Rugby Australia to target top NRL talent

[titoelcolombiano]

PVL can never resist the urge to bite back, no doubt there’ll be a rebuttal from the attention seeking McKlenon

“I am surprised that they’re not trying to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady given their attention-seeking publicity,” V’landys said.

“I would be more concerned if I was them with the $80 million worth of debt that they have created which puts the whole game in financial turmoil.”

The Australian Rugby League Commission are set to restart talks over salary cap exemptions for rugby union players at their next meeting next month, according to The Daily Telegraph.

“There will be (talks) because we have to look at some exemptions – when the credit card expires there will be a lot of rugby union players looking for a home,” V’landys said

Not everyone loves PVL's rhetoric but f**k I love it because we've been fed a diet in the style of Gallop for so long we've been starved of a leader with backbone.

.... Um, ah, it's ok that the AFL and Union and NFL steal our star players because, umm ahh, there's room for all sports...

 

[Wb1234]

PVL can never resist the urge to bite back, no doubt there’ll be a rebuttal from the attention seeking McKlenon

“I am surprised that they’re not trying to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady given their attention-seeking publicity,” V’landys said.

“I would be more concerned if I was them with the $80 million worth of debt that they have created which puts the whole game in financial turmoil.”

The Australian Rugby League Commission are set to restart talks over salary cap exemptions for rugby union players at their next meeting next month, according to The Daily Telegraph.

“There will be (talks) because we have to look at some exemptions – when the credit card expires there will be a lot of rugby union players looking for a home,” V’landys said

I’ve been looking for that article thanks

 

[Wb1234]

Not everyone loves PVL's rhetoric but f**k I love it because we've been fed a diet in the style of Gallop for so long we've been starved of a leader with backbone.

.... Um, ah, it's ok that the AFL and Union and NFL steal our star players because, umm ahh, there's room for all sports...

Greenberg would have regular chats with andrew demetriou and tell him there was plenty of room for both sports in Sydney

They used to invite afl commissioners to sold out origin games

 

[Mother Nature's Son]

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_MRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fsport%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-news-push-to-fast-track-salary-cap-exemptions-for-clubs-which-poach-rugby-union-stars%2Fnews-story%2Fa73ee38861dd562bb2e8c224b297d0a4&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=ULTRALOW-Segment-1-SCORE

Little bit disappointed that V`Landys feels the need to trot this out every time the buffoons at the union start their usual embarrassing braggadocio whenever they feel like they`ve had a win.
Ignore them, they`ll only look like fools when we don`t feel the need to even respond, basically they`ll just be shouting into the void.

 

[Chimp]

True but what about signing some union stars like all blacks or Owen Farrell for example if he still plays union

Imagine if the warriors got a few all blacks what that would do for their marketing

Why would we want to? Why waste money (and big money at that) on players that are a gamble? We don’t need their players, we develop enough of our own superstars who are entrenched and developed in league - any Union player would be a gamble. Even ex-RL players who move to Union often struggle to get back to the pace of rugby league after a stint in Union.
Keeping doing what we’re doing, developing youngsters and spreading our development footprint. The way things are heading, a teenage athlete with the potential of making a career out of sport would be mad right now to choose to head down the Union path - as the NRL is the biggest opportunity in terms of both available positions (more teams = more overall players required) and earning potential.
If Union are struggling now, wait another 10 years when they find that all the young athletes are focussing on league at a young age. Their pipeline is getting shut off, ours is opening wider and wider.
We don’t need to waste money on taking any of their established players - we should use that money to reward our own, and show that league is the place to be, at junior level and pro-level.

 

[10$ Ferret]

What Chimp said, plus to add no player is bigger than the game and we keep showing that everytime someone leaves/retires there is someone else to take their place

 

[Chimp]

What Chimp said, plus to add no player is bigger than the game and we keep showing that everytime someone leaves/retires there is someone else to take their place

Absolutely…

The only change I would make, is that if you have been registered as an NRL player and leave to play Union (even at contract expiry), a minimum 2 full seasons should expire before a new NRL contract can be registered. That will stop players going off to Union at contract end for a little financial boost (that’s totally non-traceable by the NRL, so open to rorting if an NRL club has ‘friends’ in Union) and giving RU a little PR boost, only to return to the NRL the following season on a contract lower than market value (but with a pocket full of cash). I’ve said all along, Joey Manu will be back mid-year next year, significantly better off than he was when he left, and on a contract significantly lower than was being offered by St George as an example.

