Ribot will always hold that tag
No one else was as gullable as him to destroy RL a few years after winning a licence because someone wanted RL on a ruval TV network when didn't have the TV rights
How did Ribot destroy rugby league?
You cannot blame Ribot for trying to bring the game into the late 20th century in 1995.
The NSWRL model of generating revenue was an archaic remnant from a bygone era. Its clubs relied on gambling revenue from their Leagues Clubs' gaming machines to fund their teams. The model provided more than enough money to kill the BRL's seven clubs because gaming machines were prohibited in all licenced venues across Queensland, but it was never going to generate the finance needed to compete with a Brisbane-based team that garnered corporate support from all over the city.
Arthurson and Quayle were too stupid to realise that the moment they gave the Broncos a spot in the NSWRL they condemned the eleven remaining Sydney-based clubs to a slow and painful death. Capitalism only allows a select few large entities to flourish in any given market. Instead of accepting that the eleven remaining Sydney clubs would need to be rationalised down to a number that could generate enough corporate support from Sydney to compete with the Broncos, Arthurson and Quayle made an appeal to emotion and played the victim card about tradition and history. Neither of them cared about the history and tradition of the BRL as they ran it into the ground during the 60s, 70s and 80s. They were happy to use capitalism to kill the BRL when the market favoured Sydney, but when the tide turned and favoured the Broncos and Raiders they tried to force a socialist system on everyone to keep Sydney's small archaic clubs alive. They even used their position to force all four expansion clubs to cover travel and accommodation costs for all existing teams across ARL and reserve grade.
If that ain't corrupt and biased then what is?
It's also the reason three of the expansion clubs joined the Broncos, Raiders, Bulldogs, Panthers and Sharks in a rebel competition that provided financial support to everyone based on their worth. No one understands capitalism better than News Ltd, and they realised only some Sydney clubs could be an asset like the Broncos. The only reason the Crushers didn't join was because they were unwanted by News Ltd.
If News Ltd didn't capitalise on the poor business acumen and bias of Arthurson and Quayle then some one else would have jumped in and provided an option to the interstate clubs not favoured by the NSWRL. It was an inevitable part of the game embracing professionalism.
