Divided rugby league fell 25 years ago – but united has it conquered? by Steve Mascord.

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Amateur senior men's Rugby League is almost unheard of in Queensland, or at least very rare.

Surely you don't want to see NRL teams culled to save a few Amateur sides in the Darling Downs??

I'm a huge proponent of expansion, but the idea that Adelaide is the gateway to untold wealth for our game is simplistic nonsense.

My cousin's ex-partner gave up RL for RU because the local team expected him to pay to play, whereas the RU team paid him money. He lived in the Darling Downs Region near the state border.

Having a presence in all five metro markets will increase the commercial value of our game. It won't create "untold wealth", but it will add value to the broadcast rights and attract sponsors who want to promote their products to a national audience.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

You should feel privileged and grateful for your regions to be invited to join the Sydney comp which has been the premier comp in the world for the last 50 years and in Australia for 115 years.

You will find those resources are being used in maintaining and growing that premier status

There are too many examples of failed regional franchises in other sports

The NSWRL was funded by gaming machine revenue. Take that away and it's wouldn't have been much bigger than the BRL and still would be behind the RFL.

Notice the NSWRL didn't become bigger than the RFL until a couple of decades after gaming machines were legalised in NSW in 1956?

Why do you think that is?

 

[Pneuma]

The NSWRL was funded by gaming machine revenue. Take that away and it's wouldn't have been much bigger than the BRL and still would be behind the RFL.

Notice the NSWRL didn't become bigger than the RFL until a couple of decades after gaming machines were legalised in NSW in 1956?

Why do you think that is?

Potato

 

[siv]

The NSWRL was funded by gaming machine revenue. Take that away and it's wouldn't have been much bigger than the BRL and still would be behind the RFL.

Notice the NSWRL didn't become bigger than the RFL until a couple of decades after gaming machines were legalised in NSW in 1956?

Why do you think that is?

The game in Sydney was still bigger than everywhere in Australia before LCs were setup

Why was that?

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The game in Sydney was still bigger than everywhere in Australia before LCs were setup

Why was that?

The NSWRL clubs were able to sign the best rugby union players in 1908. The newly formed QRL competition that was established in 1909 didn't have this luxury. Interstate games were lopsided for this reason until rugby union competitions in Brisbane ceased to exist after WWI. Queensland then had a period of success as the rugby union players came over to the Brisbane competition. This continued until rugby union competitions recommenced.

Brisbane's population in 1911 (143,510) was less than one-quarter the size of Sydney (629,503). Back in the early 20th century the regional Queensland competitions were arguably richer than the Brisbane league and drew a lot of talent from it.

Things are much different these days. In 2021 Brisbane (2,526,238) was roughly half the size of Sydney (5,231,147). According to the MENSA members on here who laugh at my suggestion of expanding into Singapore, Brisbane's demographics are better suited to rugby league because its population increase has chiefly come from interstate migration whereas Sydney has relied on expatriates from eastern and southern Asia over the last 40 years.

 

[Wb1234]

Time for a Qld breakaway league - Broncos, Cowboys, Storm, Dolphins, Warriors & Titans. Add Ipswich, Perth and Adelaide & Logan

No NSW clubs allowed as they run on LC money

You will be cheering

And the broncos and cowboys aren’t allowed to take any money from their leagues club

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

Amateur senior men's Rugby League is almost unheard of in Queensland, or at least very rare.

Surely you don't want to see NRL teams culled to save a few Amateur sides in the Darling Downs??

I'm a huge proponent of expansion, but the idea that Adelaide is the gateway to untold wealth for our game is simplistic nonsense.

Mate I’m from Toowoomba & I’ve not heard of any Amatuer league played around here for decades.I suspect he is bullshitting .
Used to be a very popular thriving competition that got great crowds .
There was even a once a yr game played between a combined Amateur team v Tmba Reserve grade side .
close hard games & they were great to watch
what finished comps like this off was the skyrocketing insurance …& injuries with no compensation for time off work .

At its peak Even if a team folded there was always a new one to take its place .
the teams that I can remember who played at one time or another .

