first chairman for one year only.

The document was drawn up after 12 months of painstaking negotiations between News Limited executives, Gold Coast managing director Michael Searle and Nick Politis, an ARL representative on the current NRL partnership board.

Politis has lost support of many of the ARL blazer wearers because of his role in negotiations, which will effectively end years of lavish functions, free tickets, business-class air travel and overseas junkets.

There were even suggestions Queensland directors would put forward a motion to remove Politis from his role as an ARL representative on the NRL partnership at yesterday's meeting. This would stop Politis from having future negotiations with News Limited and also prevent him from being part of the selection process for four of the eight commissioners.

However, ARL chief executive Geoff Carr said Politis's position was not discussed at the meeting. In a carefully worded statement, the ARL offered support for the commission, knowing that a complete rejection would cause a massive public backlash.

The statement read: "The Australian Rugby League has today expressed its ongoing support for the establishment of an independent body that would oversee all aspects of the code. The board believes that the right structure could be an important step in the game's future development.

"Given the far-reaching nature of any decision, the board has today reinforced the need to properly consider all implications of such a change, including the ongoing protection of the game's grass roots and representative competitions and the interaction between NRL clubs and the wider sport.

"The board has today said that it will continue to discuss the issue with its NRL partner News Limited."

With backing from the 16 clubs, News Limited, sponsors and players, and senior officials had hoped ARL chairman Colin Love would deliver a stronger endorsement at yesterday's meeting. Instead, he confirmed the process would be stalled until after Christmas and well into next year.

"There is general acceptance that the current structure could be improved and any suggestion that the ARL is somehow trying to block change is simply incorrect," Love said. "It is in everyone's interest that we invest the necessary time to get the process right."



Shouldn't lead with your chin Ronnie.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Which does suggest in any way that the RLs will dissolve at all. It also gives no detail about how internationals will work, how grassroots football will operate under this commission or how the fact that the New Zealand Warriors will have an equal stake in this organisation when it supposed to be the national body of rugby league in Australia.

And if this is the proposal adopted it can't work for many reasons. Clubs cannot have power over grassroots and representative football. Grassroots football cannot function if not supported by a structure from local district or Group control up to national body level. Anyone proposing that it can doesn't have a clue. All sports operate in this way. Whether the NRL, the ARL or a new NRL runs the game at the top the CRL, QRL etc must remain in one form or another and this commission has not in any way explained how this will work. Clubs can't run international football because they have a vested interest in keeping their players out of such games, as has been shown with the demsie of the World Sevens. We're just replacing one conflict of interest with another unless international football is kept away from club control.