 

[Perth Red]

Money for old rope in the inferior rugby code lol

 

[Captain Apollo]

lol

Non paywalled version -

‘Financial turmoil’: V’Landys hits back at broke Rugby Australia after wild Cleary claims

‘Financial turmoil’: V’Landys hits back at broke Rugby Australia after wild Cleary claims

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[The Man Shake]

PVL can never resist the urge to bite back, no doubt there’ll be a rebuttal from the attention seeking McKlenon

“I am surprised that they’re not trying to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady given their attention-seeking publicity,” V’landys said.

“I would be more concerned if I was them with the $80 million worth of debt that they have created which puts the whole game in financial turmoil.”

The Australian Rugby League Commission are set to restart talks over salary cap exemptions for rugby union players at their next meeting next month, according to The Daily Telegraph.

“There will be (talks) because we have to look at some exemptions – when the credit card expires there will be a lot of rugby union players looking for a home,” V’landys said

The exemptions have to be put in place surely. It is high time the NRL buried this boring and redundant “sport” and the delusional cucumber sandwich munching toffs involved in it.

 

[shadowformz]

They should just grant exemptions to wallabies to play nrl at club level then play union internationals

As with suali that’s the best way to prepare elite union players

The exemptions have to be put in place surely. It is high time the NRL buried this boring and redundant “sport” and the delusional cucumber sandwich munching toffs involved in it.

I agree totally. Trouble is getting the clubs to sign off on it will be very hard. Clubs like the roosters, Broncos and storm will jump at it. Getting the Raiders to vote for it will be another thing entirely.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

The exemptions have to be put in place surely. It is high time the NRL buried this boring and redundant “sport” and the delusional cucumber sandwich munching toffs involved in it.

Agreed, we've already signed two Wallabies without the exemptions with second greatest Union player of all time Koribete looking to come back also. Imagine the carnage we'd cause with the exemptions in place.

Sualii made some comments about Rugby being able to provide big moments like Twickenham the other day. The flog obviously forgot he played in front of 67k at old Trafford at the Rugby League World Cup final in 2022 in a Samoan team that were getting attention from all over the world and played in front of 40k in Las Vegas.

 

[Wb1234]

Absolutely…

The only change I would make, is that if you have been registered as an NRL player and leave to play Union (even at contract expiry), a minimum 2 full seasons should expire before a new NRL contract can be registered. That will stop players going off to Union at contract end for a little financial boost (that’s totally non-traceable by the NRL, so open to rorting if an NRL club has ‘friends’ in Union) and giving RU a little PR boost, only to return to the NRL the following season on a contract lower than market value (but with a pocket full of cash). I’ve said all along, Joey Manu will be back mid-year next year, significantly better off than he was when he left, and on a contract significantly lower than was being offered by St George as an example.

Good points

And if you go to union you should be banned from playing origin again

Agreed, we've already signed two Wallabies without the exemptions with second greatest Union player of all time Koribete looking to come back also. Imagine the carnage we'd cause with the exemptions in place.

Sualii made some comments about Rugby being able to provide big moments like Twickenham the other day. The flog obviously forgot he played in front of 67k at old Trafford at the Rugby League World Cup final in 2022 in a Samoan team that we're getting attention from all over the world and played in front of 40k in Las Vegas.

He’s forgotten about the seven minutes of origin he’s played where he managed to cost his side the series

 

[King hit]

Good points

And if you go to union you should be banned from playing origin again
He’s forgotten about the seven minutes of origin he’s played where he managed to cost his side the series

Cost his team the series that turned out to be….

 

[taste2taste]

If Nathan Cleary and Payne Haas want to switch codes and play for the Wallabies for $300,000 a year, Rugby Australia would gladly have them.

That is the only way rugby will be able to afford any NRL stars in the near future, because the game is so cash-strapped they can’t even make offers to their top Wallabies stars.

Mind you, RA has not made any statement or claim that they are targeting NRL stars. It was thrown out as a possibility by former chairman Hamish McLennan, who is not involved in any contractual decision.
Len Ikitau, the man who starred at Twickenham and made Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s debut look easy, is off contract after next season and will demand major dollars in Europe and Japan.

RA is facing an uphill battle to retain him for the 2027 World Cup.

But he is just one of numerous off-contract Wallabies who have yet to receive an offer from their employer beyond 2025.

Fraser McReight, Taniela Tupou, Noah Lolesio, Harry Wilson, Jake Gordon, Tom Wright, Nick Frost, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Isaac Kailea, Carlo Tizzano, Rob Leota and Tane Edmed are among those waiting for a call.
It won’t be coming anytime soon.
They desperately need an uplift on the $30 million they currently receive from Nine and Stan Sport, but negotiations between the two parties are slow-moving at best.

