News Coronavirus and NRL

[Wizardman]

Here is the source to keep people happy

https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/south-...d449-476d-b980-d501da275b07?ocid=Social-NRLFS

Departing South Sydney Rabbitohs football boss Shane Richardson is reported to have left the club over a broken relationship with former star player Sam Burgess.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Richardson and Burgess have hardly spoken to each other since South Sydney were knocked out in the preliminary finals last season.

Making matters worse, the broken relationship is understood to have directly led to a falling out between Burgess and club owner Russell Crowe.


Additionally, Richardson's resignation will reportedly result in him walking away with a $320,000 payout which has rubbed staff and players the wrong way.

The rest of the club's coaching staff that includes Burgess and coach Wayne Bennett have been informed their pay is only guaranteed for another week.


However, not long after announcing his resignation, Richardson pointed the finger at previous ARLC chairman John Grant during his six years in the job.

Speaking to the The Sydney Morning Herald earlier in the week, Richardson said Grant "capitulated" to the clubs in 2015 when he increased their annual grants to 130 per cent of the salary cap.

Grant caved to the club's demands in an attempt to stay on their good side and keep his job. The decision proved to be a popular one at the time with club CEOs but the move was frowned upon by NRL executives because the game couldn't afford it.

 

[Cactus]

That is some real 24 carat gossip column stuff

 

[CC_Roosters]

Mate, guys like @Perth Red think there is some sort of all omnipotent ARLC that will reshape the game into some ideal vision once we come out of this crisis.

If this drags on, the reality is, Rugby League will be scratching around trying to get any money they can to start a bare bones comp, and the ARLC will all be long gone.

I follow a lot of sports and see how most sports have responded around the world. Australian rugby league is the only one I can see where a) it's clubs are looking at rebellion during a time of societal and code crisis and b) it's commercial partners are seeking to tear up agreements to their own spurious advantage, both of which could be continued presumably in a clean 2021 season at the current value if the NRL can provide the equivalent 8 games/round.

 

[Canard]

I follow a lot of sports and see how most sports have responded around the world. Australian rugby league is the only one I can see where a) it's clubs are looking at rebellion during a time of societal and code crisis and b) it's commercial partners are seeking to tear up agreements to their own spurious advantage, both of which could be continued presumably in a clean 2021 season at the current value if the NRL can provide the equivalent 8 games/round.

I haven't seen anything relating to club rebellion (haven't been reading the sports news lately)

And I tend to agree with a lot of your broadcast situation, however most of those comps including the AFL are really just getting a stay of execution due to having a short term line of credit.

For mine, the Australian sporting landscape will be radically different. The A- League and Rugby Union for example are beyond f**ked. Beyond the Big 4 American codes and European Soccer, I think everyone else is in a similar boat.

 

[Perth Red]

Afl rumoured to be borrowing $600mill to guarantee clubs survival. I guess you can get that sort of line of credit when you have a $billion asset.

 

[Brutus]

Bloody Wuhan Virus!

 

[CC_Roosters]

I'll also note how despite a much more precarious financial situation the RFL and the club's presented a positive front with a quick response and whole of game management strategy to get through it. The club's are also very engaged in social media etc.... With competitions and looking to keep fans engaged as well as possible until a restart.

We cannot shutdown life and business indefinitely, once the spike or hump has passed in 2-4 weeks depending on where in the world you live, things have to start moving again and we will adapt and change the way we live and work until a vaccine nips it in the bud for good.

My presumption is that most sports who are inclined.to not wipe out their season e.g. pro14 who jumped that hoop already will start in and around June time, initially behind closed doors, progressing to fans on seats over time. The really innovative sports would look to gradually ramp up versus stadium capacity, e.g. start at a percentage of season ticket holders with adequate distancing between seat occupants and progress that as time/circumstances allow. The NRL has been presented with a crisis the same as everyone else, difference being it's stakeholders including players, clubs and media organisations have talked and acted it into a sense of deeper crisis than need be

 

[CC_Roosters]

Afl rumoured to be borrowing $600mill to guarantee clubs survival. I guess you can get that sort of line of credit when you have a $billion asset.

