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Australian Rugby / RA

Adam84

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
Matt Burton re-signed until 2027 earlier this year, and Can Murray isn’t availability until 2026. Although Eddie Jones speaks highly of him.


Toluta'u Koula would be my take as one they’re still talking with, available in 2025 like Sua'ali'i.
 
The Ghost of Raelene

The Ghost of Raelene

David Codey (61)
I think after the signing of Sua'ali'i I'd like to know what targets are genuine options we need and not just every NRL player that has held a Gilbert.

Koula is a good option but we aren't short of Wingers in Rugby right now if you look around Australia. Koro, Wright, Kellaway, Marky, Toole, Petaia are all elite IMO and then Jorgensen will add depth to the position if he potentially becomes an option at 15 and then forcing others to the Wing. We then have the group of Pietsch, Muirhead, Campbell who are genuine Super Rugby starters. After that I see a guy like Darby Lancaster becoming a very good Winger before the next RWC.

Forwards coming from League into a Rugby Forward pack is the hardest transition in my mind. I struggle to think of a genuinely good one in the last 20 years.

For me the only positions I'd be going after are players that can play in the Inside Backs. 10 and 12s. Hard Running ball player. Most League halves could play 10 & 12 in Rugby but if you went looking at guys like Murray & Crichton they could only play 12 and not 10. The other guy I've watched quite a bit of and no idea if he's ever played Rugby but I think he'd be a very good player would be Campbell Graham at Souths. Big fast defensive wall of a human that hits the line and looks like it hurts.
 
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The Ghost of Raelene

The Ghost of Raelene

David Codey (61)
Dctarget said:
What's the highest paid position in league? Half back?
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Half and Fullback.

If you want to believe the Daily Telegraph Kaylyn Ponga is on 1.4m at the Knights and he's the Fullback now and Nathan Cleary on 1.3m as Penrith's Halfback.

Some teams might have the Five Eights but it depends on how they are built and experience of the player. Storm would be Munster at Five Eight on 1m but the Half Back Hughes would be on 750-800 no doubt.
 
Dctarget

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
The Ghost of Raelene said:
Half and Fullback.

If you want to believe the Daily Telegraph Kaylyn Ponga is on 1.4m at the Knights and he's the Fullback now and Nathan Cleary on 1.3m as Penrith's Halfback.

Some teams might have the Five Eights but it depends on how they are built and experience of the player. Storm would be Munster at Five Eight on 1m but the Half Back Hughes would be on 750-800 no doubt.
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and their halfback = our flyhalf? Do they do scrumhalves? Their five-eighth is our 12?

So our players that we need are also their most expensive then
 
The Ghost of Raelene

The Ghost of Raelene

David Codey (61)
Yes, the Half would be most similar to the 10 in Rugby but a lot of Five Eights in League would be able to do it also and can be interchangeable in a lot of NRL sides.. Slightly more accurate kicking game is what separates most Half Backs from Five Eights in League and the Five Eight tends to be bigger on average.

The Hooker in League is probably most Scrum Half like. Looking after the play the ball and middle field defence.

Yes, the most expensive players we need are the ones that already get paid the most in the NRL. It's why their not climbing the fence to get in even though the front door is open.
 
PhilClinton

PhilClinton

Mark Loane (55)
Adam84 said:
Matt Burton re-signed until 2027 earlier this year, and Can Murray isn’t availability until 2026. Although Eddie Jones speaks highly of him.


Toluta'u Koula would be my take as one they’re still talking with, available in 2025 like Sua'ali'i.
Click to expand...

Koula just inked another 3 year extension with Manly over the weekend.

Manly seem stacked with outside backs now, when I saw some of their recent signings I thought for sure Koula would be looking at rugby, but I was wrong.
 
PhilClinton

PhilClinton

Mark Loane (55)
The Ghost of Raelene said:
wwos.nine.com.au

All Black names NRL stars who could transform Wallabies

'They're the players you want in rugby'
wwos.nine.com.au wwos.nine.com.au

Not new but I have to say I agree with him. Munster at 12 for me though. He'd be a nightmare.
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I am biased as a QLDer but I think Munster is the best footballer in the country across either NRL or rugby at the moment.

You could put him in either halves position, centre or fullback in league and flyhalf, inside centre or fullback in rugby and he'd be great. Has a big boot on him as well which not all league halves have and he can tackle.

He's also a bit of a prick, and most winners are.
 
The Ghost of Raelene

The Ghost of Raelene

David Codey (61)
www.afr.com

The seven PE firms vying for a chunk of Rugby Australia

Silver Lake and CVC are among the private equity firms looking at Rugby Australia, while Ticketek’s owner has bids from five interested investors.
www.afr.com www.afr.com

Several private equity firms have advanced talks over two of the most-watched transactions, a minority investment in Rugby Australia and the purchase of Ticketek-owner TEG. Permira, EQT, The Carlyle Group, Blackstone and KKR are pursuing TEG, while seven firms including Silver Lake, CVC Capital and Andrew Forrest’s Tattarang were shortlisted to make an offer to Rugby Australia, people familiar with the transactions told The Australian Financial Review.

