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http://www.afr.com/business/sport/p...tter-with-corporate-australia-20180215-h0w6pp
Peter Beattie: rugby league will do better with corporate Australia
by John Stensholt
It wouldn't be rugby league without an off-field stoush to match the robust physical nature of the sport on the field.
The Australian Rugby League Commission, the body that administers the sport and oversees the hugely successful State of Origin series and the National Rugby League, will on Wednesday hold its annual general meeting. Among the agenda items is a vote on constitutional tweaks that will significantly change the number and identity of commissioners.
Or, being rugby league, it may not.
The sport attempted to follow the path of the AFL six years ago after News Limited and the then Australian Rugby League agreed to give up their joint ownership of the code in Australia, establishing an independent commission to run the game.
Since then the sport has signed record broadcast deals and it has more money than ever before. But it has also featured big and at times ugly battles with the clubs over money. Then late last year it struck an agreement – which would end the element of complete independence – for two NRL club-nominated directors to join the commission and in addition a representative each from the Queensland and NSW state bodies. Or so many thought.
That would give the 10-person board six independent directors, two from clubs and one each from NSW and Queensland.
Which brings us to Wednesday's meeting.
'We can improve by truly making them partners in the game'
The mooted changes may not happen after all: a group of clubs are opposed to the state-based seats, because it would give the states too much power, at the expense of the clubs. It only takes two clubs to block the process, which would send everything back to square one and at least for now stop the ascent of the two club nominees, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys and Sydney lawyer Glen Selikowitz, to the commission.
But Peter Beattie, who is slated to replace John Grant, the former Data3 chief executive and Australian international, as ARLC chairman, insists rugby league can emerge from yet another off-field stoush.
The key is the commission's relationship with the clubs, which once went close to getting Grant removed. Beattie believes he can do a better job of forging a closer relationship between the clubs and head office.
"We can improve by truly making them partners in the game," he tells The Australian Financial Review. " That work has already begun but we can't be at war with our closest stakeholder like we have been in the past. That was disastrous for the image of the game, so I am determined to work with them from day one. I don't have any baggage and for now I've got all their goodwill. I'm determined to keep it."
Beattie says he's been in constant communication with the chairs of all 16 NRL clubs and intends to do plenty of travelling this year. Most well-known for his nine-year stint as Queensland Premier until 2007, Beattie and his wife have moved to Sydney and their grandchildren live in Melbourne. He is chairman of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Yet in comments published in the Sydney Morning Herald on the weekend, outgoing chair Grant said the commission lacked understanding of how rugby league worked. When asked to describe the inner machinations of the sport, he said: "The battle for money and power; hating, not trusting; club first, game second; winning at all costs; unholy alliances based on favours and self-interest; and manipulating the media."
Cashing in on corporate potential
So is Beattie walking into a full-blown constitutional crisis that may even overshadow the beginning of the NRL season in early March?
"Not necessarily. If they need to take some more time to sort things out that is fine. There's not animosity there and I'm pretty confident the game can go forward in the right manner. There are [other] options on the table."
In rugby league nothing off the field is easy. The game lags behind the AFL in the hearts of minds of many Australians, and in particular those in the corporate sector. The NRL's non-commercial revenue was $147 million in 2017, far below that of the AFL.
Beattie says the sport will do a better job connecting with corporates from the top of the game to the bottom, and bringing in more money. "Our game is the top rating show on television year in, year out. We should be able to lock in more sponsors, including top 40 companies.
"I have made it clear that I don't want deficits in the years ahead. At the very worst I want to break even after distributions. We will only do that if we find more revenue streams."
That mentality has already led to the signing of a lucrative deal to take a State of Origin match to Adelaide in 2020, after Melbourne this year and Perth next. The NRL could also also add more clubs in the future, maybe in Perth and another in Brisbane. "We will expand," says Beattie firmly.
First comes solving the constitutional issues and the relationship with clubs. Beattie will need all his political skills to get that sorted before acting on his vision for the game's future.