That's all fine and dandy to maintain there level of income v spending for the short term but if networks tighten their purse strings and a massive media rights deal doesn't eventuate next time round, that debt could suddenly become a noose

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Afl rumoured to be borrowing $600mill to guarantee clubs survival. I guess you can get that sort of line of credit when you have a $billion asset.

Rumoured...hmmmm.

 

[League Unlimited News]

The National Rugby League (NRL) has agreed on a recovery plan with Clubs relating to the impact of Covid-19 on the 2020 Telstra Premiership competition.

Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) chair Peter V'landys and NRL Chief Executive Todd Greenberg said the plan provided funding certainty for the remainder of the 2020 season.

The deal, unanimously supported by all 16 clubs, was created on the back of a significant whole of game cost reduction.

"We have a consolidated plan and working with the Clubs and the players, are united in our efforts to do all we can to protect rugby league," Mr V'landys said.

"We had no option but to stop the competition in the wake of advice from our Biosecurity and Pandemic expert but remain optimistic that the season will restart as quickly as possible, ideally by July 1. If that isn't possible, then we need to be prepared for that option as well and are making the tough financial decisions now to reduce costs to ensure we get through this crisis."

The revised financial models provide Clubs with the capacity to survive the financial year with either a remodelled 20-week competition, including final series and Origin, or a worst case scenario of no football being played again this year.

Details of the recovery plan include:

The NRL will pay a total of $40 million in monthly grant payments to the Clubs between April and October to cover their ongoing operational costs. This is an increase of $6.4m of funding compared to the 2020 budget;
The NRL will reduce its operating costs by 53%, including a 95% reduction in staffing levels during the shutdown period and a 25% cut in executive salaries.

In addition, the NRL has proposed a funding model for player payments to the RLPA which will be provided to its members for consideration.

Mr Greenberg said although the decisions involved short term pain, the measures would protect the sustainability of the game and set it up for the future.

"We are working together to achieve the best outcome in the short, and long term. We must use this opportunity to reset the game's costs and overall structure."

"These measures will put the game in the best position to rebound strongly from the pandemic."

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Good work although the executive salary cut could’ve been bigger, they should’ve taken at least 50%. The Qantas board are going without pay for the year.

 

[Chief_Chujo]

That 25% exec pay cut is pretty gross. Sack most the regular Joe workforce and players take a 80% paycut. But greenburg and the commision only take a 25% on their million+ salaries? Or am I reading it wrong?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

That 25% exec pay cut is pretty gross. Sack most the regular Joe workforce and players take a 80% paycut. But greenburg and the commision only take a 25% on their million+ salaries? Or am I reading it wrong?

that’s exactly how I’m reading it too. I find it hard to see a moral justification for anyone who isn’t a frontline doctor or someone else in essential services to be earning much over 100k right now.

 

[t-ba]

Players are workers. Well paid, but still workers.

Executives aren't.

Workers almost always eat shit before executives.

Such is life

 

[shear_joy9]

That 25% exec pay cut is pretty gross. Sack most the regular Joe workforce and players take a 80% paycut. But greenburg and the commision only take a 25% on their million+ salaries? Or am I reading it wrong?

tbf they do have a lot more work to do now. Making their coffee and ordering their own lunch

 

[Mr Angry]

The sky fell in.

This is now a lost thing.

You are all dead.

Rugba leg is dead.

Other sports will endure, not people.

We are dead.

 

[Mr Angry]

@Billythekid recommends BUY DUNNY ROLLS!

 

[Canard]

So after all that teeth gnashing??

Really it wasn't for Vlandys rubbish statement, half the angst wouldn't be there.

 

[Captain Apollo]

So after all that teeth gnashing??

Really it wasn't for Vlandys rubbish statement, half the angst wouldn't be there.

Mate (iirc) when the swineflu outbreak hit a few years back and was closing down the racuing industry, a similar statement early on saw the Government fund a big bailout pacakage for said industry to mitigate what had happened with the outbreak. V'landys was the person who did it then. He's merely following his script from that event.

 

[Canard]

Mate (iirc) when the swineflu outbreak hit a few years back and was closing down the racuing industry, a similar statement early on saw the Government fund a big bailout pacakage for said industry to mitigate what had happened with the outbreak. V'landys was the person who did it then. He's merely following his script from that event.

It was a terrible script then, and painted the game in a bad light and allowed News to have free kick to try and remove the independent commission.