NRL faces major turmoil as clubs threaten breakaway league

[Von Hipper]

Your view is happening is it? And what the f**k is that then?

As we've already seen your "view" of things is complete bullshit.

please, don't lead me down your rabbit hole and hit me with your stupid-stick.

Everything you have done has tried to derail this.

But again, I must ask: why can't the rugby league/arlc, whoever, do this, what they are doing?

just why. Why not? Will you put some 'substance' into it all?

 

[Von Hipper]

Believe it or not there are some clubs that do give a toss about the sport. It depends on who is running them and a couple give quite a bit of funding to the junior clubs under them.

NSWRL give a gigantic rats ass about the sport. Under manned to an extent but they really do it for the "game".

The NRL are the ones that don't give a flying "F" about the game. Which is stupid really anyone with a brain knows that if you grow the game properly then its good for all levels.

I agree too. Its such a shame the NSWRL is anywhere near the running of the sport still. The QRL show them up on everything and in every way.

 

[Knight76]

Sorry I disagree

Today NRL grants equal Salary Cap

So a club can't spend more than another club on players and no need to spend less

The trick then is to manage off field costs within budget. And not set false revenue expectations

You know I read this comment and your post three times trying to dissect it and give you the benefit of the doubt, either your saying clubs should stop spending above the cap and stick to what they have been given...or we have found a new defining example of stupid!

Unfortunately in this game, you need to pay to be competitive. Simply spending the cap money alone won't make you consistently competitive. Sure, you can hover around the 8 and cycle back out of it again as you delicately balanced playing roster fluctuates. But to stay consistently in the top 8, especially the top 4 means you need to be utilising TPA's and money above the cap amount to secure those one or two additional quality players that make all the difference.

Perhaps if the league was concerned about clubs all losing money hand over fist each year, they could put something in place to control the spend of clubs. Oh I don't know, something like a salary cap sounds like a great idea, but one that works.

The easiest way I can see this happening is to place nominal value on players. A minimum said player is worth under the cap. Clubs can apply to the NRL to devalue a player to deal with cases like a player long term injured coming back etc.

Anyway, there is no perfect way to deal with it, the same way that the existing cap is not working perfectly. i don't think many with an interest in a successful league could argue that the current salary cap is working way, way less than perfectly, and another system such as nominal value or some other mechanism, could actually get closer to the ideal of a cap on player salary.

Now the usual bullshit about no turning away money from the game or that the league will be stripped of it's talent is exactly that, bullshit!

Not all money in to the game is positive and productive, ask any of the clubs disgraced by deliberate salary cap rorting that question. And finally, talent is constantly being produced. Rugby League is not at risk of running out of talent, sure, some will leave to chase the almighty dollar, but in the oval ball game there is only a few avenues that can take that can legitimately pay them more than an NRL contract.

Those few players who do leave and try their hand at union, or in the superleague, can go for it, some will come skulking back, others will make a fist of it. The league is not worse off for their departure. Until we have the guts to let them leave without fear, we will always struggle pandering to the games so called elite players.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...o/news-story/7eda94109240352e87f1ee0d2796054f

NRL clubs considering legal action against their own governing over funding fiasco

DEAN RITCHIE & PHIL ROTHFIELD, EXCLUSIVE, The Daily Telegraph
7 minutes ago

IN an unprecedented move, the 16 NRL clubs are considering legal action against their own governing body over the $1.8 billion funding fiasco.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal club chairmen discussed taking the extraordinary steps of suing the NRL in a weekend phone hook-up.

The move follows confirmation the agreement with the clubs to pay them 30 per cent over the salary cap was contained in NRL’s 2015 annual report lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Under the heading, the key elements of the funding package include, it reads:

“A base grant of 130 per cent of total player payments from 2018 to 2022 — the only major Australian sporting code to fully cover payer costs.”

And chairman John Grant is quoted as saying: “This is a unique opportunity for rugby league and we are going to work together to make the most of it. This funding allows us to achieve our ambition of making the game stronger at every level — from the grassroots through to the elite levels.”

The NRL has since backflipped on the formal ASIC document and wants to redirect the money away from the original share model.

In what would be the game’s blackest day since Super League, the club chairmen and women spoke of potential legal action in their latest phone hook up on Sunday.

“We are certainly considering it, yes,” said one prominent club chairman. “Our legal advice is that would win the case.”

Melbourne chairman and spokesman for the clubs, Bart Campbell, wasn’t shying away from future action.

“In a pure business context, if you tried to walk out of a position that was that far advanced where you have a signed MOU (memorandum of understanding) and you’ve announced to the world, you would be very, very, very clearly held accountable in a legal context for your actions,” Campbell said.