Baillie Bears(Baillie Henderson hospital )
Norths .
Post office Pirates( PO pub)
Foundry Falcons(Toowoomba Foundry)
DDIAE. (Institute before it became a University).
Brumbies..
Warriors( indigenous team )
Crows Nest
Oakey Eagles

there were more but I can’t remember them .

As I said Ive not seen or heard of any Amateur comps on the DD

could be wrong. But I suspect as with most crazy zealots they resort to lying .

 

[The_Wookie]

My objection to the licencing agreement is the money spent propping up nine small Sydney clubs is akin to pissing up a wall because it provides no long-term return. It is be better to invest the money in the amateur side of the game across Australia, New Zealand and PNG because it will lead to more people playing it and translate to more fans watching it.

More people playing hasnt helped more watch other sports. Theres no guarantees, and as the saying goes "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

Amateur rugby league competitions at the junior and senior level are taking a hit to prop up unviable clubs from Sydney. Clubs are dying and competitions are merging to stay afloat.

1) There arent any unviable NRL clubs in Sydney. Period.
2) all clubs get a similar grant, so how about you share the blame around with the Queensland clubs and Storm.

It's the same problem that has torn the Australian Rugby union and soccer communities apart, yet you're advocating for us to go down he same path for "tradition and history", which only matters in your eyes when it's a traditional NSWRL club.

In this particular instance - that is, the NRL - yes I am. You cant claim to be a tribal sport without the historical connections and rivalries that go with that.

One could easily argue that soccers issues are because they abandoned traditions - in fact completely wiped out their previous entity in 2005.

And for me, tradition counts. Whether AFL or NRL.

In the long run decline of the game in the amateur ranks will kill the professional level.

Maybe. There are other ways to do this if amateur leagues fail to fill the professional level. But we arent any where near that point yet.

Which is why the clubs keep on demanding more funding from the ARLC when their licencing agreements are up for renewal. When this is pointed out you say it's their entitlement to argue for more money without giving a f**k about the long-term consequences it has on all levels of the game underneath the NRL. It's a really myopic stance you're taking and one that will set the game up for terminal decline. If you care about the game then you'll realise it begins at the amateur level.

I care about many things - not least of which is that the clubs recieve the monetary reward that goes with driving the rights and other incomes of the league.

Back in the 90s Fitzroy were forced to merge with Brisbane. I've read that there were talks between Fitzroy and another Melbournian club that were advanced, but the AFL refused to allow it because they thought the new club would be too powerful. I remember seeing Sam Newman speak about it on the Brisbane Footy Show in 1996.

This was ONLY possible because the clubs board was sidelined by the recievership that was in place as a result of AFL policies designed to force the club to go to the wall. In the end, the Adminstrator was able to unilaterally force the license to Brisbane.

Some irrelevant bullshit.

So their "history and tradition" doesn't count?

Only the "history and tradition" of NSWRL clubs matter?

In the context of the NRL, unfortunately for you, yes.

This sort of myopic and selfish mentality is why our game has failed to expand outside of its traditional markets.

Not really. A lack of funding and political will from the executive and the fall out from Superleague as well as the league having to directly take ownership of the Titans and Knights for a while there, certainly played its part.

When the non-NSWRL clubs tried to form their own competition in 1996 the ARL took them to court.

Yes that is really how the story went.

The QRL has a seat on the ARLC. There's no way the clubs from the Queensland Cup could rebel without cutting all ties with the QRL.

Where theres a will theres a way.

But it hasn't and appears to be stagnant at best and in some cases in decline. The game also has the potential to carve out a strong niche in new markets, but won't until it stops basing all of its decisions around the self-interest of Sydney NRL clubs.

yes that shiny new team in Queensland really is in the self interest of Sydney clubs isnt it

The rebuild of Parramatta Stadium hasn't turned the Eels into a financial juggernaut like the Broncos and Cowboys. The Eels' revenue from football operations is still behind the Broncos and Cowboys.

Fortunately they have those pesky pokies that you hate that make them something of a financial behemoth.

It'll lead to more profit-making derbies in Brisbane that draw big crowds and strong television ratings. It'll also bring in money from the corporate sector. The Dolphins are already making more money from sponsorship than any Sydney club. There are plenty of corporates who are turned away by the Broncos that would sponsor a third team.

