NRL rebellion: Rugby league clubs want CEO Dave Smith gone or threaten to leave comp

[East Coast Tiger]

Brilliant people opposed at every turn by dinosaurs at the CRL, NSWRL and club boards who prefer to fight there battles through the media in some twisted proxy war.

I know they have made the mistakes and I have criticised them for the lack of progress on expansion and the timing of the richo report but the clubs and their media buddies have essentially forced the NRL into inking a deal now for club funding with terms that seems to deny the prospect of expansion

Hahaha. These "brilliant people" are so brilliant they keep hiring club "dinosaurs" to do their work for them. Poor, poor suits. The nasty people who actually like, support and know about the game are demanding they listen to them against their will about topics that are crucial to them. What a nerve. If only they could be left alone to allow their brilliance to shine through. FMD.

 

[taipan]

Nonsense from top to bottom.

The NRL were talking up big announcements about expansion by the end of this year. All bulshit of course. Richo was supposed to be investigating it in his amazing blueprint, except the dumb merkins went and sold the TV rights before it was even done.

The demise of the crushers and reds had nothing to do with expansion and everything to do with super league. If the current crop of dickheads ran the game in the early 90s we wouldn't have the cowboys or the warriors because Sydney clubs and the gold coast were struggling. Luckily the admin at the time actually wanted to grow the game and they did it with a fraction of the money that exists now.

As for grassroots money, its all.lip service as usual. They will include every cent spent by NRL development, all the state leagues and the ridiculous amount they're going to waste on stupid shit like the utter puss richo has brain farted for the "platinum league". This is at the same time as they've cut off even more opportunities for bodies like the CRL to make money for themselves. Between money already spent, the waste and the amount they're costing the grassroots this magical $100m figure they've pulled out of thin air will amount to very little, and they know they can always fudge figures to make it look true.


They have no interest in growing the sport and no ability to run it.

If bulls*t was battleships,you would surpass the US 7th Fleet.
No promises re expansion were made by Grant or Smith,possibilities no firm commitments.

The Crushers and Reds were the results of expansion circa Arko.Geez:roll:They are expansion teams.
The Crushers were rushed,,have a look at the players they had on board.The Crushers were formed as were the Reds before SL came in.The Reds deciding to go to SL,the Crushers loyal to the ARL.
The Reds acknowledged they could not be expectedpay for visiting teams hotel and travel and expect to remain buoyant.Whose idea was it they pay for travel etc,not this current admin.

" Grow the game" ,the bush has been squealing out for finances and assistance as long as I can remember under Arko,Sl,etc etc..And Sydney clubs some of whom were up sh*t street without a paddle,when expansion happened.

I'm not even going to comment on your dopey ,fatuous last paras,you nor I have NFI how the extra $100m pa will be spent.

You bitch for bitching's sake.

 

[taipan]

Bullshit, speculation and exaggeration.

Completely ignores myriad issues, glosses over others, gives undue credit and generally believes all the spin and lip service.

Now thats ignorance.

If that's the way you respond to a considered argument,your agenda sticks out like dog's b*lls.

 

[Perth Red]

Like most things in life it's neither all bad or all good. Your perception of which end of the scale the commissions performance is wil determine how well you think they have performed in the three and a half years they have been in charge.

If I'm just a fan of my local NRL club that has been struggling for years to make ends meet I am pretty happy. If I am a fan in an area without a team and hoping to get one I'm pretty frustrated. If I care about grass roots and growth of the game I'm pretty disappointed so far. If I believe internationals are what will take the gane beyond its current narrow global exposure I'd be very dissapointed. We all sit somewhere depending on what you're interested in and what you think the game could be and by when.

Now I've seen the tv deal and what's come out of richo's report, so far, I am more convince than ever that smith walked from frustration, just my opinion of course before people start whinging! I believe smith had a vision for growth at all levels not shared by the risk averse commission.

 

[taipan]

In 2012 the NRL under gallop lost money for that year.There was stuff all in the "war chest".
2013 apparently $50m on hand and after forking out monies to Titans,Knights,Dragons and Tigers a lesser amount available.

