NZRL off field business mismanagement to be reviewed by Independent body

[Burns]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=11948859

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"The review into the failed Kiwis 2017 World Cup campaign will be significantly widened, also encompassing an examination of the state of the governing body.

As well as an analysis into how it went so wrong for the Kiwis, there will also be hard questions for the New Zealand Rugby League to answer.

Beyond the Kiwis, there were other concerns around the tournament.

The World Cup was in New Zealand for the first time, and won't be held in this country again until at least 2029, with the 2021 tournament in England followed by North America hosting it four years later.

But NZRL did little, if anything, to leverage the commercial and marketing opportunities around the event.

As an example, there wasn't a single dinner or luncheon organized or facilitated by the NZRL to celebrate the World Cup.

It's a different market, but during the 2011 World Cup there were at least 10 corporate functions organized around the tournament.

The only function put on was before the Kiwis versus Samoa game at Mt Smart, which was organized by tournament ambassador Sir Peter Leitch.

There were also issues around distribution and availability of replica jerseys, which were hard to find in both Hamilton and Christchurch when the Kiwis had group games there.

The NZRL are always cash strapped — often relying on financial support from the NRL — but missed the opportunity to generate some revenue, as well as increasing interest in the tournament."

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Yeesh. With all that said, I wonder how similar the Australian experience would be? We already known that there was a lack of national jerseys on sale at matches. How much blame could be attributed to the RLWC Management would also be telling.

 

[adamkungl]

The NZRL doesn't have any business to review... forget merch and dinners, this was the first time the Kiwis played at home since 2014 and if the NZRL organised it they probably would have played in Perth or something. Laughably hopeless organisation.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

And yet they got more respectable crowds than here so what does that say about the NRL/ARLC?

 

[Stallion]

And yet they got more respectable crowds than here so what does that say about the NRL/ARLC?

Greedy and poor assessors of the market. Perhaps that's the RLWC people and not the Australian RL people. But I'd say whomever worked out the ticket prices were poorly and innacurately advised.

 

[Perth Red]

Nzrl are a basket case. They are skint, arent sending a nines team to commonwealth games, still haven’t scheduled a home Kiwis game, and the domestic comp is stagnat8ng at best. Would help if they could get some regualr funding from the arlc but if theyd spend it wisely has to be doubtful.

They operate on a revenue of around $10mill a year! Less than nrl clubs will get in grant next year.

 

[adamkungl]

And yet they got more respectable crowds than here so what does that say about the NRL/ARLC?

Nothing, since they didn't organise it, they're still close to broke, the ARLC pays their national side, and the only reason they got good crowds is because a bunch of their players abandoned them causing a spike in interest.

 

[Perth Red]

Nothing, since they didn't organise it, they're still close to broke, the ARLC pays their national side, and the only reason they got good crowds is because a bunch of their players abandoned them causing a spike in interest.

Given their limited revenue streams surely a mid season test against Tonga in Auckland has to become an annual event? They could even slot in a game in Perth against png on the way to England at end of year.

 

[Stallion]

Given their limited revenue streams surely a mid season test against Tonga in Auckland has to become an annual event? They could even slot in a game in Perth against png on the way to England at end of year.

Two or three internationals featuring Pacific Islands nations including NZ would have to be on the planning agenda for a weekend such as the designated stand alone SOO Sunday weekend fixture. Surely this is happening?

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Nothing, since they didn't organise it, they're still close to broke, the ARLC pays their national side, and the only reason they got good crowds is because a bunch of their players abandoned them causing a spike in interest.

The two bosses of the RLWC and the staff came directly from the NRL and most will go back there. The ARLC makes money from the NZRL and then treats them like a begging child, just like they do with the CRL. They destroy any revenue stream these organisations have, use them to produce players and make money from them and then laid power over them and tell them what to do. And they still got better crowds. There was no spike in interest in Australia. None. So for all the power the ARLC and NRL ensure they give themselves it's translating into a smaller, weaker, less popular sport in this country, and not just at international level. In fact the pathetic response to the WC is symptomatic of the damage the NRL has done to the game here and the fact the NRL is also on the nose in NZ is a by product of that as well.