“You can’t just walk away at that point in time. Eighteen months of agreement, you just can’t walk out of it at the final minute. We want them to honour the commitment they made. The commitment they signed up to and the commitment that they announced.

“Just because they have had a change of heart about how they want to spend the money, doesn’t mean that the only source of where that money comes from is the clubs.

“The clubs have acted in reliance on the MOU being put into place and have made business decisions in good faith and made on the assumption that the MOU, which was agreed, signed and announced, would be in place. Just to be clear, no-one from club land wants to run the game.”

Another chairman took a hefty swipe at the commission, claiming members “sit in their little glass buildings and turn up with absolutely no idea of what is happening in the real world. They can’t be so far divorced from the reality of club land and state land.”

The clubs are pushing ahead for an extraordinary general meeting to remove Grant.

“This is a process that has been going 18 months — it is fully negotiated and that the basis of the numbers are their (the NRL) own model,” Campbell said. “Their own numbers, were reviewed by Ernst and Young, their auditors.”

On a revamped commission, clubs want five independent commissioners along with two representatives from the clubs and one from the state bodies.

“The clubs aren’t trying to take control — they have no desire to do so,” Campbell said.

 

[unforgiven]

how much of a country person are you? If you are 23 and in the country, you want to be ANYWHERE but the country.

especially if you have the following bankable skills, but not limited to

maths, science, history, sport, technology, you name it.

The proposal doesn't take away those chances for the under 23 players in the country, it takes away rep opportunities for players over 23. A country rugby league player at 24 will now have no opportunity to play rep footy. I will also tell you that a lot of young country people stay in the country, not because they have no skills, but because they choose to. I mean some of these people actually go away to study and return as soon as their studies are completed.

 

[Von Hipper]

The proposal doesn't take away those chances for the under 23 players in the country, it takes away rep opportunities for players over 23. A country rugby league player at 24 will now have no opportunity to play rep footy. I will also tell you that a lot of young country people stay in the country, not because they have no skills, but because they choose to. I mean some of these people actually go away to study and return as soon as their studies are completed.

That does not always have to be the way. I am all for being accommodating and if our mate east coast tiger had just kept with the program, I dont 100% disagree with that sentiment. But they can adjust. Like I said, they would have to leave at some time. Im not saying its ideal, but I support what the ARLC is doing in this regard - the talented ones can go away. Lets face it, most people make the nrl late teens early 20s.

being streamlined and all, I think they want a greater concentration of quality closer to the big smoke.

__

As for east coast, I am sure he has another message for me coming right up.

I think he is just upset that he came here to get his views reaffirmed but instead found them challenged.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

please, don't lead me down your rabbit hole and hit me with your stupid-stick.

Everything you have done has tried to derail this.

But again, I must ask: why can't the rugby league/arlc, whoever, do this, what they are doing?

just why. Why not? Will you put some 'substance' into it all?

Wtf?

I posted about stupid new rep "pathways". You're the one who started talking shit about every young person in country NSW wants to leave, which is clearly bullshit, never mind relevant to the issue.

I don't even know what the f**k you're on about now.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/n...s/news-story/00dc127b832afefdfb1b6b7471c769ad

Knights chairman Brian McGuigan says John Grant has ‘stuffed up’ and must apologise to clubs
November 28, 2016 9:42pm
Barry Toohey

NEWCASTLE chairman Brian McGuigan says John Grant “stuffed up” and has called on the ARL Commission chairman to immediately apologise in a bid to bring warring factions back to the negotiating table to resolve the funding crisis issue.

The Gold Coast Titans weren’t the only club not to sign a formal letter calling for Grant to resign with McGuigan revealing the NRL-controlled Knights also abstained from voting.

“How can we vote against the hand that feeds us?’’ McGuigan said.

“The Titans and ourselves abstained from voting with the complete understanding of the other clubs because we are in an invidious position.

“But we are as one with all the other clubs — it’s just the way we go about resolving it is the issue now.”

McGuigan said he never considered walking out of the meeting with Grant last Wednesday but can understand the views of those who did.

“For me, walking out was too extreme but some of the chairman who did walk were the people who were part of the subcommittee that had been directly negotiating with the NRL,” he said.

“That’s why they felt so concerned and deflated by the NRL saying they were cancelling the talks and going back to scratch.

“It hit them very hard because I think we all felt we were within a couple of hours of having all our issues agree to before having the rug pulled out from under us.”

While he said he couldn’t speak for other chairmen, McGuigan said he is prepared to meet with Grant later this week to keep the dialogue going.

