Wel, well, well what do we have here?
It didn't take long for the clubs self-interest to rear it's ugly head didn't it?
There is talk of shifting the All Stars game to the week of the Grand Final. Of course the hidden agenda is to avoid injuries to players prior to season start.
Never mind the enormous good publicity the game got in a traditionally quiet period for the game. Never mind that it started off the season with a bang. Never mind that the game drowned out the start of the Stupid 14's.
A sign of things to come?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...y-need-to-change/story-e6frg7mf-1225830281299
All Stars match date may need to change
- <LI class="byline first ">Stuart Honeysett <LI class="source ">From: The Australian
- February 15, 2010 12:00AM
THE two clubs hurt most by Saturday night's inaugural NRL All Stars match have questioned whether there is a better spot for it on the calendar.
The exhibition event was guaranteed a future after 26,000 fans turned up to Gold Coast's Skilled Park to watch the Indigenous team score a late try through Jamie Soward to narrowly hold out the NRL All Stars 16-12.
However, much of the post-match talk centred on the injuries suffered to Brisbane captain Darren Lockyer (biceps) and Newcastle fullback Kurt Gidley (leg), which prompted questions about the concept's future.
Lockyer was forced off the field midway through the first quarter after injuring his arm, while Gidley appeared to have suffered a serious leg injury after being crunched in a tackle by Indigenous forward and Knights teammate Cory Paterson.
Both Lockyer and Gidley will have scans today to determine the extent of the damage, but Gidley is considered the more serious of the two cases.
The Knights captain is believed to be suffering a hamstring problem at best, and at worst a serious knee injury.
Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen said the game and the night had been a resounding success and deserved to be retained,
but administrators would face a challenge to find a better place for the game in an already jam-packed season.
"People get hurt in all sort of trials and you can't blame the concept for someone getting hurt -- it's just another game of footy," Cullen said.
"The timing of the match is probably the debatable thing, but then again, when do you have it?
"The back end of the season is always busy with rep football, and I think they've started something, and it was a huge success and the positives far outweighed the negatives, so there's no reason not to go forward with it next year."
While Lockyer should be fit for the Broncos' opening game of the season against North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium next month, the same can't be said for Gidley, who will probably miss the Knights' first round match against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
There were initial fears that Newcastle's most valuable player might have suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage, which would have sidelined him for six months, but it is believed now that he may have only injured his hamstring.
Despite nearly losing his key playmaker for the season, Knights coach Rick Stone said he was still behind the All Stars game.
"I'm not anti the concept, that's for sure. I don't know about the timing or when the better timing would be," Stone said.
"I was happy enough for my players to play in it, and if my players were keen to play in it again next year, I don't think we'd be holding them back."
Gold Coast chief executive Michael Searle, one of the driving forces behind the All Stars game, said the match should stay put for the next few seasons but could eventually be moved to accommodate a new television deal.
The NRL is considering making broadcasters bid separately for regular season and representative games for the next TV deal.
By that stage the All Stars game could be a marquee event worth bidding for.
Speaking after the game on Saturday night, All Stars coach Wayne Bennett said it reminded him of the inaugural State of Origin match played in 1980.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nr...-1225830264234
Quote:
All Stars, Grand final in bumper gala
* By Dean Ritchie
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* February 15, 2010 12:00AM
BUOYED by its resounding success, the All Stars game could soon be played the day before the NRL Grand Final as part of a gala weekend of football.
The match between the Indigenous and NRL All Stars may be shifted to emulate the NFL Pro Bowl which this year was played a week before the Super Bowl.
The rugby league community yesterday hailed the success of the inaugural match, won 16-12 by the Indigenous side on Saturday night at Skilled Park.
Gold Coast Titans chief executive and match organiser Michael Searle said the game would need to stabilise for a year or two before possibly being shifted to Grand Final weekend. The match would boast players from all clubs except those contesting the decider.
It would create a feast of NRL, with the possibility of the Grand Final being played in Sydney and the All Stars game in Queensland. The only negative could be the All Stars detracting from the decider.
"The players would rip and tear given their season is over. The weekend would be a highlight for rugby league," Searle said.
"I haven't spoken to [NRL chief executive] David Gallop about it yet. It may not come until the next TV deal [in 2012]. The game isn't part of the current TV deal.
"But when that comes, it could be played at the end of the season, maybe the day before the Grand Final, or even the Friday night before the Grand Final.
"I would like to keep the game on the Gold Coast for at least the next two years."
The game on Saturday night was torrid and passionate, with injured stars Kurt Gidley (knee/hamstring) and Darren Lockyer (upper arm) having scans today.
The most concern centres around Newcastle skipper Gidley.
Canterbury coach Kevin Moore praised the concept but felt it could be played the weekend before the premiership kick-off, which is generally a free weekend. "Players probably need a few hit-outs in trials before playing in a match of that intensity," Moore said yesterday.
"It would mean the players don't get a free weekend, but that's professional sport.
"You could give the players who play in the game less time in the trial games. But they would then be prepared for such a match."
SCG Trust CEO Jamie Barkley said he would love having the game played at the SFS.
"Should the game rotate between Queensland and NSW, we would love to have it at the SFS," Barkley said. "The game is a great way to showcase rugby league at the start of the year."
Despite the injury to Gidley, Knights coach Rick Stone wants the match as a regular part of the calendar.
"It was a helter-skelter game, the pace of the game was really up," Stone said. "The timeslot isn't bad. Players can play in the game and then have a rest from a trial."
Manly coach Des Hasler said the game could be taken overseas.
"It was fast and intense. There will be a few sore boys this morning," Hasler said. "I think the concept is fantastic. They just have to keep the concept fresh, maybe take it overseas. You could take that game to the world."