And it wont grow the game one iota - it will grow the professional section though. And thats what your supposed to be worried about.?

Did Fitzroy agree to no longer exist?

Fitzroy still exist, the lost the AFL license, but continue to play in the VAFA. The license was removed due to the club being in recievership, suspending the clubs constitution. The club itself literally had no say.

If that were true then they wouldn't keep on demanding more funding from the ARLC, would they?

Why wouldnt you if it was your efforts created that wealth.

Take away revenue from gaming and the annual grant

No?

and there's no way these clubs could cover the expenses relates to fielding a team in the NRL.

But they have other revenues so it doesnt f**king matter. No matter how much you try to steer it around this, it doesnt matter.

You know this but deliberately deflect attention away from it whenever it's brought up.

And you deliberately omit relative financial data to claim outright falsehoods.

The annual grant isn't revenue from football operations because it's tied to the competition as a whole.

Its football generated revenue.

Football operations include ticketing, membership, merchandise, sponsorship and corporate hospitality because fans and companies are paying to watch the football team.

That they do. But its not all the income they have.

The annual grant is propped up by the broadcasters, who would pay significantly less if it was just Sydney teams in the league.

Its not f**king being propped up by the broadcasters, the grant is given to ALL clubs not just the Sydney ones and is their rightfully earned share of the proceeds of the NRLs income - not just television.

It is when clubs like the Broncos, Cowboys, Titans and Storm are the reason Ch9 pay what they do to have a reach in Brisbane. Take them away and you lose the Brisbane market. Melbourne would go back to drawing just 5k viewers per game without the Storm. Grand final viewership in Brisbane and Melbourne would dry up. The cost of a 30 second commercial would drop significantly.

Yes lets ignore the ratings and advertising rates in the single largest rugby league broadcast territory. I mean Nine doesnt give a damn about that at all.

People go to the Leagues Clubs to play the pokies. Most of the people who play the pokies couldn't give a f**k about the football club.

And? Its still legal income received by the clubs. Nothing you say about them changes that fact. You can keep pissing into the wind all you like. The income is valid, the clubs are viable.

Thanks for playing again.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

More people playing hasnt helped more watch other sports. Theres no guarantees, and as the saying goes "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

Actually, more kids are watching "other sports". Gemba conducted an analysis of Australian viewing habits of local and foreign sports to gauge the viability of the NRL adding a 17th team to the competition. The results on p10 showed that sports such as NRL, AFL, Cricket are in serious decline while American sports are thriving.

Here's an excerpt from p10.

• Baseball, Basketball and American Football have grown in popularity in Australia in recent years as international sporting leagues rise in popularity
• Sports that have pinnacle leagues in Australia (such as Rugby League, Cricket and Australian Rules Football) have shown signs of declining passion amongst Australians
• Global Sports like Basketball also tend to have younger Fanatical supporters. On average, 36% of Global Sports Fanatics are aged between 16 and 30 years old, compared to only 25% of ‘Australian Sports’* Fanatics​

If you go down to p38 it says people who've played rugby league are more than seven times likely to buy club memberships than people who've never participated.

Here's an excerpt from p38.

• Gemba’s data shows Rugby League participants are more engaged over the entire value chain of the sport
• With Rugby League participants significantly more likely to purchase more than just their club registration fees, this will continue to drive incremental revenue to the game
• The largest difference is the number of those who are financial members of an NRL team, with Rugby League participants over seven times more likely to be a member of an NRL club than those who are not participants​

I'd say that's a pretty damning statistic.

Wouldn't you?

On p9 it says Australians are following more sports and entertainment options than ever.

• The number of sport and entertainment passions Australians have today has increased by an average of 3.6 properties since 2011
• Through the proliferation of digital technology like social media, the accessibility of global content, and the increasing quality of sport and entertainment products, consumers are now allocating their finite disposable time across a greater number of passions
• This rise in passion is linked to popular entertainment like Music and Electronic Gaming, as well as the globalisation of sports like Basketball and Football
• Roughly half of casual Rugby League fans* are passionate about Australian Rules Football and just over a third are passionate about Basketball​

1) There arent any unviable NRL clubs in Sydney. Period.