Peter Beattie: rugby league will do better with corporate Australia
by John Stensholt
It wouldn't be rugby league without an off-field stoush to match the robust physical nature of the sport on the field.
The Australian Rugby League Commission, the body that administers the sport and oversees the hugely successful State of Origin series and the National Rugby League, will on Wednesday hold its annual general meeting. Among the agenda items is a vote on constitutional tweaks that will significantly change the number and identity of commissioners.
Or, being rugby league, it may not.
The sport attempted to follow the path of the AFL six years ago after News Limited and the then Australian Rugby League agreed to give up their joint ownership of the code in Australia, establishing an independent commission to run the game.
Since then the sport has signed record broadcast deals and it has more money than ever before. But it has also featured big and at times ugly battles with the clubs over money. Then late last year it struck an agreement – which would end the element of complete independence – for two NRL club-nominated directors to join the commission and in addition a representative each from the Queensland and NSW state bodies. Or so many thought.
That would give the 10-person board six independent directors, two from clubs and one each from NSW and Queensland.
Which brings us to Wednesday's meeting.
'We can improve by truly making them partners in the game'
The mooted changes may not happen after all: a group of clubs are opposed to the state-based seats, because it would give the states too much power, at the expense of the clubs. It only takes two clubs to block the process, which would send everything back to square one and at least for now stop the ascent of the two club nominees, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys and Sydney lawyer Glen Selikowitz, to the commission.
But Peter Beattie, who is slated to replace John Grant, the former Data3 chief executive and Australian international, as ARLC chairman, insists rugby league can emerge from yet another off-field stoush.
The key is the commission's relationship with the clubs, which once went close to getting Grant removed. Beattie believes he can do a better job of forging a closer relationship between the clubs and head office.
"We can improve by truly making them partners in the game," he tells The Australian Financial Review. " That work has already begun but we can't be at war with our closest stakeholder like we have been in the past. That was disastrous for the image of the game, so I am determined to work with them from day one. I don't have any baggage and for now I've got all their goodwill. I'm determined to keep it."
Beattie says he's been in constant communication with the chairs of all 16 NRL clubs and intends to do plenty of travelling this year. Most well-known for his nine-year stint as Queensland Premier until 2007, Beattie and his wife have moved to Sydney and their grandchildren live in Melbourne. He is chairman of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Yet in comments published in the Sydney Morning Herald on the weekend, outgoing chair Grant said the commission lacked understanding of how rugby league worked. When asked to describe the inner machinations of the sport, he said: "The battle for money and power; hating, not trusting; club first, game second; winning at all costs; unholy alliances based on favours and self-interest; and manipulating the media."
Cashing in on corporate potential
So is Beattie walking into a full-blown constitutional crisis that may even overshadow the beginning of the NRL season in early March?
"Not necessarily. If they need to take some more time to sort things out that is fine. There's not animosity there and I'm pretty confident the game can go forward in the right manner. There are [other] options on the table."
In rugby league nothing off the field is easy. The game lags behind the AFL in the hearts of minds of many Australians, and in particular those in the corporate sector. The NRL's non-commercial revenue was $147 million in 2017, far below that of the AFL.
Beattie says the sport will do a better job connecting with corporates from the top of the game to the bottom, and bringing in more money. "Our game is the top rating show on television year in, year out. We should be able to lock in more sponsors, including top 40 companies.
"I have made it clear that I don't want deficits in the years ahead. At the very worst I want to break even after distributions. We will only do that if we find more revenue streams."
That mentality has already led to the signing of a lucrative deal to take a State of Origin match to Adelaide in 2020, after Melbourne this year and Perth next. The NRL could also also add more clubs in the future, maybe in Perth and another in Brisbane. "We will expand," says Beattie firmly.
First comes solving the constitutional issues and the relationship with clubs. Beattie will need all his political skills to get that sorted before acting on his vision for the game's future.