But he said an apology has to be the first port of call.

“I would hope there would be an apology from Johns to all those chairmen who were offended by the way in which we were disrespected,” he said.

“By the way in which the whole thing has been handled and presented.

“John stuffed up. He has admitted everywhere that Wednesday’s gospel was a fiasco and that the chairmen, particularly the negotiating people were offended and that has got to be corrected by an apology.

“He had only returned home that morning and I don’t think it had been prepared well enough or thought through well enough when it was presented.

“I’d put it down to a lack of being updated about every body’s expectations.

“I hope we can get back together and thrash it out. People will be sceptical about such a view but I just think you get a lot further with honey than you do with vinegar.”

McGuigan admitted he doesn’t know if a resolution is possible with Grant remaining as chairman given the hostility from other clubs.

“I don’t have an answer to that,” he said.

“We have received some correspondence from John which I’m yet to respond to but will say I am available for meetings at any time because the only way to resolve this is to talk.

“We have to get back to talk. If we can’t with everybody, we have to go by ourselves and hopefully as a result of moving forward, we can entice some of those other chairmen back.

“We have to find a way to go forward and get this resolved for the good of the game.”

 

[Von Hipper]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...o/news-story/7eda94109240352e87f1ee0d2796054f

NRL clubs considering legal action against their own governing over funding fiasco

DEAN RITCHIE & PHIL ROTHFIELD, EXCLUSIVE, The Daily Telegraph
7 minutes ago

IN an unprecedented move, the 16 NRL clubs are considering legal action against their own governing body over the $1.8 billion funding fiasco.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal club chairmen discussed taking the extraordinary steps of suing the NRL in a weekend phone hook-up.

The move follows confirmation the agreement with the clubs to pay them 30 per cent over the salary cap was contained in NRL’s 2015 annual report lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Under the heading, the key elements of the funding package include, it reads:

“A base grant of 130 per cent of total player payments from 2018 to 2022 — the only major Australian sporting code to fully cover payer costs.”

And chairman John Grant is quoted as saying: “This is a unique opportunity for rugby league and we are going to work together to make the most of it. This funding allows us to achieve our ambition of making the game stronger at every level — from the grassroots through to the elite levels.”

The NRL has since backflipped on the formal ASIC document and wants to redirect the money away from the original share model.

In what would be the game’s blackest day since Super League, the club chairmen and women spoke of potential legal action in their latest phone hook up on Sunday.

“We are certainly considering it, yes,” said one prominent club chairman. “Our legal advice is that would win the case.”

Melbourne chairman and spokesman for the clubs, Bart Campbell, wasn’t shying away from future action.

“In a pure business context, if you tried to walk out of a position that was that far advanced where you have a signed MOU (memorandum of understanding) and you’ve announced to the world, you would be very, very, very clearly held accountable in a legal context for your actions,” Campbell said.

“You can’t just walk away at that point in time. Eighteen months of agreement, you just can’t walk out of it at the final minute. We want them to honour the commitment they made. The commitment they signed up to and the commitment that they announced.

“Just because they have had a change of heart about how they want to spend the money, doesn’t mean that the only source of where that money comes from is the clubs.

“The clubs have acted in reliance on the MOU being put into place and have made business decisions in good faith and made on the assumption that the MOU, which was agreed, signed and announced, would be in place. Just to be clear, no-one from club land wants to run the game.”

Another chairman took a hefty swipe at the commission, claiming members “sit in their little glass buildings and turn up with absolutely no idea of what is happening in the real world. They can’t be so far divorced from the reality of club land and state land.”

The clubs are pushing ahead for an extraordinary general meeting to remove Grant.

“This is a process that has been going 18 months — it is fully negotiated and that the basis of the numbers are their (the NRL) own model,” Campbell said. “Their own numbers, were reviewed by Ernst and Young, their auditors.”

On a revamped commission, clubs want five independent commissioners along with two representatives from the clubs and one from the state bodies.

“The clubs aren’t trying to take control — they have no desire to do so,” Campbell said.

The clubs disgust me. They have the perfect oppotunity right now I'd bet to go to the ARLC, lets do 1.5 then 2 then 2.5/year.

They're pigs and not overly bright, surely.

Where's P.R??

 

[Canard]

At the very least the ARLC have done a shitty job of explaining why they are back flipping on their own proposal.

Surely there is more substance then "cause grassroots".

 

[Von Hipper]

Wtf?

I posted about stupid new rep "pathways". You're the one who started talking shit about every young person in country NSW wants to leave, which is clearly bullshit, never mind relevant to the issue.

