Queensland Rugby League boss Peter Betros says game suffers from 'Sydney-centric' attitude
FRUSTRATED Queensland Rugby League chairman Peter Betros claims the code is still suffering from a "Sydney-centric" attitude.
While Queenslanders continue to dominate the game on the field, they are rarely asked to contribute to the code's running.
Betros, who has been in the job for six months, said the QRL was not even consulted about the ARL Commission's five-year strategic plan.
The lengthy and important document, which was released last October, set out the future of the code from grassroots to the NRL and even featured the new logo plastered across every level of the game.
Yet Queensland officials had no say on the crucial decisions contained in the document.
The treatment of the state comes despite Queensland's development systems producing an Origin team that will run on to ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night trying to win an eighth consecutive series.
Betros praised the attitude of ARL Commission chairman John Grant, who he says was "horrified" to learn of the strategic plan oversight.
But Betros said Queensland was still struggling to have its voice heard in a sea of Sydney-focused league bureaucrats.
"The problem inherent in our game is that even with a Commission the game is still Sydney-centric," Betros said.
"All the decisions still get made in Sydney. A lot of the time they forget to consult anyone else.
"They think whatever they decide in Sydney will be right for everyone.
"It is a battle I'm really fighting."
Betros said NRL chief executive David Smith's appointment was a positive for Queenslanders as he cared about the big picture, but there was a hangover from pre-ARLC days that hampered progress.
"A great example (of Sydney-centric attitude) is last year they released their NRL strategic plan and we were never consulted on it," Betros said.
"They came up here and we thought it was to discuss what the strategic plan would be. Instead they presented it to us.
"They had done months of work on it and they gave us all these key performance indicators, but we had no input on any of it.
"The first thing I did when I took the chair in December was talk to John Grant and then David Smith and I told them I was not happy about the process.
"John Grant was horrified to learn about (Queensland being ignored) and Dave understands how important a whole-of-game vision is.
"Now QRL chief executive Robert Moore sits on the senior management level of the Commission and they meet every Monday.
"That is a huge step forward. Progress is being made slowly but it will take time."