TEG and Rugby Australia intricately link the professional sporting world with live entertainment. And private equity wants a clip of merchandise sales, gate admissions and ever-lucrative broadcast rights. Broadcasters rely heavily on global sporting events, while sporting bodies are married to Ticketek and Ticketmaster’s approximately 85 per cent share of the local market.

A deal for TEG would involve about $1 billion in debt financing alone, people said, while Rugby Australia is after up to $300 million from a minority investor, this masthead reported in April. Behind these transactions, meanwhile, is Jefferies. Led by Michael Stock, the US bank’s local outpost not only snared the mandate for Rugby Australia and TEG, Mr Stock advises Nine, the current broadcaster for rugby, and the bank worked on Silver Lake’s $200 million investment in New Zealand Rugby last year.

Bankers and private equity executives considered Mr Stock’s moves a masterstroke. The intersection of media, live entertainment and professional sports presented a welcome payday for the investment bank, which earns fees off advising on broadcasters and by bringing private investors into the dealmaking fray. One private equity executive who looked at TEG’s sale described these transactions as the “holy trinity” given the three-prong view of broadcast rights, merchandise sales and soaring ticket prices. “Private equity houses see entertainment as not necessarily counter-cyclical, but it can hold up in a more depressed economic environment,” said Daniel Natale, a partner with King & Wood Mallesons. “I think people’s discretionary spending on entertainment will stay stable over time. They still want to watch sports, and they will pay extra to go to concerts because they are treating themselves.”

Some private equity shops, however, were less keen. CVC and TPG Capital ruled out interest in TEG’s assets, while KKR privately dismissed rumours of interest in Rugby Australia, people familiar said.

One factor deterring potential investors is key money. Like a security deposit, TEG needs to pay millions of dollars in key money to venues to host events for a fixed number of years. These upfront costs are a heavy pill for a new private equity owner to swallow. Some would-be private equity buyers also believe competition will heat up. Los Angeles-based rival Anschutz Entertainment Group launched its ticketing arm AXS in Australia in February, to compete with Ticketek and Live Nation’s Ticketmaster. A third factor that has private equity scratching their heads is whether live event companies will hit their earnings limits in the next 12 months. Ticket sales soared in the last year after years of show cancellations. Since the world reopened, ticketing companies have cashed in on consumers yearning for live entertainment after stretches of COVID-19-induced lockdowns. Live Nation, for example, recorded $US3.1 billion ($4.6 billion) in revenue in the first quarter of 2023, up 73 per cent on the same period last year, while ticket sales are forecast to swell beyond 600 million this year from 550 million in 2022. Sceptics question whether ticketing giants can maintain such high growth as consumers pare back appetite for discretionary items like entertainment when mortgage repayments are increasing.

Broadcasting momentum​

After almost a year of positioning, meanwhile, Rugby Australia’s capital raising efforts is in full gear. Dubbed “Project Aurora”, the proposed transaction would split revenue from sporting events like the Olympics and Rugby World Cup into one company, while match day and broadcast revenue would be placed in a new entity, Street Talk reported in April. Incoming Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has big plans to revive rugby’s fortunes, including creating a Western Sydney academy. However, his ambitions are contingent on raising about $250 million. “There’s no doubt we need to have more reserves to invest to get the outcomes that we’re after,” he said last week. Rugby Australia made a $4.5 million operating loss in 2021 on revenue of $98.6 million, up from a $27 million operating loss in 2020. But it needs a cash injection to ensure long-term financial sustainability.

Silver Lake is viewed as the front-runner to partner with Rugby Australia since it invested $200 million in New Zealand Rugby last June, but there are still other alternatives: Tattarang, or CVC. Bids are expected to be submitted by the end of July. Rugby Australia signed a $100 million, three-year broadcast rights agreement with Nine in November 2020, and newly extended this deal by another two years. The value of this could increase over time as Mr Waugh pursues his vision of more consistent, high-performing games. Broadcasting this year’s men’s Rugby World Cup in France, combined with an expectation fans will frequent club matches and the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia in 2025, has insiders confident a deal will progress.
 
Adam84

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
Tex said:
Forrest's Tattarang as the minority owner of Rugby Australia would be a neat end to the Force saga, imo.
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The issue with Tattarang, is they don’t offer much value add/vertical integration. It’s other business venture don’t really align with what RA is selling.

Silver Lakes holds a stake in NZ Rugby which is the major positive, having both unions vested in the same PE firm (vice versa) creates economies of scale and a likelihood of a shared goal in the region.

The business expertise and access to their business networks is the other factor that these PE firms are selling to the unions, besides the $$ they’re offering.
 
Adam84

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
LeCheese said:
The Venn diagram of Australian rugby fans and people who wear RM Williams would surely almost be one complete circle
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touché.

Ultimately though, in a PE sense there isn’t much opportunity for vertical integration or synergies within Tattarang when compared to the potential within Silver Lakes; R.M.Williams is small fry compared to the PE partners within the SilverLakes portfolio.

If RA is to derive benefits from what the PE partners are offering(i.e, expertise and coordination/coperation with the other brands they have stakes within) then Silver Lakes offers the greater potential of the two. However, Tattarang would offer a safer bet with the good-will of Forrest been less cut throat then the PE world in which Silver Lakes operates.
 
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