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The Super League-ARL war will mark its 20th anniversary this coming Wednesday

thorson1987

Coach
Messages
16,907
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/the-super-league-arl-war-will-mark-its-20th-anniversary-this-coming-wednesday/story-fni3fbgz-1227280192110

The Super League-ARL war will mark its 20th anniversary this coming Wednesday

DEAN RITCHIE
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
MARCH 27, 2015
12:00AM

IT exploded on April fool’s Day. But this was no joke.

Revolutionary, ugly, unprecedented and heavily corporate, the Super League-ARL war will, unbelievably, mark its 20th anniversary this coming Wednesday. The gaping wounds have well and truly healed, some small scars though will forever remain.

On April 1, 1995, Super League’s infamous raid on players began. It was to become the most tumultuous time in rugby league history. Two of Australia’s richest men — Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Packer — in a fight to the death for rugby league.

Key players in the Super League battle recalled the drama and conflict.

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“I remember a lot of confusion and it certainly turned the game on its head,” said former Super League chief executive John Ribot. “It was a difficult period for rugby league but if look at many other sports, they all went thought it. You have these problems when you try and grow your game.

“Where we are now, with the TV rights deal and where the game is heading, it is in much better shape. I am confident the game is about to have its time in the sun and become the number one winter sport in Australia. Everything we did in Super League wasn’t perfect, everything they (ARL) did wasn’t perfect either.”

Brisbane, Canberra, Cronulla, Canterbury, Penrith, North Queensland and Auckland jumped to Murdoch’s rebel league. Balmain, Gold Coast, Illawarra, Manly, Newcastle, Norths, Parramatta, South Queensland, Souths, St George, Sydney City and Wests stayed loyal.

“It was a tumultuous time for a lot of people, everybody in the game from volunteers to the highest paid players and officials,” said Bob Fulton, who supported the ARL. “Two of Australia’s wealthiest families fighting over rugby league.

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“And at the coalface, ‘Gus’ (ARL sympathiser Phil Gould) and I would regularly say how exciting it was to be involved in it and how it would be remembered for a long time.

“It shows how much money was around then. When you look at the amounts being paid back then, it is only now the top players are reaching those amounts.”

Canberra superstar Laurie Daley became the unofficial face of Super League, Brad Fittler the ARL’s poster boy.

“At the time, I guess I didn’t know quite the impact Super League would have on the game,” Daley said. “Obviously it was massive. There was a lot of damage done to rugby league. Everyone at the time did what they thought best for themselves, their families and clubs.”

Asked would he have done anything differently, Daley said: “Of course, we all would like to changes things in hindsight. But it was a time where no-one actually knew what the outcome was going to be.

“Super League had some great ideas which are still being used today. The game has, over time, healed but I will always understand that some people will remain hurt and affected.”

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Fittler added: “It hurt the game severely. I only say that because I know how awkward it was going into rep teams (when ARL and Super League players when picked).

“I was guided by people I trust. And I was only 23 years old. But I was happy with my decision. I don’t have any regrets.”

After just one season of parallel competitions, with crowds down and interest in the game waning, the two competitions merged in 1998 to form the NRL.
 
Messages
14,139
I like how they re-write history to make it packer v Murdoch when in reality it was greed and sour grapes on the part of one of them that caused the whole thing.
 

Stagger Lee

Bench
Messages
4,931
Canterbury, Cronulla, Cowboys, Panthers, Brisbane, Warriors can all go to hell.

Never forget and never forgive - they are low life scum clubs forever.

Though lets not forget Quayle and Ken Arthurson - They should have tried harder sooner to drag the game into the 20th century and deserve our contempt along with Ribot
 
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oikee

Juniors
Messages
1,973
Do farts have lumps, asked the son.

So today as it stands we are 20 years behind where we should be, with a 1 billion dollar TV deal, we still are learning from other codes.
 

Hello, I'm The Doctor

First Grade
Messages
9,124
Canterbury, Cronulla, Cowboys, Panthers, Brisbane, Warriors can all go to hell.

Never forget and never forgive - they are low life scum clubs forever.

Though lets not forget Quayle and Ken Arthurson - They should have tried harder sooner to drag the game into the 20th century and deserve our contempt along with Ribot

Yeh, as much as id love the SL war to be a simple "GoodvBad" story, we have to acknowledge that all sides were totally self-interested in the whole affair....
 

I Bleed Maroon

Referee
Messages
25,588
*Gasp* what's this? The coach of NSW was a player who "deserted" to Super League?

Here, have a seat before you hurt yourselves, Bluies.
 
Messages
14,139
The but but but arko...argument is weak.

The ARL admin might have misread the broadcasting environment and the significance of pay TV at the time, but all they did was sell the rights to someone other than Murdoch. That's not actually a crime. I know Murdoch thinks him not getting his way can't possibly be legal. Only one side of the war was in it for the game. To lump them together and say they were no different is ridiculous.
 

DC_fan

Coach
Messages
11,980
How much different would the game be today if Super League had survived and the ARL had died.
 
Messages
1,390
For scientific purposes, and in no way as a troll leading to a 3000+ post vitriolic thread, we clearly need a poll:

Was Super League better than the ARL?
- Yes
- No

Who wants to pull the trigger on that one? :)
 

DC_fan

Coach
Messages
11,980
For scientific purposes, and in no way as a troll leading to a 3000+ post vitriolic thread, we clearly need a poll:

Was Super League better than the ARL?
- Yes
- No

Who wants to pull the trigger on that one? :)

My team, Souths was an ARL team but I preferred Super League. I liked their vision for the game. Just think where we could have been today, twenty years on if SL had survived.
 

Parra

Referee
Messages
24,894
My team, Souths was an ARL team but I preferred Super League. I liked their vision for the game. Just think where we could have been today, twenty years on if SL had survived.

You are looking at it. SL became the NRL.

The clubs supply the teams, fans and TV content and a central admin body banks the loot and hands out crumbs to enable the clubs to survive, but not a cent more.

The only good thing to happen lately is that the game is not directly controlled by a media company. So the central admin team get some more cash to piss away.
 

KeepingTheFaith

Referee
Messages
25,235
My team, Souths was an ARL team but I preferred Super League. I liked their vision for the game. Just think where we could have been today, twenty years on if SL had survived.

Agree, I thought the theory was fine (if not initially overly ambitious), but the execution and egos behind it was what f**ked it up. The comp should never have split. Everyone wanted the power and nobody was willing to give any of it up.
 

LESStar58

Referee
Messages
25,496
Murdoch needed a flagship sport to sell pay TV subscriptions and started Super League. Funny now that the sport he hung his hat on is now is the one that his newspapers rip the shit out of with impunity.

I've said it before; we would always end up with rationalisation of the clubs but the war just accelerated that process. And despite how flush with funds we are these days rugby league is still 20 years behind other codes.
 

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