They have an exclusive negotiation period until December 31, after which RA can go the open market. But the fear is if they can’t get a deal locked away with Nine by the end of he year and look elsewhere, offers may be slim at best.

And a major reason for this is that broadcasters are crunching numbers to make a major play for the NRL rights, which expire at the end of 2027 and is already worth $1.7 billion.

Nine owns the free television rights while Foxtel – owned by News Corp, publisher of this masthead – owns the pay television element shown on Fox Sports and Kayo Sport.
The next NRL deal is expected to fetch more than its current value given the competition is adding more teams, coupled with growing popularity, which means Foxtel, Nine, other free-to-air networks and streaming services will need to dig deep into their pockets, leaving little money for rugby.

Nine and Stan have already secured rights to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, so have less incentive to pay millions more.

And RA have already spent more than $50 million of their $80 million debt facility loan, which they expect to service through revenue from the 2025 British & Irish Lions series and home World Cup two years later.

For now, there is little in reserve. They’ve started a Future Fund, hoping to lure investors to commit money into the game at all levels. So far they’ve got $12 million, with grand visions of raising up to $1 billion.

That won’t be happening anytime soon, certainly not before the likes of Cleary and Haas are past their best football.
RA is forking out $5.35 million for Suaalii over the next three years, and have already seen key talent like Mark Nawaqanitawase, Carter Gordon, Jordan Petaia, Suliasi Vunivalu, Izaia Perese, Ned Hanigan, Lachie Swinton, Jordan Uelese and Josh Kemeny defect in the past year.

More than half the players who helped Australia claim a famous victory at Twickenham last weekend are weighing up defections to overseas rugby or the NRL.

The notion RA can throw mountains of cash at league’s best players is ludicrous.

 

[gerg]

If Nathan Cleary and Payne Haas want to switch codes and play for the Wallabies for $300,000 a year, Rugby Australia would gladly have them.

That is the only way rugby will be able to afford any NRL stars in the near future, because the game is so cash-strapped they can’t even make offers to their top Wallabies stars.

Mind you, RA has not made any statement or claim that they are targeting NRL stars. It was thrown out as a possibility by former chairman Hamish McLennan, who is not involved in any contractual decision.
Len Ikitau, the man who starred at Twickenham and made Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s debut look easy, is off contract after next season and will demand major dollars in Europe and Japan.

RA is facing an uphill battle to retain him for the 2027 World Cup.

But he is just one of numerous off-contract Wallabies who have yet to receive an offer from their employer beyond 2025.

Fraser McReight, Taniela Tupou, Noah Lolesio, Harry Wilson, Jake Gordon, Tom Wright, Nick Frost, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Isaac Kailea, Carlo Tizzano, Rob Leota and Tane Edmed are among those waiting for a call.
It won’t be coming anytime soon.
They desperately need an uplift on the $30 million they currently receive from Nine and Stan Sport, but negotiations between the two parties are slow-moving at best.

They have an exclusive negotiation period until December 31, after which RA can go the open market. But the fear is if they can’t get a deal locked away with Nine by the end of he year and look elsewhere, offers may be slim at best.

And a major reason for this is that broadcasters are crunching numbers to make a major play for the NRL rights, which expire at the end of 2027 and is already worth $1.7 billion.

Nine owns the free television rights while Foxtel – owned by News Corp, publisher of this masthead – owns the pay television element shown on Fox Sports and Kayo Sport.
The next NRL deal is expected to fetch more than its current value given the competition is adding more teams, coupled with growing popularity, which means Foxtel, Nine, other free-to-air networks and streaming services will need to dig deep into their pockets, leaving little money for rugby.

Nine and Stan have already secured rights to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, so have less incentive to pay millions more.

And RA have already spent more than $50 million of their $80 million debt facility loan, which they expect to service through revenue from the 2025 British & Irish Lions series and home World Cup two years later.

For now, there is little in reserve. They’ve started a Future Fund, hoping to lure investors to commit money into the game at all levels. So far they’ve got $12 million, with grand visions of raising up to $1 billion.

That won’t be happening anytime soon, certainly not before the likes of Cleary and Haas are past their best football.
RA is forking out $5.35 million for Suaalii over the next three years, and have already seen key talent like Mark Nawaqanitawase, Carter Gordon, Jordan Petaia, Suliasi Vunivalu, Izaia Perese, Ned Hanigan, Lachie Swinton, Jordan Uelese and Josh Kemeny defect in the past year.

More than half the players who helped Australia claim a famous victory at Twickenham last weekend are weighing up defections to overseas rugby or the NRL.

The notion RA can throw mountains of cash at league’s best players is ludicrous.