According to the Gemba report, a team needs to generate $10,000,000 from game day to cover the costs of competing in the NRL.

Here's an excerpt from p28.

• Based on benchmarks from existing smaller NRL clubs, it is estimated that a new club would have operating costs of $23.6m per year which is largely driven by Player Wages and Other Wages
• The NRL provides clubs with a Grant of at least $13.6m and covers some other operational expenses which aren’t included in the estimated total costs
• Assuming a new club had an operating cost base of $23.6m, the club would need to generate $10.0m in revenue through Sponsorship, Game Day Revenue, Hospitality, Membership etc. in order to break even. This is expected to be challenging in early years due to the competitive landscape in which the club is entering
• If the club is unable to achieve this, the operating loss would need to be covered by the club or the NRL would be required to provide additional financial support​

Based on the annual reports of the clubs I posted on p1 of the following thread, the Bulldogs and Sharks have failed to generate $10,000,000 from game day.

In 2019 the Bulldogs generated just $7,832,705 from sponsorship, corporate hospitality, ticketing and membership. In 2018 they generated just $9,007,994.

In 2019 and 2018 the Sharks generated just $8,469,218 and $9,198,250 from sponsorship, corporate hospitality, ticketing and membership.

Pretty shit, hey?

2) all clubs get a similar grant, so how about you share the blame around with the Queensland clubs and Storm.

Doesn't eat club have a member on the ARLC?

If so then that means there are nine commissioners from the Sydney clubs and just three representing Queensland's three teams.

Who do you think has the most influence when it comes to voting on a resolution?

You can bet your arse the representatives of the Sydney clubs will vote as a block to keep the status quo in Sydney. The QRL and NSWRL have bugger all say.

In this particular instance - that is, the NRL - yes I am. You cant claim to be a tribal sport without the historical connections and rivalries that go with that.

One could easily argue that soccers issues are because they abandoned traditions - in fact completely wiped out their previous entity in 2005.

And for me, tradition counts. Whether AFL or NRL.

How do you explain rugby league not dying in Queensland in 1988?

There were strong rivalries between the eight traditional BRL fanbases. Ipswich had a pretty parochial fanbase that attacked Wally Lewis during a game that was played at North Ipswich Reserve. Using your logic the game should have lost all of its fans in Brisbane when the Broncos entered the NSWRL.

The NSL averaged crowds of about 5,000. The A-League draws far better attendances.

An article on The Roar actually compared the NSL to A-League. Here's a transcript of its section on NSL and A-League crowds.

Present A-League crowds are also far superior to the last years of the National Soccer League.

From 1997-98 to 2003-04 the NSL averaged 5000 at best, with the figure down to 4100 and 3800 in its last two seasons.

Prior to the A-League, from 1997-98 to 2003-04, no Melbourne or Sydney team got close to averaging 10,000 spectators, with South Melbourne only twice averaging over 8000.

In fact the only teams that averaged above 10,000 from 1997-98 to 2003-04 were Adelaide United in 2003-04 (12,643), Northern Spirit in its first 1998-99 season (14,633) and Perth Glory for several years from 1997-98 until 2002-03 (its peak was 14,909 in 1997-98).

While some point to Channel Seven hardly boosting interest in the NSL by limiting the amount of free-to-air coverage to a one-hour highlights package, crowd attendances then were not affected by live television coverage, as they are today.

Although Melbourne Victory shows that an A-League side can average over 20,000 for a full season, having done so on ten occasions – with a record average 27,728 in 2007-08, boosted by large crowds at Docklands Stadium – achieving a crowd average above 10,000 has got harder.

Of the 67 occasions when an A-League (Australian) team averaged 10,000 for a home-and-away season from 2004-05 to 2019-20, Melbourne teams did so on 18 occasions and Sydney teams (counting Central Coast) 22 times.

Melbourne Victory has done so on 15 occasions, Sydney FC 14 on occasions.

Next is Brisbane (formerly Queensland) Roar ten times, although not since 2016-17, with its peak average 16,949 in 2007-08.

