Friday on their minds: clubs want fixed schedule
March 14, 2012
BRISBANE have been given a huge advantage on and off the field, with the club scheduled to play on Friday night for the opening eight weeks of the competition - a run that is likely to continue until State of Origin.
The decision by Channel Nine to choose Brisbane for its Friday night coverage on a weekly basis has heightened calls for fixed season-scheduling to be part of the next broadcast deal, while boosting claims for a second Brisbane team.
Rival officials say a seven-day turnaround makes a massive difference to Brisbane's preparation for matches, while being on Channel Nine every Friday night enables the Broncos to attract greater corporate support - a fact highlighted by Cronulla's lack of a major sponsor.
''It's a massive factor in the Broncos' favour,'' a trainer from a rival club told the Herald. ''Knowing that they play every Friday night allows them to have a regimented preparation
The Broncos would have a recovery session on Saturday morning and their players could then have the rest of the weekend off.''
In contrast, Manly opened their premiership defence by travelling to play the Warriors in a replay of last season's grand final, then backed up five days later against Wests Tigers. The Sea Eagles play on Monday at Cronulla and do not have another Friday night game until round eight - but at least they have some exposure on free-to-air television.
With the Broncos-Titans round-eight clash set to be confirmed for April 27, the Sharks are the only club yet to receive a Friday night match - and they are also the only club without a major sponsor.
''Obviously having free-to-air games makes it much easier when you sit in front of sponsors,'' Cronulla chairman Damian Irvine said. ''We are right at the pointy end of signing a sponsorship deal, and we will do that, but it is no longer a case of sponsors wanting to throw a name on a jersey and being happy to use you as a billboard.
''They want to know exactly what your media monitoring situation is
exactly what your coverage is for free-to-air and pay TV. It is double-pronged because they don't only want to know that in deciding whether they choose you over another club or another sport, they also want to know that as to how much value they actually place on the position once they decide they are going with you - so in that light, free-to-air games are absolute gold.''
Manly boss David Perry said it was no coincidence the Broncos are by far the most profitable club in the NRL, with a turnover of about $30 million per season. ''When you are getting free-to-air TV games scheduled weekly, your TV viewership numbers are significantly higher
so to a potential investor, we are significantly disadvantaged,'' he said.
As a result, both Irvine and Perry believe each club should get a set number of Friday night games as part of the next TV deal.
''Hopefully all clubs can be on a fair playing field going forward because it clearly hasn't been equal historically,'' Perry said.
However, neither Channel Nine sports boss Steve Crawley or NRL football operations director Nathan McGuirk made any apology for the Broncos being consistently chosen for Friday night matches.
''It is one of the aims of Channel Nine that one of the two free-to-air games on Friday night is a game with some Queensland content they can show live into Queensland, and they are choosing the Broncos clearly to maximise ratings,'' McGuirk said. ''Last year the Broncos had 16 Friday night games
it will probably be about the same this year.''
Crawley said Channel Nine would support the admission of a second Brisbane team playing out of Suncorp Stadium.
''They have got the best stadium in the world and if you could have a game coming out of there every week that would be great for rugby league and great for the broadcaster,'' he said. ''Queensland is a big part of our game and they have only got three teams at the moment, so, from a broadcaster's point of view, having an extra team in Queensland would be a wonderful thing.''
Dogs, Manly set for Friday grudge match
Channel Nine executives and Bulldogs officials expect the bitter first clash between Des Hasler's new Canterbury side and the Manly team he steered to the 2011 premiership to attract huge interest, with the match scheduled for Friday, April 27. While the NRL is yet to announce the round eight schedule, the Herald understands the Bulldogs-Sea Eagles clash at ANZ Stadium has been pencilled in for a Friday night free-to-air game since Manly sacked Hasler after he announced he was joining Canterbury. The Broncos-Titans derby at Suncorp Stadium will be the live game in Queensland. Canterbury officials are hoping for a crowd of 40,000 for the match against the Sea Eagles, who have started the season like they finished last year with wins over the Warriors in Auckland and the Tigers at Gosford.
The schedule
BRISBANE
1 Friday, March 2 Eels (a)
2 Friday, March 9 Cowboys (h)
3 Friday, March 16 Knights (a)
4 Friday, March 23 Souths (a)
5 Friday, March 30 Dragons (h)
6 Friday, April 6 Tigers (a)
7 Friday, April 13 Raiders (h)
8 Friday, April 27 Titans (h)
MANLY
1 Sunday, March 4 Warriors (a)
2 Friday, March 9 Tigers (h)
3 Monday, March 19 Sharks (a)
4 Saturday, Mar 24 Dragons (a)
5 Saturday, Mar 31 Eels (a)
6 Monday, April 9 Panthers (a)
7 Saturday, April 14 Titans (h)
8 Friday, April 27 Bulldogs (a)
