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3rd tier is back in 2014 [Discontinued]

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Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Having said all that it seems that the NRC team will be run by the Brumbies in cooperation with the Canberra clubs.........
 
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
You have to just consider even if what I said is the case, it's a necessary evil. Anyway I'm sure the Brumbies would offset that by their allocations of their players to clubs also. If Vikings were too strong I'm sure they would look at not allocating any contracted players too them for JID.
 

Jets

Paul McLean (56)
Staff member
The issue with the SS and QLD Prem was that they played at the same time. This will be a bit different.
 

RugbyFuture

Lord Logo
National Rugby Championship: Ambitious plans begin to take shape


Date
February 6, 2014 - 7:52PM

THE BREAKDOWN

The architects of the National Rugby Championship are cooking up an audacious 10-team proposal for Australian rugby's long-awaited national third tier.
The Breakdown has learnt that the final structure of the NRC will almost certainly include a whopping five teams from Sydney and NSW, two teams from Brisbane and Queensland and one each from the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia.
The tender process is still open for another week but already the administrators driving the ambitious project appear to have identified the 10 most likely entrants in the new competition.
From the Sydney area alone it is understood four alliances have put together what look to be viable bids.
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Premier Rugby powerhouse Sydney University will join with cashed-up suburban club Balmain; Randwick will deepen their alliance with the University of NSW and link with Eastern Suburbs; Gordon, Manly, Northern Suburbs and Warringah appear to be ready to link up as a combined Norths outfit, and a Greater Sydney team will be drawn from a merged Parramatta-West Harbour-Penrith-Eastwood and Southern Districts entity.
A NSW Country team has also submitted a convincing bid and, in music to the cash-strapped ARU's ears, appears close to locking in some powerful financial backers.
North of the Tweed River, the Queensland Rugby Union has already declared it will spearhead two bids – one for a Queensland Country team and one for a Greater Brisbane outfit.
And the newly set up NRC Commission, a panel of more than 12 stakeholders that will rake through the bids, expects to grant tenders from the ACT, Rugby WA and the Victorian Rugby Union.
A major sticking point with the smaller provinces continues to be the distribution of Super Rugby players.
The ARU will mandate that every available Super Rugby player not representing the Wallabies must play in the NRC. It is understood each NRC squad will be "given" about 15 Super Rugby players, with the remainder of the squad to be filled by emerging club players.
That means the Rebels, who could conceivably be left with a squad of 25 or more after losing their Test players, could send 15 to play in the Melbourne-based NRC team, while the remaining players will be split up between the Sydney NRC teams.
The Breakdown understands both the Rebels and the Force are fighting to keep all of their squad members, an understandable standpoint for two franchises trying to deepen their community roots, not spread them more thinly.
NRC Commission chairman John Boultbee defended the move, telling the Breakdown it was necessary to ensure an even spread of Super Rugby talent and also space for club players to be seen.
"That's a major part of the objective: to give Super Rugby players more games of quality but also give the next group of emerging players an opportunity to play in a better competition," Boultbee said.
But back to the money.
Player payments – a colossal part of the ARC hangover – will be slashed to a fraction of the salaries earned in the 2007 competition.
Some Super Rugby players were earning an additional $100,000 to play back then. It is not clear what payments Super Rugby players will attract compared with emerging, non-professionals, but the ARU has made it clear the sums will be modest.
There remains a high degree of scepticism about whether a competition that did not work seven years ago will work now, despite an agreement with broadcaster Fox Sports – a financial commitment the ARC did not attract.
But the NRC does appear to be more than a reincarnation of its failed forbear, which was spectacularly shut down after costing the ARU about $5 million in its first season.
It is understood that almost all of the hopeful tenders have aligned themselves with universities in deals that provide more than just playing fields and gyms, but cash as well.
In that regard the new competition has dipped into a third-tier model proposed a year ago by sports administrator Greg Harris, who heads the Rugby Union Players' Association.
His vision was to have each team closely aligned to a tertiary institution.
There is much work to be done before the final structure of the competition is decided and the successful tenders are announced.
But with an inaugural season less than seven months from kick-off, there is justifiable excitement – even within Sydney clubland – about what the future holds.



Read more:http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/national-rugby-championship-ambitious-plans-begin-to-take-shape-20140206-324ht.html#ixzz2sX3HIuif

Interesting stuff.
 