Adelaide has achieved such an average nine times, but not since 2015-16 after a record average of 12,697 in 2007-08.

Newcastle has averaged more than 10,000 six times, with the last being in 2017-18 (it peaked at 13,388 in 2012-13).

Perth, which was the most popular club prior to the A-League from 1997-98 to 2003-04, has only achieved an average crowd of 10,000 twice in the A-League, most recently during the 2018-19 season.

Don’t despair, A-League crowds are pretty good by world standards – The Roar

www.theroar.com.au

 

[siv]

The NSWRL clubs were able to sign the best rugby union players in 1908. The newly formed QRL competition that was established in 1909 didn't have this luxury. Interstate games were lopsided for this reason until rugby union competitions in Brisbane ceased to exist after WWI. Queensland then had a period of success as the rugby union players came over to the Brisbane competition. This continued until rugby union competitions recommenced.

Brisbane's population in 1911 (143,510) was less than one-quarter the size of Sydney (629,503). Back in the early 20th century the regional Queensland competitions were arguably richer than the Brisbane league and drew a lot of talent from it.

Things are much different these days. In 2021 Brisbane (2,526,238) was roughly half the size of Sydney (5,231,147). According to the MENSA members on here who laugh at my suggestion of expanding into Singapore, Brisbane's demographics are better suited to rugby league because its population increase has chiefly come from interstate migration whereas Sydney has relied on expatriates from eastern and southern Asia over the last 40 years.

Great to see you agree with Sydney comp being being the premier competition

 

[hineyrulz]

Is "Entertainment Plus" a new streaming service?

Potato plus.

 

[Pneuma]

Actually, more kids are watching "other sports". Gemba conducted an analysis of Australian viewing habits of local and foreign sports to gauge the viability of the NRL adding a 17th team to the competition. The results on p10 showed that sports such as NRL, AFL, Cricket are in serious decline while American sports are thriving.

Here's an excerpt from p10.

• Baseball, Basketball and American Football have grown in popularity in Australia in recent years as international sporting leagues rise in popularity​

• Sports that have pinnacle leagues in Australia (such as Rugby League, Cricket and Australian Rules Football) have shown signs of declining passion amongst Australians​

• Global Sports like Basketball also tend to have younger Fanatical supporters. On average, 36% of Global Sports Fanatics are aged between 16 and 30 years old, compared to only 25% of ‘Australian Sports’* Fanatics​

If you go down to p38 it says people who've played rugby league are more than seven times likely to buy club memberships than people who've never participated.

Here's an excerpt from p38.

• Gemba’s data shows Rugby League participants are more engaged over the entire value chain of the sport​

• With Rugby League participants significantly more likely to purchase more than just their club registration fees, this will continue to drive incremental revenue to the game​

• The largest difference is the number of those who are financial members of an NRL team, with Rugby League participants over seven times more likely to be a member of an NRL club than those who are not participants​

I'd say that's a pretty damning statistic.

Wouldn't you?

On p9 it says Australians are following more sports and entertainment options than ever.

• The number of sport and entertainment passions Australians have today has increased by an average of 3.6 properties since 2011​

• Through the proliferation of digital technology like social media, the accessibility of global content, and the increasing quality of sport and entertainment products, consumers are now allocating their finite disposable time across a greater number of passions​

• This rise in passion is linked to popular entertainment like Music and Electronic Gaming, as well as the globalisation of sports like Basketball and Football​

• Roughly half of casual Rugby League fans* are passionate about Australian Rules Football and just over a third are passionate about Basketball​

According to the Gemba report, a team needs to generate $10,000,000 from game day to cover the costs of competing in the NRL.

Here's an excerpt from p28.

• Based on benchmarks from existing smaller NRL clubs, it is estimated that a new club would have operating costs of $23.6m per year which is largely driven by Player Wages and Other Wages​

• The NRL provides clubs with a Grant of at least $13.6m and covers some other operational expenses which aren’t included in the estimated total costs​

• Assuming a new club had an operating cost base of $23.6m, the club would need to generate $10.0m in revenue through Sponsorship, Game Day Revenue, Hospitality, Membership etc. in order to break even. This is expected to be challenging in early years due to the competitive landscape in which the club is entering​

• If the club is unable to achieve this, the operating loss would need to be covered by the club or the NRL would be required to provide additional financial support​

Based on the annual reports of the clubs I posted on p1 of the following thread, the Bulldogs and Sharks have failed to generate $10,000,000 from game day.

