NRL – A Dying Competition

I feel as though something needs to be done. There are many problems, of course, no sport is perfect (just look at the NBL). But to me it seems that they (the NRL) are sacrificing a lot of its traditional fan base just to hook a couple of temporary supporters. The problem with these supporters is just that, they are temporary and wayward and once they and the traditional supporters go, who is left? I for one can say I used to follow the NRL much more closely. Now I also follow sports overseas. I find they are more mature and probably as a result are much better managed. Here I think the biggest problem in the game is money. This includes the lack thereof and the salary cap.

Let’s face it, the pokies tax has hit the leagues clubs very hard. So hard, that they can no longer support their own rugby league teams as well as they used to. Obviously they need to find new ways of obtaining that money. Now I have no idea on how they will do this, but I have a feeling some teams will be bought out and there will be a few more privately owned clubs similar to Manly and Souths.

Something that people may not know is that News Corp owns half of the NRL. That is, half of the governing body of the competition are News Corp executives. This was all part of the deal from the Super League war. Now, another interesting fact is that News Corp also owns the Storm, over half of the Broncos and until recently the Cowboys. These have also been some of the most successful teams in the modern era. Not implying that there is anything going on, but it appears to be a bit of a conflict of interest. Needless to say, these clubs are not affected by this tax and have access to money some clubs could only dream about. This brings me on to my next point, the fact that the game is playing second fiddle to News Corp’s interests. For example, the grand final start time moving from its traditional 3pm kick off to the night. Thankfully they have met the public halfway and are changing the kick off time to 5pm this year but the fact they cant change it back to 3pm because of ‘lower rating numbers’ is disheartening. For me to regain any kind of respect for this competition, the governing body needs to be independent of any of the interests of the clubs which play in it.

On to my next point, which is a big one, is that of the salary cap. Based on my previous points, they can’t simply just increase the cap, clubs simply can’t afford it, and the ones that can will buy all the best players defeating its purpose. But something definitely needs to be done about all the players changing teams and going overseas. Seriously, I checked NRL.com the other day and the top 5 stories were about player movements. That’s just ridiculous. As a fan, it is very disappointing when midway through the season players are being traded for next year. If this is not possible to prevent, there should be some kind of player trade lockout deadline in which contracts cannot be negotiated until the end of the season. However, you definitely can’t blame a player for changing teams because of an increase in salary. These players rely on this to live. It’s a promotion in a way. Gone are the days when football players were working jobs and relying on the game as a second source of income, they now play football full time.

One thing which definitely needs to go is the inclusion of third party payments in the salary cap. This means, for example, if Sonny Bill Williams were to get offered money to become the face of, say, Gatorade that money would be included under the salary cap. The NRL claim these payments are allowed for the team’s top 10 players up to a value of $150,000. A quick calculation allows for $15,000 for each top 10 player. That amount is insignificant. I can understand the reason behind it, because if the good players were to get third party payments (as they definitely would) then that would free them up to play at the club which they choose (as their salary becomes irrelevant), and the NRL are scared they will all go to the same club to win premierships together. I don’t see this to be the case; they are overlooking one important factor – loyalty. I’m sure that there are a lot of players which would rather be playing at another club but cant, whether it’s an issue of money, family, friends, experience or whatever.

To add to this, there should really be a better loyalty clause in the cap to allow clubs to offer more money (even if it goes over the cap) to encourage players who have been with that club for years to continue to play with the same club. Their currently exists one, but once again that clearly is not working. I suggest an optional exponential percentage increase which adds to a player’s salary each year they are with the club, regardless of the cap. One of the most important aspects in the game from a fan’s point of view is player loyalty to the club which does not exist anymore. I think that is part of why State of Origin is so successful. There is no chance of a player swapping sides and people of each state can come together to support the one team. There is a massive sense of pride and unity whilst watching that game which no longer exists in the competition.

On a side note, State of Origin games being held in Melbourne? WTF??? Organisers have threatened that unless ANZ Stadium in Sydney is not going to be sold out as it is in Brisbane, games will move to Melbourne. I tell you what, how about you decrease the prices so that more people can afford to go to the damn game!!! Ticket prices in Brisbane are almost a third cheaper than the Sydney equivalent. Also, ANZ Stadium can hold more double the amount of people! It doesn’t make any sense! Man that pisses me off…

Well I think I’ve written just about enough on the topic. Hopefully something can be done before this competition really does die, and hopefully soon enough as to resurrect my interest in the game as it once was.