Dave Beat

Paul McLean (56)
The ARU will mandate that every available Super Rugby player not representing the Wallabies must play in the NRC. It is understood each NRC squad will be "given" about 15 Super Rugby players, with the remainder of the squad to be filled by emerging club players.
That means the Rebels, who could conceivably be left with a squad of 25 or more after losing their Test players, could send 15 to play in the Melbourne-based NRC team, while the remaining players will be split up between the Sydney NRC teams.
The Breakdown understands both the Rebels and the Force are fighting to keep all of their squad members, an understandable standpoint for two franchises trying to deepen their community roots, not spread them more thinly.

Common sense.
 

p.Tah

John Thornett (49)
Its looking good but I'm curious to see what grounds these teams play out of. Looking forward to when everything is finalised.
 

tigerland12

John Thornett (49)
A Queensland country and a greater Brisbane?

That country team will be weak.

From a Queensland perspective this set up looks shit, as the greater Brisbane team will just be Reds and WTS players,giving Premier players little chance to play.
 
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
I really don't see all this love for "country" teams. Like in an idealistic way, yes it's great. NSW and QLD Country have long proud histories.

But from a commercial perspective they make zero sense. The represent far too sparsely populated areas to bring in crowds, sponsorship, etc. and be as effective as a city based team.

Then there is the likelihood of them playing out of Bond Uni... Nothing says dinky di, true blue, rough and tumble country... as being somehow aligned with Australia's only private university whose enrolments are majority international students, or ex Sydney GPS students...

Would have much preferred the Red's divided there teams in 2, based on the North and South Prems teams.
 

Rugby Central

Charlie Fox (21)
Is there not a hearts and minds aspect to it?
We are on a religious crusade to spread the word of the game they play in heaven.

Yes we are on a crusade to spread the word but if you turn up to the walls of the citidel wth little more than a sharp butter knife you won't make much headway.

The commercial reality of Rugby's niche status has been ignored for too long. Pursue idealism by all means. But do it AFTER there is money in the bank.
 
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
I agree RC. It's my view that a team representing a wider region of less populated towns has less chance of success financially than representing a densely populated city.

The ARU cannot afford to subsidise any teams as part of a strategic approach right now, like the AFL have done with GC and GWS.
 

Gibbo

Ron Walden (29)
If you think country teams don't work have a look at a lot of the season ticket holders for the NQ Cowboys. Members travel hours every second week to Townsville religously. This is for a created team that had no 'brand' or traditional background.
They are financially sound and backed by wealth from the country. Don't knock the regional models.
 

swingpass

Peter Sullivan (51)
this is still all very speculative.
the ONLY certainties are teams from melbourne, perth, canberra and two from queensland. the actual makeup and playing personnel is probably a long way off being settled. i don't know the SS well enough to give an accurate appraisal but can sydney/nsw really sustain 5 teams, i'm talking financing not playing numbers
 

Tomikin

David Codey (61)
I tend to feel that players from area's should represent that area, eg if Im a club man in Canberra then I have the chance to play for the Canberra NRC team if Im good enough to be selected. Now if I feel I can't make it and I need to go to NSW Country to get a gig then I find a club there I play there and I build there comp's and make my name a different way. I know initially Melbourne maybe strong as they have 25 Super Players. But doesn't it make more sense to play where my club team is then to say fly me to Country QLD where I dont want to be so I get a gig (Obviously at the ARU expense).

Yes this may force Sydney Teams to be weaker initially as there is more teams less players but it would even out.

Only issue I really see is say the Brumbies\Rebels force there players to play locally. So in turn would need to turn out for the NRC team locally. Unless you have a 5 player limit on people from not your area.

But it's sounding good at the moment, I will be tuning in to watch
 

Dave Beat

Paul McLean (56)
. i don't know the SS well enough to give an accurate appraisal but can sydney/nsw really sustain 5 teams, i'm talking financing not playing numbers

Good point, quite possibly if you look at all the players as a whole that have graduated through the SS into Super Rugby.
With regards to financing - I also think this is possible with the rights structure and following.
 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
If the Canberra, Melbourne and Perth teams are being run by their respective Super Rugby organisations then it would be a little absurd to release players contracted to them to play in opposing teams..........

And this:

If I'm a player living in Melbourne and paying rent in Melbourne, etc. I'm probably not going to be much of a fan of it.
 
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