There is a stench of death and decay in the News/NRL!

[imported_Rasputin]

I understood what youwere saying and as I said I personally agree with it. The point I was making is that with any change in the number of rounds or by not playing every team twice clubs will revert to the samepolitical crapindetermining which 13 of the 15 other clubsmake up their 13 home games.

I realise the same problem exists with 15 as it does with 16 butthats only on the basis thatthe NRL actually believes itwillend up being 15. I believe they don'tbelieve there will be 15 butaren't prepared to sayso and are just waiting for things to unfold naturally thus eleviating the problem.

 

[imported_Beast]

Rasputin,
Thanyou for that breakdown, I suspected that is where a lot of the costs are being incurred but it is difficult getting reliable and accurate info at times.
My feeling is that the News/NRL are waiting for a few clubs to fall over.
I supose you can call this natural attrition but I am unhappy with.
I would prefer the Bears fight in the courts to regain their place than take it over the corpse of another team.
I am of the view that the reductions in admin costs is essential before the game can be called stable.
There is still chronic mismanagement at many levels and quite frankly the salaries of some of thses CEOs are astounding, I believe some are on about $240 odd grand a year, it has echoes of the HIH and OneTel debacle all over it.
I would have thought that most teams would have owned their own training facilities by now, which should be a saving, the News/NRL must do more to assist the junior and rural needs of league, they continue to ignore these areas. It takes more than a truck and a bit of memorabilia to convince the regional people that the News/NRL give af**k!

 

[imported_Rasputin]

Beast,
I wholeheartedly agree on all counts. There is an article by warren Ryan in todays SMH which pretty much sums it all up athttp://www.smh.com.au/news/0107/26/sport/sport6.html

As he said theCEO's have no idea how much money pours into the NRLnor how that money is dispersed. I therefore find itincredible that they are asked to vote on the structure without having any knowledge of the actual financial position of the NRL. Until the NRL divulges the distribution of the $480M we will never know just how many teams can really be funded out of current income streams.

As it now looks that this information will become public following the C7 litigation we will finally be able to see what is so magic about this number 14.

 

[imported_Beast]

Mark my words Rasputin, the number 14 is merely an arbitrary number, they have never provided any stats or data to support it because there are none!

 

[imported_Rasputin]

No argument from me on that score Beast. Still it will be good when the figures finally come out and the general public get to see it for what it is either way.

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

Sorry Rasputin, i was getting the clubs mixed up with the NRL....It was good to see such detailed information, it makes it a lot easier to comprehend
MFC.

 

[imported_Rasputin]

Moff, no problems my good friend, I see your still very busy in your sorties, any more Awali characters out there?

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

Yep...There is this guy on the rugby.com.au website who is an absolute toolbox (much worse then a tool lol).. His name is Beep, he is a jibberer and he has very limited intelligence. At least Awali had some resemblence of a brain (at times) this guy is just arrogant and stupid. Take a look in there if you wish, but be prepared for a barrage of insults and mungo chants....
MFC.

 

[imported_Beast]

f**k thr rahs rahs, you giys would be better served concentrating on the crooked geniuss currently masquerading as administrators of league.
Whether it is deliberate or they are just corporate vegetables, but the rahs rahs are being assisted by the current league regime!

 

[legend]

I agree with what you said Beast but is that advertantly or inadvertantly? Is the mismanagement a type of corporate sabotage or even industrial espionage to further their own interests as news has a big slice of the union pie as well.

 

[imported_Beast]

I see absolutely no reason why it cannot be the case that they are deliberately or negligently denigrating league.
Their interest in league is purely commercial or mercenary. They were given undertakings and promises from the types like Ribot, Moore and the Bronco scabs. They have learned that in Australia there is a limited league market and that in Asia and the US it is a novelty sport that keeps their interest for about 10 seconds.
They have grabbed coverage of Union and have substantial corporate leverage with that sport, they have got the AFL coverage which gives them that genuine nationwide interest and coverage that they wanted for their pay tv!
You only need look at the current short sightedness of Moffett and Noad to know they are acting under instructions from senior News executives. The motivation of these executives is their buisness interests first and leagues health a distant second.
If they wish to transfer their administrative attentions to Union and AFL, then why not take out a potential rival to those codes in league and weaken it to the point it is now, which is a couple of clubs next year being foreclosed on for failing to meet their obligations!
That is a horrible but real scenario for 2002, but the News/NRL are prepared to let that happen. What does that say about the mob running the game

 

[legend]

Beast, surely good business sense could work out a way for all three to co-exist and then there are no losers but like it or not News needs league in NSW and QLD to promote its pay-tv operations as the other two simply don't have a mass appeal about them. Even though they are bigger than league on a national level, league is still the number one game in NSW and QLD which represents just under half of the nations population and News could not afford to give Optus such a huge area with no competition and they know that union and AFL will not get them over the line for their subscriber base. RL and Wrestling are the biggest drawcards for Fox and if they lose either to Optus they will lose market share so I would say news will be around for some time yet.

 

[imported_Beast]

I agree that league in the Qld, NSW and ACT have more appeal and pull than the others, but why are the News/NRL intent on weakening and destabilising the powerhouse of league in Sydney /NSW by culling teams then maintaining there are not enough league players around to support those teams!

The result of thses policies is reduction in revenue for the game, severe reduction in crowd figures and tv ratings on the nose.
Their policies are reactionary and contradictory!

 

[legend]

Mate, I was never arguing those points with you but in some cases the clubs are also to blame. Canberra this year have been woeful and I seriously question the motives of the CEO Kevin Neil and his bargain basement policies. There is now a RL academy set up at the AIS so that is a positive step. The clubs need to be pro active like Parramatta are and scour the bush for any available talent. The clubs have also become lazy.

 

[imported_Beast]

I agree thatr the clubs have become lazy or inept.
I remember Kevin Neill threatening to sue the shit out of anyone who dared suggest the Canberra were in a fiscal mess and yet he is reluctant to let the figures be released.
At the moment there is no solidarity amongst the clubs, they are being compelled by News Ltd to attack the existence of other clubs to protect their own skins.
That is plain wrong. All the clubs should be supported to help the game prosper and eventually spread to other traditional non- league States