These monies were designated for stadium improvements in cahoots with State Govt.The NSW Govt and the NRL working along those lines.
Grassroots has suffered due to lack of decent funding,that will multiply in 2018 and onwards.

As far as Sydney clubs and the Titans are concerned,of course their fans want continuity for their clubs.They don't want to lose them ,and have to give up rl,or go to other codes,as happened with Nth Sydney and also to a lesser extent the joint venture clubs.

It's all very well to continue to compare the AFL and their expansion with the so called lack of expansion of the NRL.
The Swans were a basket case when they moved to Sydney,nearly folded on more than a couple of occasions,and fortuitously did well,when the SL war came into being.Rugby league lost fans tho the Swans.The Lions an expansion team are bleeding money ,despite being Premiers on a couple of occasions,and GWS and the Sunnobs are sucking up large sums of AFL coin.

The AFL has the money and has so, for more than a few years,with far better Tv deals and game revenue>they can splash money around,whereas ATM the NRL has not had the money to do so.If they had these monies ,Perth and Banana 2 ,would have been announced by now.

Picture where the NRL would be now,if Gallop had secured close to $700m over 5 years instead of $500m over 6 years.The code would IMO have been in a position to expedite expansion.Every man and his mut,knew Gallop undersold the code,and the code is still feeling the ripple effect.


The current choices are between whiteanting your current clubs' fan base by relocating or axing them,and throwing what money you have in the kitty to underpin expansion clubs to the expense of grassroots. It's like a pie divided up,which are the priorities,and which are the risky slices that could undo the code.Yes business takes risks all the time,but they should be calculated and intended not to stuff up the core business.Have a look at the Masters hardware stores debacle.

The other point to consider,the NRL still has not finalised the remainder of its deals for the 2018-2022 period,nor has the Richardson report been made fully public.The Commission are mainly successful business people,whatever decision is made will be done with business nouse.
I don't care if they are called suits,slackers whatever,as long as they do it for the benefit of the code as a whole.

 

[Perth Red]

Again. On.y a fool would be talking about expansion now. What we are talking about is a long term strategy made public so we know where and when we can expect the gane to grow. No problem at al if they came out and said" our expansion plan is to introduce brisbane2 in 2019 and Perth in 2020 and in the next 4 years we will be doing X,y and z to ensure our expansion is sustainable and successful". Instead since 2009 we have been hearing rhetoric about maybe, possibly, soon, not yet but we are looking at it etc etc and 7 years on still no idea about if the game has any real intention. This week was no different: grant " we are not looking at expansion at the moment" well how long is that "moment"?

Show us a plan, get us excited, lay the foundations and grow the game at all levels including NRL clubs, hopefully richo's report will do this. Time will tell.

You can slate afl expansion but the reality is they are 20 years ahead of us in implementing a strategic plan for a national capital city presence. The last two deals without the nrl's conflict of interest in play they have got more $'s from Australian media deals and they have structured their fianancing of clubs to support the poor, not give so much to the rich and still comfortably afford significant investment in expansion.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...cast-rights-deal/story-fnp0lyn3-1227634993544

John Grant eager to do more after securing game’s broadcast rights deal
James HooperThe Sunday Telegraph

A FORTNIGHT ago, his enemies in NRL club land were plotting to knife Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant out of head office before Christmas.

The coup was no guarantee to be successful but once again underlines how the politics of rugby league off the field is often equally as brutal as the football on it.

After presiding over a broadcast deal tipped to top $2 billion and brokering peace with the often-warring 16 clubs, Grant has shown the type of strong leadership the NRL is often accused of lacking at Rugby League Central in Moore Park.

But he’s not prepared to rest there. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the ARLC chairman has opened up on the campaign to try and unseat him, why the NRL needed to spend $15 million to strengthen its staff at HQ and issued a call for a ceasefire in the agenda-driven off-field politics in rugby league.

“The landmark deal with the clubs gives everyone the opportunity to let go. The great wish I’ve got for this game is that we all let go and go forward,” Grant said.

