NRL: A Blueprint for the Future
December 6th 2009 08:13
NRL: A Blueprint for the Future
Coming off the back of one of the most successful, yet controversial seasons in recent times, the National Rugby League and the code in general in Australia is rapidly approaching a crossroads. With the game appearing to take a turn for the better after the trials and tribulations from the Super League War, a new vision has been adopted by the games administrators with the proposal of an independent commission running the league gathering more and more support.
With News Limited's decision to withdraw its influence from the game in the forthcoming years, Gold Coast Titan’s CEO, Michael Searle has been given the responsibility of creating and establishing the independent commission to replace the partnership between News Limited and the Australian Rugby League.
The question now is whether or not the games’ current governing bodies, the NRL, ARL, NSWRL, QRL and Country RL, will be able to relinquish their hold on the game for the benefit of the code going forward.
With a new sense of hope engulfing the game, below is my own vision for where the game should be by season 2020. Included are some of the innovations that could be introduced to promote the game’s history, create new revenue streams and increase player payments.
• The Independent Commission
The new independent commission needs to become a healthy balance between successful business and marketing leaders, and some of the games great luminaries. This balance will see the league return to some of its core values and traditions, while at the same time being able to adapt to the new challenges of the current and future economic environments.
One unique quality and strength of Rugby League in Australia is its traditions and history. In recent years that element has been lost to a degree as clubs such as Norths, Balmain and Wests have fallen by the wayside. Country Rugby League has seen a player drain as their big names head to the NRL, while international contests have become dull and lacklustre despite a slight bucking of that trend in the past year or two.
It is without doubt that the game needs to modernise in a business sense. Revenue streams need to be centralised and marketing needs to be maximised. That does not mean that the game’s traditions have to be lost however. Adaptation is a key in both life and business and the key for the new commission is to instil a sense of history and tribalism back into the code, while at the same time modernising on a business level.
Another important challenge for the commission is to ensure that members of the board do not have any affiliations with any of the clubs. History teaches us that prejudice can exist at the top level of the games administration and this needs to be avoided.
Coupled with this is the challenge that the commission will face in regards to balancing funds and power between the 16 NRL clubs and the representative teams. It has already been suggested that the clubs might impose its will upon the board to insure that much needed funds are directed towards the clubs and way from representative sides. Also, an example has been given from the AFL, where its State of Origin series was vetoed by the clubs when their coaches feared that players would be injured during the series. The AFL’s independent commission then in turn scraped the series.
• Rules and Video Ref
Firstly, the current referee’s boss, Mick Stone needs to be replaced, as does Bill Harrigan and a number of other video referees. Secondly, the rules and interpretations of the game have to be completely overhauled, in particular the obstruction rule, the torso rule and scrums.
I believe that the two referee system should remain in on-field play, but the role of the video referee has to be reduced. More responsibility should also be placed upon touch judges to lift their involvement in the game and to stifle their reluctance to make decisions.
Moves should also be taken to introduce more ex-players into the referee ranks. Whether it is in an advisory role or having them trained as video referees, their knowledge of the subtitles of the game would prove to be invaluable.
• Australia Cup (Reserve Grade)
I believe the NSW Cup and Queensland Cup Reserve Grade competitions should be amalgamated into the main reserve grade competition for the NRL, which could be known as the Australia Cup.
The reserve grade competition can also be an opportunity for the league to hold on to some of its history. Traditional teams from both areas can represent to ensure that an element of tradition and tribalism is not lost. These can include the Newtown Jets, Balmain Tigers, Western Suburbs Magpies, Norths Devils and Wynnum-Manly Seagulls, whom would all act as feeder clubs for their adopted NRL club.
The NRL would obviously need to inject notable investment into the Australia Cup however, as the competitiveness of the NSW Cup in particular is currently well below the standard of what reserve grade Rugby League should be. In this case the Queensland element of the competition would likely dominate in the early years.
Investment would also obviously pay off when the standard of competition and talent begins to increase, as does community support. Obviously with teams different to those in the NRL representing, an extra chain of merchandise and membership could also be opened up, while the traditional teams would obviously appeal to the older element of fans. The current success of Newtown Jets merchandise and support is an example of this appeal.
• Expansion
Visions for expansion have been stifled recently as the league looks to sure up support with the current 16 clubs and to make sure that they are all financially viable. Despite this, the Central Coast Bears franchise continues to push forward with their readmission into the NRL and continues to look for support.
I believe that a Central Coast team is imperative to the game, whether it is the Bears or not. Preferably it would be. In saying that I also believe that a 16 team competition is an optimal number, which would mean that a Sydney side would need to be sacrificed for a Central Coast team to be established.
Whichever team that would be is likely to stir emotions amongst Rugby League fans and obviously that teams supporters. Despite this however, I believe that the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks should be axed from the competition, or forced to merge with the Bears so that a Central Coast team can be admitted. My reasons for this are detailed in my earlier blog; Really Long Link
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea also continues ahead with their NRL admission bid. With financial support from the national government, the PNG side will undoubtedly continue to lay the groundwork for future advancement into the main competition.
In my opinion, the best avenue for PNG at this stage is to be admitted into the national reserve grade competition (see Australia Cup). This would be an excellent transition for the new club and one that would still ignite support for the team in its homeland, while also promoting interest in the reserve grade competition itself.
• Indigenous All Stars verses NRL All Stars
The inaugural Indigenous All Stars verses NRL All Stars game is almost guaranteed to be a complete success and likely to become an annual event. However, I suspect that in later years, the passion and tenacity of the Indigenous players will easily outmatch that of the NRL All Stars and the games governing body will need to search for another quality opponent. Examples could include a New Zealand Maori or Pacific Island team or a combined English Super League side.