In 2019 the Bulldogs generated just $7,832,705 from sponsorship, corporate hospitality, ticketing and membership. In 2018 they generated just $9,007,994.

In 2019 and 2018 the Sharks generated just $8,469,218 and $9,198,250 from sponsorship, corporate hospitality, ticketing and membership.

Pretty shit, hey?



Doesn't eat club have a member on the ARLC?

If so then that means there are nine commissioners from the Sydney clubs and just three representing Queensland's three teams.

Who do you think has the most influence when it comes to voting on a resolution?

You can bet your arse the representatives of the Sydney clubs will vote as a block to keep the status quo in Sydney. The QRL and NSWRL have bugger all say.



How do you explain rugby league not dying in Queensland in 1988?

There were strong rivalries between the eight traditional BRL fanbases. Ipswich had a pretty parochial fanbase that attacked Wally Lewis during a game that was played at North Ipswich Reserve. Using your logic the game should have lost all of its fans in Brisbane when the Broncos entered the NSWRL.

The NSL averaged crowds of about 5,000. The A-League draws far better attendances.

An article on The Roar actually compared the NSL to A-League. Here's a transcript of its section on NSL and A-League crowds.

Present A-League crowds are also far superior to the last years of the National Soccer League.​

​

From 1997-98 to 2003-04 the NSL averaged 5000 at best, with the figure down to 4100 and 3800 in its last two seasons.​

​

Prior to the A-League, from 1997-98 to 2003-04, no Melbourne or Sydney team got close to averaging 10,000 spectators, with South Melbourne only twice averaging over 8000.​

​

In fact the only teams that averaged above 10,000 from 1997-98 to 2003-04 were Adelaide United in 2003-04 (12,643), Northern Spirit in its first 1998-99 season (14,633) and Perth Glory for several years from 1997-98 until 2002-03 (its peak was 14,909 in 1997-98).​

​

While some point to Channel Seven hardly boosting interest in the NSL by limiting the amount of free-to-air coverage to a one-hour highlights package, crowd attendances then were not affected by live television coverage, as they are today.​

​

Although Melbourne Victory shows that an A-League side can average over 20,000 for a full season, having done so on ten occasions – with a record average 27,728 in 2007-08, boosted by large crowds at Docklands Stadium – achieving a crowd average above 10,000 has got harder.​

​

Of the 67 occasions when an A-League (Australian) team averaged 10,000 for a home-and-away season from 2004-05 to 2019-20, Melbourne teams did so on 18 occasions and Sydney teams (counting Central Coast) 22 times.​

​

Melbourne Victory has done so on 15 occasions, Sydney FC 14 on occasions.​

​

Next is Brisbane (formerly Queensland) Roar ten times, although not since 2016-17, with its peak average 16,949 in 2007-08.​

​

Adelaide has achieved such an average nine times, but not since 2015-16 after a record average of 12,697 in 2007-08.​

​

Newcastle has averaged more than 10,000 six times, with the last being in 2017-18 (it peaked at 13,388 in 2012-13).​

​

Perth, which was the most popular club prior to the A-League from 1997-98 to 2003-04, has only achieved an average crowd of 10,000 twice in the A-League, most recently during the 2018-19 season.​

​

Don’t despair, A-League crowds are pretty good by world standards – The Roar

www.theroar.com.au

​

Potato

 

[gerg]

All this whinging about pokies benefiting Sydney teams. Should we take a closer look at the reasons behind Andrew Gee leaving the game and then refusing to answer questions about 400k (?) just vanishing from their leagues club and then magically reappeaing?

There was also always, speculation of Broncos players being allocated a specific Queen of the Nile machine in the leagus club. We in rugby league like to talk shit but this rumour was no different to the Roosters sombrero. Where there is permanent smoke there is fire.