“The opportunity is just enormous. We have destroyed value in this game by all of the stuff that goes on inside it.

“People that might invest there time and energy as fans or their money as advertisers look at this game and see all the stuff that’s gone on and it’s not a good brand or a solid enough brand to be involved in for a lot of people.

“We’ve got to change that brand.

“So the club’s agreement is to me the most significant landmark that I can think of in administration of rugby league. So now we all need to behave that way.

“The broadcast agreement is hugely significant because it funds what you need to do and it’s funded the agreement with the clubs.”

EXPANSION OR RELOCATION

Under previous NRL CEO Dave Smith the prospect of one of the nine clubs in Sydney being relocated was explored, while expansion has long been on the agenda.

Recently-departed Nine Network CEO David Gyngell campaigned long and hard for a second side in Brisbane, but Grant believes if you do expand the number of teams would need to go to 18 in order for the draw to work.

In the immediate future, it’s not high on the agenda.

“I look across all the teams and I see futures. And I see futures much better than their immediate pasts,” Grant said.

“I personally as a commissioner am quite comforted by where we are now, particularly with the new funding arrangement.

“You’ve got be really careful about thinking about moving or closing anything because you’ve got communities to think about.

“The Gold Coast is a classic example. Three sides in 20 years and every time you close one down you somehow marginalise a section of the community.

“If we left the Gold Coast we would never, ever have been able to put another team back on the Gold Coast.

“So I think with you’re more established Sydney clubs it’s very difficult to even contemplate pulling a club away from their fans.

“This whole debate about their being too many clubs in NSW, I don’t think that’s an issue at all.”

NRL HEAD OFFICE IS TOO TOP HEAVY WITH EXECUTIVES

One of the major gripes among NRL clubs is the amount of money perceived to be wasted on a top-heavy administration at Rugby League Central.

Grant disagrees, mounting a strong case about why the Commission has overseen a $15 million spend in beefing-up its staff roster.

“Under Dave Smith’s tenure, you’ve got to remember he came into an environment that needed to be driven hard because it had been gridlocked for a long time,” Grant said.

“In driving for growth you’ve got to spend money and we had ostensibly money to spend after the previous broadcast deal. So we spent a lot of money getting top line.

“The exercise so far has taken about $15 million in costs out of the business.

“So when we say frivolously spending money I don’t think we were necessarily frivolously spending but I do think we were spending money to achieve our growth targets.

“We’re now in a period of consolidation. We’ve been able to take some money out and now we can focus on the things that are really important for the business for the next stage.”
The game’s big guns at the announcement of the broadcast rights deal.

THE NEW CEO

This week Grant’s name has entered the discussion as a possible new CEO at the NRL, especially given the strong month he has overseen since Smith’s departure.

Grant said he would not be applying for the vacant CEO’s role but intends to remain on as Chairman of the ARLC for at least another two years.

“Let me scotch that one. I’m not a CEO candidate. I’ve been a CEO for 19 years and I’ve loved it but I’m over being a CEO,” Grant said.

“Having said that this period where I’m doing some of these additional duties as chair, which is CEO-like, we’re making so much progress that it’s very rewarding.

“That doesn’t mean I want to continue. I’ve got another two years as NRL chair and I don’t see myself making the decision to leave before the end of that term.

“At the end of that term I’ll make a call about whether I want to continue on.”

 

[insert.pause]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...cast-rights-deal/story-fnp0lyn3-1227634993544

You gotta include the picture! I wonder what message they were trying to send by having Politis & Dib on either side of Grant...:lol:

 

[Perth Red]

That interview says everything unsaid about why smith walked. He had a vision for a national game growing out across the South Pacific region that required less sydney teams, grant is happy with the status quo. Grants done a great job ousting the person that may have caused upset that could have seen him ousted, rushing through a tv deal so he had the $'s to buy the clubs favour thus saving his own neck. It is top drawer machiavellian manoeuvring, well played to Him, Australia's prime minister could learn a thing or two from him about staying in power!
Let's just hope it doesn't cost the game in the long term.