• Retro Pre-season
Pre-season competitions are often viewed as redundant, but by the same token they do create an opportunity for increased revenue and exposure for the main competition to come. Moreover, pre-season competitions also represent a unique piece of history in Rugby League, with many being staged as far back as the 1960s.
With that said, a new pre-season concept could be introduced to generate interest and publicity for the code. In the same vain as the Indian cricket IPL tournament, the NRL could do its best to attract big name sponsorship and investment, with an extravagant auction taking place to decide the available players for the competing teams.
The auction’s desired result would be to provide another revenue stream to the players participating in the tournament. The payments to the players would not impact upon the NRL salary cap in any way as the pre-season tournament would be viewed as a separate competition.
Another aim for the tournament would be to promote the history of the game. The initial 8 teams to compete could include the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Balmain Tigers, St. George Dragons, Newtown Jets, Valleys Diehards, Norths Devils and the Toowoomba Clydesdales. The eighth team inducted could be a representation of the Glebe Dirty Reds, the first Australian Rugby League club ever created, but who have not existed for over 70 years, a novelty for the event. The eight competing teams could be changed each year.
An example of the intrigue that would be generated in the competition would be the possibility that players like Greg Inglis could play and captain sides like South Sydney or the Valleys Diehards.
• Maher Cup
The Maher Cup could also be introduced into the NRL competition, with the previous year’s premiers receiving the trophy initially. See my previous blog; Really Long Link for more information on the Maher Cup.
The main function of the cup would be that the team in possession of it has to defend it in each match, with prize money being awarded to the winner.
The purpose of the cup would be to further generate investment and sponsorship into the game, coupled with increasing player payments outside the sphere of the salary cap. It could also be used to generate more interest in the regular season, especially with clubs who have already missed the top 8 towards the end of the 26 rounds.
An example of the interest that could be sparked is when a team languishing at the bottom half of the table wins the cup mid season and then embarks on a monumental winning steak. In the same vain as Parramatta’s winning streak last season, the situation would see the holders of the cup defend it against all challengers leading up into the finals.
• Membership
Focus on membership needs to become paramount in the view of survival and income streams for clubs. Equally important is the opportunity to build and strengthen the atmosphere of community between the club and its fans.
Evidence of this has already begun as Rugby League clubs begin to realise the importance of membership. In the years that come, better membership deals are needed for fans to increasingly embrace the idea. Obviously the cheaper the membership deals are, the more appealing they would be to the average fan of the game.
• Representative Football
State of Origin could be moved to Friday nights and played on stand alone weeks mid season. This would increase the hype to the games, while at the same time sparing sides such as Brisbane from missing their stars during this time.
To fill the void in games played over the weekend, a World Sevens tournament could be contested by players not involved in the Origin series, as well as teams representing from the English Super League and South Pacific national sides. The Seven’s tournament would obviously be overshadowed by Origin, but it would help boost revenue streams, while at the same time promoting the international game with the presence of English and South Pacific teams.
The likes of Gareth Ellis and Sam Burgess competing in the NRL is a tremendous endeavour and one that should be promoted by the league. Much in the same way Harry Bath and company did for Australia in the 1950s and 60s, the Brits can return to England to strengthen their Super League competition, in turn increasing the competitiveness of the international game.
Meanwhile, with many of their players already playing in the NRL, the New Zealand side will also become far more competitive in the years to come. Evidence of the New Zealand Warrior’s success in strengthening the New Zealand side is already evident; therefore the team’s inclusion in the 16 team NRL Premiership should be protected by the league.
The introduction of the 5 Nations tournament will also boost the competitiveness of the game in Europe and the South Pacific. A spin off to the World Cup could also be introduced where all Rugby League playing nations bar Australia, New Zealand and England could compete on a far more level playing field.
• Junior Football
Junior football is vital to the game and ensuring its survival will be a primary objective for any body that is running the game in the future. The next innovation to junior football in the years to come will be the introduction of weight divisions opposed to age groups to ensure that the physically bigger and stronger Polynesian youngsters do not force players of other nationalities out of the sport.
• AFL Threat
In my opinion the introduction of the new Gold Coast and Western Sydney teams into the AFL competition will be of no threat to Rugby League. I believe that both codes can be accepted by the community without one killing off the other.
Obviously direct attempts by the AFL to harm Rugby League (i.e. in the move to poach Karmichael Hunt to AFL) would be an issue, but in my opinion only for the short term. Rugby League is by far a better product and will be able to withstand the AFL’s expansion, provided that it continues to strengthen its heartland areas and does not neglect them.
• Salary Cap
The salary cap is also another important issue as it contributes to the player drain currently experienced by the code. However, an increase in the salary cap, and in turn those paid to players, cannot be achieved until all 16 clubs prove to be financially sustainable.
One key advantage of the salary cap is the unprecedented evenness of the competition in recent years. However, incentives and protections should also be introduced to promote club loyalty, which is an important tradition that has been lost over the years due the clubs’ inabilities to keep their emerging stars under the cap.
An example of this is the player movement in the Melbourne Storm in recent years as they have not been able to keep all their premiership winning players under the cap.
Obviously there are a number of other issues that the new commission will also need to address in the years to come and the game will undoubtedly face new and strong challenges at every turn. However, the commission’s structure will prove vital in its ability to deal with these issues, while at the same time promoting the game and giving it the opportunities to move forward.
At the end of the day however, the game of Rugby League will always survive because the game itself is such a strong product. That is Rugby League’s greatest advantage and one that should always be protected above all else.
If the game of Rugby League is allowed to showcase its fullest potential on the field, then it will always have a bright future.
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