Or how about the thoroughbreds? Would that club have been the powerhouse that it was without those things? Would they have created the history without those things? Most rational thinkers know the answer to that.

You follow the game long enough you understand that every single team has done, is doing, or will do - at some point, some dodgy shit. That's why (as a fan) you either engage in the banter with tongue firmly in cheek, or you just stfu.

 

[Iamback]

what finished comps like this off was the skyrocketing insurance …& injuries with no compensation for time off work .

There are the main reasons that Sport numbers are dropping, Atleast for older teens/adults

 

[Pneuma]

There are the main reasons that Sport numbers are dropping, Atleast for older teens/adults

And a good reason for the nrl to expand lower contact offerings to potential and existing participants.

 

[Iamback]

And a good reason for the nrl to expand lower contact offerings to potential and existing participants.

NRL clubs get around it by covering Education, Most SG Ball guys go to private schools

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

More people playing hasnt helped more watch other sports. Theres no guarantees, and as the saying goes "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"



1) There arent any unviable NRL clubs in Sydney. Period.
2) all clubs get a similar grant, so how about you share the blame around with the Queensland clubs and Storm.



In this particular instance - that is, the NRL - yes I am. You cant claim to be a tribal sport without the historical connections and rivalries that go with that.

One could easily argue that soccers issues are because they abandoned traditions - in fact completely wiped out their previous entity in 2005.

And for me, tradition counts. Whether AFL or NRL.



Maybe. There are other ways to do this if amateur leagues fail to fill the professional level. But we arent any where near that point yet.


I care about many things - not least of which is that the clubs recieve the monetary reward that goes with driving the rights and other incomes of the league.



This was ONLY possible because the clubs board was sidelined by the recievership that was in place as a result of AFL policies designed to force the club to go to the wall. In the end, the Adminstrator was able to unilaterally force the license to Brisbane.





In the context of the NRL, unfortunately for you, yes.



Not really. A lack of funding and political will from the executive and the fall out from Superleague as well as the league having to directly take ownership of the Titans and Knights for a while there, certainly played its part.



Yes that is really how the story went.



Where theres a will theres a way.



yes that shiny new team in Queensland really is in the self interest of Sydney clubs isnt it



Fortunately they have those pesky pokies that you hate that make them something of a financial behemoth.



And it wont grow the game one iota - it will grow the professional section though. And thats what your supposed to be worried about.?



Fitzroy still exist, the lost the AFL license, but continue to play in the VAFA. The license was removed due to the club being in recievership, suspending the clubs constitution. The club itself literally had no say.



Why wouldnt you if it was your efforts created that wealth.



No?



But they have other revenues so it doesnt f**king matter. No matter how much you try to steer it around this, it doesnt matter.



And you deliberately omit relative financial data to claim outright falsehoods.



Its football generated revenue.



That they do. But its not all the income they have.



Its not f**king being propped up by the broadcasters, the grant is given to ALL clubs not just the Sydney ones and is their rightfully earned share of the proceeds of the NRLs income - not just television.



Yes lets ignore the ratings and advertising rates in the single largest rugby league broadcast territory. I mean Nine doesnt give a damn about that at all.



And? Its still legal income received by the clubs. Nothing you say about them changes that fact. You can keep pissing into the wind all you like. The income is valid, the clubs are viable.

Thanks for playing again.

What does this make it
Wookie…10. . Logan ..0
stop the fight .it’s all over

 

[Wb1234]

NRL clubs get around it by covering Education, Most SG Ball guys go to private schools

Are you sure sure about that

seems crazy sending them to union schools were they can’t play league

 

[MugaB]

What does this make it
Wookie…10. . Logan ..0
stop the fight .it’s all over

View attachment 69493

Wookie be De'andre

BAAAMMM!!

 

[Iamback]

Are you sure sure about that

seems crazy sending them to union schools were they can’t play league

Not all are Union schools Holy Cross in Ryde and St Dominics in Penrith are League schools but aren't public. Even still guys like Suualli, Pensini, Cam Murray all went to Union schools and are in League now

These players get to 14 or so and know they are good, NRL clubs get them in the good schools so it is good for the top kids in the sport. Others though drop out for apprenticeships and other reasons