New NRL site?

[The Tank]

Does anyone know if the NRL is creating a new website? I've been sent emails asking to test their new site and I've heard that they'll be making sites for all the clubs aswell. Anyone know what the deal is?

 

[Timmah]

Cronulla and the Wests Tigers have already gone live but after contacting the NRL they have indicated that their own primary site will not be receiving a makeover.

 

[The Tank]

Oh cool, thanks for those Timmah

 

[The Tank]

I'm not too keen on the design. For some teams it'll be an improvement (i.e. Penrith).

 

[Timmah]

The design looks shoddy and is a downgrade from NRL.com IMO, not a better version.

The administrators should have approached a company like Eastgate (who operate the Bulldogs website) or LeagueUnlimited to have a proper red-hot go.

 

[The Tank]

Yeah I agree mate. I'd like to see sites like the NFL ones or NBA ones (probably cost too much though). Storm up aswell

 

[The Tank]

It'll be a HUGE step backwards for the Bulldogs and Titans. Maybe they'll decline aswell. Will the NRL keep them online if the club's want to use their own? Like Essendon do?

 

[Vossy]

a massive improvement on the sharks old site..love it

 

[The Tank]

The sites look to me like an overhyped version of the NRL.com club pages. I hope the club's operate them (with their own news).

 

[AILD]

storm one went live the other day to. its ok...but bigpond video sucks...and the videos are the only thing to go to the site regularly for.

 

[innsaneink]

The sites look to me like an overhyped version of the NRL.com club pages. I hope the club's operate them (with their own news).

Its all too big brother imo. They are carbon copies of nrl.com

Clubs losing their identity, individuality thru their own site.

They will all be like this very soon, so it will be nothing more than your own clubs section on nrl,.com.

Not good at all.

 

[Timmah]

The AFL did it a while ago IIRC but they actually had decent enough web designers. These already look like they've been thrown together by a five year old. LU has enough news, views and coverage IMO, no need for many other sites tbh.

 

[Pumba]

Hope the Knights don't change to that crap

 

[yakstorm]

Clubs losing their identity, individuality thru their own site.

I'd have to argue with that, the clubs still have their colour, their logos, their content, its just producing a consistent way of finding similar information across the network.

Sure for some clubs joining the network it is a step backwards, but clubs can't afford to continue to pay the large amount of money associated with building, running and manging websites and video.

The club network has neutralised these costs and have given the clubs another asset to earn revenue from. It also means when it comes to the NRL's new media deal being negotiated in 2012, League can get a deal closer to the AFL's (the AFL's was over double because it included the club sites).

At least one thing the NRL has done right compared to the AFL when it launched its club network is one the sites that have gone up before the start of the season, AFL's ended up running 8 months late in the end. Also the clubs are already able to add content themselves, oh and the site stability is quite good. I think a lot of people forget how bad the AFL's club network was when it went live, and how much negative press and user opinions it copped.


Ahh yeah and on NRL.com, there will be a new design going up after the season launch.

 

[NRLMad]

Clubs losing their identity, individuality thru their own site.

They will all be like this very soon, so it will be nothing more than your own clubs section on nrl,.com.

Not good at all.

The important point is that sites like the dragons, panthers (which are completely crap) get a much needed refresh. Yak's right that the bundling up of these will provide much needed extra revenue generation options.

Also, why shouldn't the clubs focus on what they do best, i.e. playign a& marketing for their memberships - rather than worrying about updates to their databases etc. The cost savings would be upwards of $50-100K per club per year = 6million or so in total paid out to external contractors.

Also on the content issue, I think you'll find that the individual cliubs will have access to add/edit/remove their own articles as per before. This design will allow a global chnage being made once that impacts all sites as once. This is good design.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

It'd be nice if there was a bar at the top which had links to every club site, like the US sites have.

 

[$$Poor Boy Blues$$]

storm one went live the other day to. its ok...but bigpond video sucks...and the videos are the only thing to go to the site regularly for.

i am sure the site(s) will be expanded at a later date, ala nfl.com.

People should know, you dont just get the content there with magic. I am sure the demand is growing. With added content, surely traffic would surge, especially when nrl.com gets a better reputation which it surely will.

 

[willvillain]

It'd be nice if there was a bar at the top which had links to every club site, like the US sites have.

It's a small thing, but I agree it would be a good feature to add.

As for the bigpond video area being sh*t, well, it might be, but I just had a quick look through and was pretty impressed to see pre-season interviews with players from a number of teams.

Overall I think the sites look fairly plain though. Especially considering some teams had only recently modernised their sites....

 

[LeagueLegend]

Hope the Knights don't change to that crap

14 of the 16 clubs are changing over - the Knights are one of the 14!

 

[Timmah]

I'm quite certain the two clubs not changing are the Bulldogs and South Sydney.