Why do you keep blaming the nrl? I thought raiders had a massive league club empire making squillions of $’s? If that’s true why arent they properly funding grassroots rl in the region? Why arent the raiders investing locally? What would you want the rl to be doing that they arent now? They’re funding an nrl club in canberra which is more than the afl does at the moment.
How long have you got lol.
Put simply almost every decision that the NRL, it's predecessors, and affiliates (NSWRL, CRL, etc) have made for the last 30ish years has undermined grassroots RL in the bush, ACT, and other regions. Whether it be the structure of the salary cap and what recruitment practices it incentivises, the way lower tier and grassroots competitions are structured, funded and supported. How much money is invested into the grassroots and juniors, where that money is spent, and what that money is spent on, etc, all of it, and more, is a shit show and clubs are becoming shells or outright dying because of the impact.
It more or less needs to be completely overhauled at this point because grassroots RL is being out outgunned and outcompeted pretty much everywhere in Southern NSW and the ACT. Things aren't much better anywhere else in country NSW either (with some notable exceptions) and similar patterns are developing in Qld as well (particularly in SEQ).
Now you may think "who cares if a bunch of clubs across the bush go broke", but you should care because those regions in NSW and Qld are massively overrepresented in the NRL's talent pool, and if that source of talent is cut off, or even just seriously effected, without another viable local source to fill the niche, then it'll have massive implications for the sport in the future.
If you want examples of that then just look into the impact the decline of RU participation numbers in the private school system has had on RU, the urbanisation of the population in America has had on Baseball, the growth of American competitors has had on Canadian football in Canada, etc, etc, the examples are plentiful.
If you're one of those people whom thinks "we can just make up the difference by recruiting from the PIs and/or other regions", then I'll say that the ARLC and NRL exist to maintain and grow the sport in Australia and abandoning that would be a dereliction of that duty.
Furthermore look at how that's worked out for RU, or increased recruitment from Central America and Asia has worked out for MLB, recruiting failed American Football players has worked out for the CFL, etc, etc. Sure they have a source of talent so they don't completely collapse overnight, but it doesn't stop the decline. It's a symbiotic relationship; a professional competition needs a healthy grassroots to thrive and vice versa.
Before you say "what about the EPL and [insert other relevant example/s here]. They recruit heavily form other nations and it's not hurting them"; sure, but it's a luxury not a necessity, and the difference is profound.
On the Raiders specifically-
They are but one club, and with or without their business empire they don't have the means or power to bankroll and operate all junior and grassroots RL across such a large region, nor should it be their job. They're also an insufferably nepotistic organisation that couldn't be trusted with such responsibility, but I digress.
businessdesk.co.nz