I don't even know what the f**k you're on about now.

No. Here you only do yourself no favors, disgusting.

They will have to move. You can't have what you want, I will get your bottle, tho, bubba..... gagaga bagagaga

Gawd.

You're lost because you were lost to begin with.

They will have to travel to rep now. I guess you don't have what it takes to keep up with this conversation - its been quite simple though...

 

[Von Hipper]

At the very least the ARLC have done a shitty job of explaining why they are back flipping on their own proposal.

Surely there is more substance then "cause grassroots".

I wish they would be more expressive. I think they have been but to us the letters, ect seem simple.

I think someone came out and insulted the clubs. I think they deserved to hear it. A lot of those guys are there because they want to be, not because they're qualified.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

That does not always have to be the way. I am all for being accommodating and if our mate east coast tiger had just kept with the program, I dont 100% disagree with that sentiment. But they can adjust. Like I said, they would have to leave at some time. Im not saying its ideal, but I support what the ARLC is doing in this regard - the talented ones can go away. Lets face it, most people make the nrl late teens early 20s.

being streamlined and all, I think they want a greater concentration of quality closer to the big smoke.

__

As for east coast, I am sure he has another message for me coming right up.

I think he is just upset that he came here to get his views reaffirmed but instead found them challenged.

You're the only one challenging my ideas and you did so by making up some shit about every young bloke wanting to leave the bush.

And you still don't get what unforgiven is saying. Not surprisingly.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

No. Here you only do yourself no favors, disgusting.

They will have to move. You can't have what you want, I will get your bottle, tho, bubba..... gagaga bagagaga

Gawd.

You're lost because you were lost to begin with.

They will have to travel to rep now. I guess you don't have what it takes to keep up with this conversation - its been quite simple though...

I don't have anything to add.

I think this argues my point better than anything else.

 

[Canard]

You're the only one challenging my ideas and you did so by making up some shit about every young bloke wanting to leave the bush.

And you still don't get what unforgiven is saying. Not surprisingly.

Jesus ECT, please stop engaging with the f**kwit. Ignore him and he will go away.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Jesus ECT, please stop engaging with the f**kwit. Ignore him and he will go away.

Yeah but in my defence I didn't realise he was full genius until just now.

 

[unforgiven]

No. Here you only do yourself no favors, disgusting.

They will have to move. You can't have what you want, I will get your bottle, tho, bubba..... gagaga bagagaga

Gawd.

You're lost because you were lost to begin with.

They will have to travel to rep now. I guess you don't have what it takes to keep up with this conversation - its been quite simple though...

I really don't understand your argument, this conversation actually has nothing to do with this thread but I'm in it now.

Can you please tell me why a country rugby league group should not choose an open rugby league side to represent their group to play against other groups?

Why shouldn't the best players in a senior rugby league competition be rewarded with rep honors?

Where are these players going to travel to to rep?

We are not talking fringe NRL players here, we are talking about country rugby league players, players who the vast majority are playing for their local town, not playing as a career or financial gain but playing because they love to play footy. You are taking away their opportunity to represent their group, their division etc.

 

[Von Hipper]

I really don't understand your argument, this conversation actually has nothing to do with this thread but I'm in it now.

Can you please tell me why a country rugby league group should not choose an open rugby league side to represent their group to play against other groups?

Why shouldn't the best players in a senior rugby league competition be rewarded with rep honors?

Where are these players going to travel to to rep?

We are not talking fringe NRL players here, we are talking about country rugby league players, players who the vast majority are playing for their local town, not playing as a career or financial gain but playing because they love to play footy. You are taking away their opportunity to represent their group, their division etc.

Ok. Is the information correct? We've got toon boy above calling me full genius. He's crying like a girl on the forum every week, but hey...
And we've got other melodramatic people thinking the world is ending.

The information was inferred. It's accurate?

Then it's just a group. Maybe they're doing away with all that just like they're trying to do away with City/country.

Want different, do different. Different century. Those people will adjust if this is all certainly the case.

 

[Von Hipper]

Yeah but in my defence I didn't realise he was full genius until just now.

You go full genius each week on here. Cry this, cry that. Time for a new sport that doesn't screw with your brain.

But have you got any relevant position on the club brawl?

 

[Von Hipper]

Jesus ECT, please stop engaging with the f**kwit. Ignore him and he will go away.

Oh a nasty name. Guess it makes you right!

I'll only start making more sense, canard, if you ignore me, because no one will be obfuscating what I say then.

Btw what's your position on club funding? I don't like legal action.

You bullies better put on your brain hats. It's like a cult in here.