 

[siv]

Agree that the clubs needed to be sorted out as a priority

And kill off any SL MKII scenario

Looks like pathways will be next on the agenda

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

That interview says everything unsaid about why smith walked. He had a vision for a national game growing out across the South Pacific region that required less sydney teams, grant is happy with the status quo. Grants done a great job ousting the person that may have caused upset that could have seen him ousted, rushing through a tv deal so he had the $'s to buy the clubs favour thus saving his own neck. It is top drawer machiavellian manoeuvring, well played to Him, Australia's prime minister could learn a thing or two from him about staying in power!
Let's just hope it doesn't cost the game in the long term.

Blah blah
Whinge whinge
Bitch bitch
Whine whine .

 

[taipan]

You gotta include the picture! I wonder what message they were trying to send by having Politis & Dib on either side of Grant...:lol:

We are the power behind the throne.
Or we have have made you an offer you can't refuse else horseheads in beds.

 

[insert.pause]

More like we are one big happy family again, not sure I believe it.

 

[Card Shark]

Yep, another bullshit Telegraph / Hooper story.

1 extreme to the other.

 

[CC_Roosters]

That interview says everything unsaid about why smith walked. He had a vision for a national game growing out across the South Pacific region that required less sydney teams, grant is happy with the status quo. Grants done a great job ousting the person that may have caused upset that could have seen him ousted, rushing through a tv deal so he had the $'s to buy the clubs favour thus saving his own neck. It is top drawer machiavellian manoeuvring, well played to Him, Australia's prime minister could learn a thing or two from him about staying in power!
Let's just hope it doesn't cost the game in the long term.

Honestly I don't think you are far from the truth. Smith made noises about expansion, mostly related to Richo's work. However grant seems to be doing his best to tell us it is not happening anytime soon. The last two quotes form him have alluded to it "not being on the radar", I think part of this club agreement is no expansion until the next funding cycle i.e 2022+ which if is the case would be a travesty. I don't think the strategic review is going to see the light of day either and Richo will be quietly pushed out the door down the track for someone with less ideas and a more conservative notion on what the games footprint should look like at elite level.

The competition is stale and the format boring and rewards mediocracy. Hence why we have 15 mediocre to basketcase football clubs off the field

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ew-funding-deal-with-nrl-20151206-glgk4i.html

Clubs to foot bill for unpopular time slots in new funding deal with NRL

Date
December 6, 2015 - 2:35PM

Brad Walter
Sports Reporter

NRL clubs will no longer receive financial compensation for playing home games on Monday nights or in other unpopular time slots under the new funding agreement with the ARL Commission.

While the ARLC met most of the key demands of the 16 clubs by committing to provide them with an additional $3 million each over the next two years and annual grants equating to 130 per cent of the salary cap from 2018 to 2022, they have foregone some of the discretionary funding previously provided.

Instead, all clubs will receive the same funding from the ARLC and it will be largely up to them to decide how the money is spent.

As a result, clubs will not receive an extra $40,000 for each Monday night game they host as compensation for lower gate takings and sponsorship than matches played in other time slots.

There will also be no compensation for hosting matches in the new 6pm Friday timeslot to be introduced from 2017, which Sydney clubs fear will be too early for fans to get to after work.

Cronulla and Melbourne are the clubs with the most Monday night matches at home next season, with both scheduled to host three games in the first 20 rounds – although one of the Storm's matches is the Anzac Day clash with the Warriors, which is likely to be a sell-out at AAMI Park.

Manly, Canterbury, Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans will each host two Monday night games in the opening 20 rounds, while another six clubs – Parramatta, Wests Tigers, South Sydney, Newcastle, North Queensland and Canberra – have been allocated one.

The details of the new funding deal are still to be finalised but the NRL believes that the compensation has been built into the package announced last Thursday, although Brisbane, St George Illawarra, Penrith and the Warriors have not been scheduled to host any Monday night games.

"The NRL is working through the details of the Memorandum of Understanding with the clubs but the principle of equal funding applies," an NRL spokesperson said.

While Monday Night Football has been hugely successful for Fox Sports, averaging 263,000 viewers and providing four of the network's five most watched matches this season, it will be scrapped in 2017 and replaced by a 6pm Friday night game to be broadcast on Pay-TV.

