Rugby league's $58 million mess
Peter Badel | July 06, 2008 12:00am
A LEADING chief executive has described rugby league's administration as a "dog's breakfast" and warned the code risks going backwards unless immediate action is taken to restructure it.
The stance from Brisbane boss Bruno Cullen came as an investigation by The Sunday Mail discovered more than $58 million has been spent collectively by three of the code's governing bodies in the past five years.
Of that figure, about $1.16 million has been paid in directors' fees with some of the most influential officials receiving payments from more than one organisation.
The level of expense by the Australian Rugby League (ARL), NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) and Queensland Rugby League (QRL) lends weight to fears the code is suffering fiscally under the strain of excessive governance.
Concerned by the code's fragmented state, a group of club chief executives established a seven-man taskforce a fortnight ago to devise a plan to have one entity governing the game in Australia.
At present, rugby league is run by News Limited publisher of The Sunday Mail the National Rugby League, ARL, QRL, NSWRL, Country Rugby League and the ARL Development.
In recent years, the NRL has attempted, and failed, to amalgamate or purge the organisations in charge.
The CEO investigative committee will include Cullen, Denis Fitzgerald, Steve Burraston, Gold Coast boss Michael Searle, Tony Zappia, Brian Waldron and Shane Richardson.
As rugby league celebrates its centenary year, Cullen said the code's progress and brand would be stifled unless a more efficient structure was in place.
"I don't want to sound too harsh but it's a bit of a dog's breakfast (the game's administration). We feel urgent action is required," Cullen said.
"All these leagues, the NRL, the ARL, the NSWRL, the QRL, I know they all play a role in the game but it's a very messy structure.
"If you're a sporting franchise or a new commercial entity today, you would definitely not use the model that's in place (in rugby league) today because it would ensure total failure.
"That's no disrespect to what's happened before us or the people involved, it's how things have unfolded over the past 100 years.
"But it's time for rugby league to have one administration and one brand. I think our brand is very poor because it's so scattered. Other sports like rugby and the AFL are highly branded.
"We know it will be a difficult path (to streamline the code). There is a lot of people involved, a lot of egos involved, a lot of protectionism and a lot of stubbornness, but it's now 2008 and going forward we need a modern corporate structure.
"We're a long, long way from that at the moment."
A primary criticism is the perceived duplication of roles and the abundance of people benefiting financially despite suggestions some make limited contributions. A study of the ARL, NSWRL and QRL financial reports over the past five years underscores the convoluted cash trail. The ARL receives $8 million annually from the NRL, using part of the grant to assist the operations of the CRL, NSWRL and QRL.
Despite those organisations having financially mutual links, several officials receive multiple directors' fees. Geoff Carr, John Chalk and Bob Millward are directors of both the ARL and NSWRL, receiving between $10,000-$19,999 for each role. Ross Livermore, John McDonald, Kevin Brasch and John Barrett are directors of the ARL and QRL.
Colin Love is chairman of the NRL partnership committee, the ARL and the NSWRL. Over the past five years, it is estimated Love has received about $360,000 in directors' fees, separate from the $300,000 he is being paid to run the upcoming World Cup.
Carr defends the fees, saying: "If you want someone to take on the legal responsibilities of being a director and the workload, you have to pay them something.
"My directors are by and large underpaid. Given their workload, they are entitled to a higher fee."
CRL boss Terry Quinn agrees the game needs restructuring but questions
whether the NRL club chief executives are the appropriate people to propose change. "My biggest criticism is that the CEOs aren't at the coalface," he said.
"They live in the professional world. They don't understand the issues of bush football. Just because we aren't running an NRL club, it doesn't mean we're dumb. We do know what's going on.
"The NSWRL could be refined, certainly. It's a very cumbersome structure, they have several arms running off it. When you have 10 vice-presidents in the NSWRL, people are entitled to ask the question why."
Cullen likes the AFL model, where an independent commission oversees the running of the game. But he admits league's complex structure means it could take years to deliver a palatable solution.
"This is something we have to get right. If we can't make change now then we go backwards five or 10 years. This is my opinion only, but if we could have a new structure in place by 2010, we'd be doing extremely well.