Household names in this article. To quote the great one, "never heard of the f***ers", unless they originally came from League, ie Vunivalu.

 

[Billythekid]

This is the same rhetoric we have been hearing for decades. Here’s the simple truth if they couldn’t steal all our talent with their infamous war chest back in 2003 when the NRL was at its lowest point just about how are they going to do it now? The NRL is financially stronger than it’s ever been, our salary cap is far higher than it’s ever been especially relative to union. The game is also growing faster than it ever has before.

I’m not saying we should ignore the threat of union, quite the contrary actually. They’re in a very weak position in Australia and we need to be expanding our game aggressively to take advantage of their weak position. I just don’t see how this threat can be taken seriously considering their history of making such claims and their relative weakness compared to when they made these claims in the past.

 

[taste2taste]

Household names in this article. To quote the great one, "never heard of the f***ers", unless they originally came from League, ie Vunivalu.

They may not be known in Australia but they are famous everywhere else on earth.

 

[Wb1234]

The super league war and success of super rugby was Union chance to be a dominant sport in Australia together with nz

By kicking out sa and adding too many oz sides the whole comp has no future in its current format

A 20 team nrl is going to crush super rugby in the South Pacific

It will end up being a feeder league for the nrl or Japanese or French union like the a league is to premier league

 

[titoelcolombiano]

If Nathan Cleary and Payne Haas want to switch codes and play for the Wallabies for $300,000 a year, Rugby Australia would gladly have them.

That is the only way rugby will be able to afford any NRL stars in the near future, because the game is so cash-strapped they can’t even make offers to their top Wallabies stars.

Mind you, RA has not made any statement or claim that they are targeting NRL stars. It was thrown out as a possibility by former chairman Hamish McLennan, who is not involved in any contractual decision.
Len Ikitau, the man who starred at Twickenham and made Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s debut look easy, is off contract after next season and will demand major dollars in Europe and Japan.

RA is facing an uphill battle to retain him for the 2027 World Cup.

But he is just one of numerous off-contract Wallabies who have yet to receive an offer from their employer beyond 2025.

Fraser McReight, Taniela Tupou, Noah Lolesio, Harry Wilson, Jake Gordon, Tom Wright, Nick Frost, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Isaac Kailea, Carlo Tizzano, Rob Leota and Tane Edmed are among those waiting for a call.
It won’t be coming anytime soon.
They desperately need an uplift on the $30 million they currently receive from Nine and Stan Sport, but negotiations between the two parties are slow-moving at best.

They have an exclusive negotiation period until December 31, after which RA can go the open market. But the fear is if they can’t get a deal locked away with Nine by the end of he year and look elsewhere, offers may be slim at best.

And a major reason for this is that broadcasters are crunching numbers to make a major play for the NRL rights, which expire at the end of 2027 and is already worth $1.7 billion.

Nine owns the free television rights while Foxtel – owned by News Corp, publisher of this masthead – owns the pay television element shown on Fox Sports and Kayo Sport.
The next NRL deal is expected to fetch more than its current value given the competition is adding more teams, coupled with growing popularity, which means Foxtel, Nine, other free-to-air networks and streaming services will need to dig deep into their pockets, leaving little money for rugby.

Nine and Stan have already secured rights to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, so have less incentive to pay millions more.

And RA have already spent more than $50 million of their $80 million debt facility loan, which they expect to service through revenue from the 2025 British & Irish Lions series and home World Cup two years later.

For now, there is little in reserve. They’ve started a Future Fund, hoping to lure investors to commit money into the game at all levels. So far they’ve got $12 million, with grand visions of raising up to $1 billion.

That won’t be happening anytime soon, certainly not before the likes of Cleary and Haas are past their best football.
RA is forking out $5.35 million for Suaalii over the next three years, and have already seen key talent like Mark Nawaqanitawase, Carter Gordon, Jordan Petaia, Suliasi Vunivalu, Izaia Perese, Ned Hanigan, Lachie Swinton, Jordan Uelese and Josh Kemeny defect in the past year.

More than half the players who helped Australia claim a famous victory at Twickenham last weekend are weighing up defections to overseas rugby or the NRL.

The notion RA can throw mountains of cash at league’s best players is ludicrous.

Good post. The numbers don't stack up. The NRL and AFL have billion plus dollar broadcast deals but RA with $30M coming in has Australia's highest paid football player at $2M a season. Seems incredibly unsustainable to spend just under 10% of your broadcast revenue on one player at a time when you are $50M in debt.

Also incredibly risky taking on debt based on projected revenue rather than based on hard assets. Looking forward to the already feeble house of cards falling in on itself further.