Should crowds be poor, there will be no additional compensation for the clubs hosting matches in the 6pm time slot on Friday night.

It has been reported that many of the 6pm Friday night matches would be played in New Zealand, where they could kick off at 8pm.

However, Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle recently told Fairfax Media his club only expected to host four Friday night matches per season and would be keen to avoid playing in Auckland on the same night that the Blues played home games in the Super Rugby competition.

The Storm have also been mooted as a club likely to play a large portion of home matches at 6pm on Friday as AAMI Park is close to the Melbourne CBD, along with the Raiders, Knights and Dragons as it is considered easier for fans in regional cities to get to games in that time slot than those in Sydney or Brisbane.

 

[Last Week]

That interview says everything unsaid about why smith walked. He had a vision for a national game growing out across the South Pacific region that required less sydney teams, grant is happy with the status quo. Grants done a great job ousting the person that may have caused upset that could have seen him ousted, rushing through a tv deal so he had the $'s to buy the clubs favour thus saving his own neck. It is top drawer machiavellian manoeuvring, well played to Him, Australia's prime minister could learn a thing or two from him about staying in power!
Let's just hope it doesn't cost the game in the long term.

Wow, so from that article, you've worked out how and why Dave Smith left... Unbelievable.

 

[alien]

Hence why we have 15 mediocre to basketcase football clubs off the field

So are the Roosters mediocre or a basket case???

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

So are the Roosters mediocre or a basket case???

There are 16 NRL clubs

 

[adamkungl]

His opinions aren't wrong, but they can't be taken seriously when he clearly has an agenda. Same with Perth Red.

We all want expansion. We all also want all our clubs to be strong.

What people aren't respecting is that the commission has a responsibility to the current clubs before any expansion clubs. They cannot spend a significant amount of money on expanding the NRL competition unless it significantly assists the current clubs.

I don't believe they can't afford 2 more club grants with the sheer size of the deal they have secured. Furthermore, an inability to convince current clubs how an extra game per week and further national or international reach is beneficial for them shows either an unwillingness or inability to move the game forward.

If we're going to criticise the commission, do it for things where they haven't had to be very political with the clubs over things. Our newest TV deal is very open to criticism, Tasmania Rugby League is the biggest tragedy, or lack of movement in affiliated states for junior footy, etc etc.

They're heaps open to criticism for plenty of legitimate things. But when you're primary issue is the fact that certain areas don't have an NRL side, it's pretty clear that your not concerned about the game but rather you opinion on the NRL competition.

And they've been covered extensively elsewhere.

The NRL competition is the centrepiece of the whole operation and should attract the most attention. We all know it has various flaws, but the NRL is too afraid to even slightly upset the status quo to fix them. So we have endless deckchair shuffling:

-Thursday games instead of (as well as!) Monday games, instead of really revamping the draw in a fair manner.
-Shot clocks instead of dealing with the scourge that is video ref overuse.
-Knee jerk rule tinkering instead of really giving the rule book a thorough analysis.
-Re-arranging NSW Cup where no one will notice/care instead of expanding the top level or implementing a national 2nd tier comp.
-Not only a failure to address crowds plateauing at mediocre levels, actively contributing to them declining.

And then we look outside the NRL:
- Lack of meaningful commitment anywhere outside the East coast of Australia.
- NRL draw and attitude contributing to a lack of room for a decent test series.
- New Zealand being the only nation the NRL seems to give a shit about in regards to International footy

What has really changed since the Gallop era? They've got 2 massive TV deals with influxes of cash. That's it.

To date, their only achievement is NRL players getting more money, slightly lowering the risk of Union poaching stars.

The ARLC has contributed nothing of note to the growth of the game within Australia or outside of it.

The ARLC has contributed to worse quality football due to Todd Greenberg's rulebook f**king, and has seen crowds slowly decline.

The ARLC has done nothing to address long running player burnout complaints, except stop Australia playing tests for a year - which effects a small group of players and does nothing to address the overall problem.