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'The game is well and truly in a position to fulfil its potential'
March 5, 2010
An independent commission and a bumper TV deal in the pipeline. Memberships up. Players more aware of the consequences of bad behaviour. David Gallop has never been more excited about the state of rugby league and the NRL, writes Greg Prichard.
Rugby league is, David Gallop says, ready to take on all comers - including the AFL. Gallop has carefully avoided getting involved in the war of words over the so-called battle for Sydney's west, because he feels to do so would suggest fear on his part - and he clearly isn't scared of the competition. The league boss believes too many in the game are showing concern when they should be sticking their chests out.
''I think it's a classic example of the rugby league psyche of having a lack of confidence,'' Gallop says. ''The fact is the game should be confident about its position. The crowd of 75,000 we got for the Bulldogs-Parramatta game at last year's finals demonstrated that we're out in western Sydney with generations of support, and when the players from the All Stars visited the area recently, the looks on the kids' faces made you realise we're entitled to call that our homeland. You can't rest on your laurels, but we should be confident in how the game and our clubs are dealing with western Sydney.''
Gallop added that under the AFL's draft system, players might not be afforded the opportunity to achieve local-hero status.
''The AFL is being forced to manipulate its draft system to try to get players into those new clubs [Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast],'' he says. ''And I think it's competitively important for us to say we don't have a draft system. If you're a local kid in western Sydney, you can be the next Michael Jennings, you can live and play with your family and friends and become a superstar.
''In the AFL, no matter how they try to manipulate it, if you're from Blacktown or some other part of Sydney's west, you could still end up living in Fremantle at 18 years old.''
Gallop firmly believes league is in a position of great strength as it moves closer to the establishment of an independent commission, continues its club membership drive and prepares to negotiate an anticipated massive television rights deal.
During a wide-ranging interview with the Herald, the NRL chief executive discussed the major issues confronting the game. His thoughts paint a clear picture of where the game is at and what it needs to do to achieve its objectives.
THE STATE OF THE GAME
''The game is rebuilt and well and truly in a position to fulfil its potential,'' Gallop says. ''I think 2009 was a year when we made a lot of people sit up and take notice. If you go back to what people were saying at the start of the year, there were predictions of doom and gloom around crowds, ratings, the economic climate and we actually bucked the trend of other sports in the growth that we had.
''We certainly had a difficult year off the field [due to instances of player misbehaviour], but we demonstrated that if you deal with those issues seriously and appropriately, then people maintain their confidence in the sport. The key is making sure that come February every year, parents of six-year-old kids are attracted to rugby league. If you don't deal with those issues properly, it does impact on the decisions being made in homes about what the kids are going to play.''
THE SEASON AHEAD
''The passion I've seen from people in the last few weeks is amazing. People come up to me in the street and say, 'I can't wait for the footy to start', and a few days ago, a guy said to me, 'I didn't follow it for years, but last year's finals series turned me back on'. I've had dozens of people stop me to talk to me about it in the last few weeks. I always sense the anticipation, but this time there's a buzz around that I haven't seen before.''
THE INDEPENDENT
COMMISSION
''There's no doubt it's going to be good for the game, but I caution against the sentiment that an independent commission is going to be a magic wand that's going to change everything. The recipe stays the same: run an exciting competition where fans feel their team's a chance, a game where attack and defence are evenly balanced, a game where the skills of the players can be showcased, but also make sure that outside the 80 minutes of football every club participates in [being] active in the community.''
TV DEALS
In a first, the free-to-air and pay television deals expire at the same time, enabling the league to put everything on the table for an all-in auction leading up to the 2013 season. ''Before, we were selling the house at a different time to the garage and the pool,'' Gallop says. ''This time, we're selling the house, the garage and the pool all at the same time, which puts us in a great position. I'm confident we'll do a deal everyone in the game will be happy with. I had a meeting with Fox Sports last week and one of the things they keep telling us is that rugby league works for them. They will push hard to keep what they've got.''
PLAYER BEHAVIOUR
Players are waking up to the fact that unsavoury off-field incidents damage their potential to attract sponsorship, Gallop says. ''Realistically, we are going to have young men making mistakes, and from time to time they're going to be punished for that. Penalties need to be imposed to ensure there are consequences for making poor decisions, and to act as a deterrent to others. I think the players have backed it pretty well. They want to be able to say, 'I'm proud of being a rugby league player', so I think they get disappointed when a bad apple ruins the bunch.''
The weekend before the big kick-off is traditionally one when the league has reason to worry. It is the last chance for players to let their their hair down before the season starts, and it was the corresponding Friday last year when Manly held their infamous season launch. But Gallop won't issue a warning, saying that if players don't know by now that they need to tread warily, then warning them won't help.
''I don't think anyone needs any reminding about this weekend,'' he said. ''The alarm bells should be ringing in everyone's head.''
EXPANSION
''We would love to expand the competition, and clearly the Central Coast is an attractive option, as is having the Bears back. But our existing clubs, players and development programs need more money, so we're not in a position to add teams at this point. It's critically important to get expansion right. The lesson of the past is that failed expansion does damage to your brand.''
SALARY CAP
Gallop maintains the evenness of the competition justifies the existence of the cap, which stands at $4.2million. ''Fans being able to think that on any given day their team can win has got to be the right formula. The salary cap has to be black and white because if it's half baked, you will quickly lose the evenness that it provides. There is a misconception that if you took it away, the clubs could pay more. It's actually pretty much at the level of affordability for 14 or 15 of the clubs.''
PLAYERS ASKING FOR MORE
Johnathan Thurston recently became the latest big-name player to threaten to leave the game for rugby union if he couldn't earn more. Gallop says while he would hate to see Thurston go, he won't change the rules to try to convince him to stay.
''The game has made a choice that it wants to keep its clubs financially viable, and that means we can't just throw cash at every superstar every time they get a potential offer from somewhere else,'' he says. ''I've made it really clear personally to Johnathan that we want him to stay. We see opportunities for him during the rest of his playing career and after footy, particularly with his indigenous background.''
THAT TV ADVERT
The league's new television advertisement has created plenty of discussion, with some criticising it for a lack of oomph. The NRL went for the human angle, and Gallop robustly defends that strategy. ''We wanted to bring things back to basics - which is the players, the skill and pace of our game and the fact real people follow our game,'' he says. ''It's a real game, played and watched by real people, and these [people in the ad] are examples of the cross-section of the community that love rugby league. We were careful to do our research, and we're happy with the result.''
MEMBERSHIP
''The clubs have done a great job of articulating to their fans the importance of membership, and the fact it can help the club financially,'' Gallop says. ''It's increasingly going to be the way the true fan will feel part of his team. The membership drive goes on forever, and when you consider it's still in its infancy, it's pretty exciting to think where it can go.''
