Nine forces ANZAC Test to remain in Australia

[The Voice of Reason!]

https://nz.sports.yahoo.com/league/news/article/-/25894103/anzac-test-staying-put-in-australia/

The ANZAC league test will remain in Australia.

New Zealand Rugby League had hoped to stage the annual fixture at Eden Park this year, but NZRL chief executive Phil Holden says that won't be happening.

Holden says the NRL's broadcast arrangements with Channel Nine have been the major stumbling block.

"There's some obligations there that we weren't aware of that's basically seen that particular fixture being probably played in Brisbane, more than likely."

It now remains to be seen if the Kiwis will play in New Zealand this year.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Further proof the arlc are just as useless and conflicted as previous admins.

 

[CC_Roosters]

Typical of nine restricting the game, really need rid of them next time round even if its less money imo. i wonder can the players be persuaded to play a test in new zealand post season amoung their busy break plans.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

9 has their interest only in mind, I hope the ARLC are watching, not much they could have done last time yet they still managed to remove the flr from the equation and we could have been stuck with that for another 20 years yet.

 

[watcher]

I am a Kiwi but have no problem with this rescheduling as NZ had the 4 Nations final. However, when you look at the ANZAC tests I believe only 2 of 14 have been played in NZ. In that sense there has been a bias in the scheduling. To be fair we sort of expect this from the ARL as they are only puppets with TV's hand up their arses and TV only acts in self-interest.

 

[roughyedspud]

can't risk the kiwis going on a winning streak now can we??


the NZRL should tell them to piss off and play samoa in auckland instead...reckon they'ed get 20,000+ at mt smart for that..

 

[watcher]

can't risk the kiwis going on a winning streak now can we??


the NZRL should tell them to piss off and play samoa in auckland instead...reckon they'ed get 20,000+ at mt smart for that..

Any other year I might agree, but the centenary of ANZAC at Gallipoli, I personally don't want to stoop to TV's level. I think respect for those guys come first.

 

[Abicus]

Sigh. So does the game have an announced date?

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Nein would prefer it was in February on a night off at the cricket world cup. Centenary of gallipoli Anzac test - February 26.

 

[strong_latte]

Scrap the test. It's played in a ridiculous time of the season and no one cares about it - we ought to just have a straight 3 test series with the Kiwis at the end of the season.

 

[The Great Dane]

I think for the first time in my life I'm sort of in a round about way, going to defend Nine.

Have we seen any evidence at all that the ARLC was even entertaining the idea of holding the game in NZ?

Considering that this year is the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli and the current trend in Australian culture is to glorify the ANZACs, from the ARLCs and NRLs perspective's holding the game in NZ this year would be commercial insanity, literally just flushing tens of thousands of dollars down the toilet.

I'm not saying that Nine would have been behind the idea of holding the game in NZ, as I very much doubt that they would have wanted the game held in NZ (as it would likely lose them tens of thousands as well), it just seem to me that Nine is being used as an excuse as to why the game isn't being played in NZ next year, when in fact the ARLC and by extension the NRL have no interest at all in playing the game in NZ.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Oh well that's okay then.

 

[Tigers1986]

It doesn't matter where the game is being played, so long as the ANZAC tradition is acknowledged and well represented through the contest.

I'd love for the game to be scrapped after this year though and engage in a bi-annual 3-match series against NZ at the end of the year. It'd mean so much more.

 

[langpark]

I think for the first time in my life I'm sort of in a round about way, going to defend Nine.

Have we seen any evidence at all that the ARLC was even entertaining the idea of holding the game in NZ?

Considering that this year is the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli and the current trend in Australian culture is to glorify the ANZACs, from the ARLCs and NRLs perspective's holding the game in NZ this year would be commercial insanity, literally just flushing tens of thousands of dollars down the toilet.

I'm not saying that Nine would have been behind the idea of holding the game in NZ, as I very much doubt that they would have wanted the game held in NZ (as it would likely lose them tens of thousands as well), it just seem to me that Nine is being used as an excuse as to why the game isn't being played in NZ next year, when in fact the ARLC and by extension the NRL have no interest at all in playing the game in NZ.

Agreed, but it would be much more that. Just based on some rough calculations I did, it would be well into the 6 figures, over the half a million mark I estimate.

 

[roughyedspud]

don't forget.....this game was supposed to be played in turkey lmao

 

[insert.pause]

They will get close to a sellout at Suncorp if they market it well, lots of kiwis in brisbane and NZ coming off back to back wins against Aus, the game really sells itself. Phil Holden sounded pretty naive concerning the broadcast obligations.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

So basically they can't organise a game anywhere else. Every trans Tasman test from now on will be at lang park.

 

[insert.pause]

It was at the SFS last year, Canberra the year before, then Auckland, Gold Coast, Melbourne. The last time it was held in Brisbane was 2009. Sydney did itself no favours for hosting it again anytime soon.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

The last trans Tasman test in Brisbane was literally weeks ago.

 

[The Great Dane]

Oh well that's okay then.

From a business point of view it's without a doubt the best decision.

From a grow the sport at any costs point of view it's not, but if the game goes broke then there's no sport to grow anyway.

Besides if our interests are only to grow the game as much as possible, then the best place to hold the games in Australasia would be either Perth or Melbourne. There're more fresh eyes and much more valuable untapped/under serviced markets in the south and west of Australia then there are in NZ, that's not a knock on either NZ or the NZRL, it's just a fact.

If we were to look at it on a world scale from a grow the sport as much possible point of view, then China would be hosting the game, but that's not realistic is it.

don't forget.....this game was supposed to be played in turkey lmao

Yes and the Turkish government stopped the game from going ahead because they don't have the infrastructure to support the influx of tourism that is already scheduled for this year.

Literally thousands of proposed events for this year were turned down by the Turkish government, including AFL games and a bunch of other events of similar types.

There isn't a great deal that the NRL could do about that.