Australian Rugby / RA

[SouthernX]

It's all about becoming the US version of Indonesian Soccer on a multi.

MLR can really only benefit from any exposure to the glorious game of RUGBY.

Probably right about some players. Where would I rather play if cut.... Wentworthville Magpies or San Diego...

yeah I don’t think the gambling carrot is big as Vlandys is hyping it up to be…. It could lead to interest and FS1 or FS2 showing live games (there’s already NRL content on Fox soccer of all places)

my understanding is none of these pro leagues can stop gambling companies setting lines on competitions, but these leagues can have partnerships with providing players exclusive content.

There’s probably a tv deal somewhere there for Vlandys to hit and he will hype it up as an achievement. But it’s not going to be that big of a revenue bump to begin with.

who knows where rugby league is after 5 years - one thing that’s obvious is NRL is on the upswing where as super rugby is flat lining outside the hospital because of ambulance ramping.

 

[stillmissit]

SouthernX, I think we wait until the end of this Super Rugby before we arrange visitation rights for Super Rugby. There again you could state with some veracity that I am a perpetual optimist based on faith in a form of Nothing!

 

[SouthernX]

SouthernX, I think we wait until the end of this Super Rugby before we arrange visitation rights for Super Rugby. There again you could state with some veracity that I am a perpetual optimist based on faith in a form of Nothing!

im actually really worried for the game.

I would love your optimism right about now…. But I’m going to wait for the rebels/Victoria decision before I go full scorched earth!

 

[Adam84]

NRL revenue/expenditure highlights;


It can be revealed:

• The NRI's total revenue reached a record $701.1 million;
• The 2023 revenue represented a whopping $107.3m improvement and represented an 18 per cent increase on the previous season's mark of $593.8m;
• The ARLC announced a 2023 operating surplus of $58.2m, the third consecutive year League Central has recorded a handsome profit;
• Since 2021, the NRL has banked $164.2 million in profits;
• The NRL now boasts net assets in excess of $260 million, bolstered by the purchase of three properties, including Brisbane's Gambaro Hotel near Suncorp Stadium;
• The NRL delivered record distributions of $447 million to stakeholders, an increase of $80m from 2022, with players receiving a record $216.3m, up 16 per cent from the previous year; and

 

[Omar Comin']

Hmm seems like the NRL have found a competition model that works in this country. Maybe we should try do something more like that.

 

[hoggy]

Hmm seems like the NRL have found a competition model that works in this country. Maybe we should try do something more like that.

It ain't fucken Rocket Science

 

[SouthernX]

It ain't fucken Rocket Science

with 4 teams/maybe 5 if RA does the right thing and saves the rebels… LOL

there’s not enough interest in this country to replicate the NRL national competition. I would love to see the numbers of X-pat kiwis in this country forking out their dollars for a Stan subscription.

What’s the point of signing up to Stan sports if we have rugby AU knowing there’s a free to air game on every Saturday… (your team plays FTA every 2nd week or so)

its either onward with the Kiwis or be done with professional rugby in this country

 

[hoggy]

"THE GOVERNING BODY HAS AN $80MILLION LOAN WITH PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS, WITH AT LEAST $50 MILLION DRAWN DOWN SO FAR"

That has to be a major concern already, the whole thing just doesn't stack up.

 

[Highlander35]

"THE GOVERNING BODY HAS AN $80MILLION LOAN WITH PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS, WITH AT LEAST $50 MILLION DRAWN DOWN SO FAR"

That has to be a major concern already, the whole thing just doesn't stack up.

 

[SouthernX]

Hoggy - please give me 10 cities in a national competition to make up this rebranded NRC competition?

If it’s not rocket science than I’m all ears.

 

[SouthernX]

Sponsors want to broadcast into 2 countries. resene paints would love sponsoring the hurricanes knowing they have an operations here in Australia as well.

 

[LeCheese]

Hmm seems like the NRL have found a competition model that works in this country. Maybe we should try do something more like that.

League's financial success isn't as simple as this - the league (and their clubs) have been smart and invested in revenue-making assets that also bring them in a shedload of cash, as outlined in the report. Super Rugby and its clubs have, for the most part, failed to do this

 

[Omar Comin']

with 4 teams/maybe 5 if RA does the right thing and saves the rebels… LOL

there’s not enough interest in this country to replicate the NRL national competition. I would love to see the numbers of X-pat kiwis in this country forking out their dollars for a Stan subscription.

What’s the point of signing up to Stan sports if we have rugby AU knowing there’s a free to air game on every Saturday… (your team plays FTA every 2nd week or so)

its either onward with the Kiwis or be done with professional rugby in this country

The easiest option would be to create a higher level of parity between the existing teams in Super Rugby by opening up the player eligibility (i.e. NZ players in Australian teams and still eligible for the All Blacks, and vice versa). If NZ Rugby won't agree to this then I think RA should walk away. The extended test rugby trial competition, where Australian teams never win clearly doesn't work for Australian rugby.

I saw someone make a great comparison with the NHL. The majority of teams are in the USA because it's a far bigger commercial market, but the majority of the players throughout the competition come from Canada. A Canadian based team hasn't even won the comp since 1993!

 

[wamberal99]

League's financial success isn't as simple as this - the league (and their clubs) have been smart and invested in revenue-making assets that also bring them in a shedload of cash, as outlined in the report. Super Rugby and its clubs have, for the most part, failed to do this

The League clubs (most of them) have had huge poker machine palaces bankrolling them for years. The ones without pokies have had Rupert.

 

[Omar Comin']

League's financial success isn't as simple as this - the league (and their clubs) have been smart and invested in revenue-making assets that also bring them in a shedload of cash, as outlined in the report. Super Rugby and its clubs have, for the most part, failed to do this

Correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is that the NRL itself didn't own many assets until quite recently. They've built up a war chest in a relatively short period of time because the league itself now has so much scale.

Even in rugby, France has become the clear global powerhouse of the sport because their primary focus has been on building up the Top 14 (and Pro D2 etc) into valuable sports leagues. The international game is still very popular but it's not the main course. Australian rugby will never be consistently strong if it relies upon the success of 1 team, which itself is competing in an increasingly competitive test scene.

 

[hoggy]

Hoggy - please give me 10 cities in a national competition to make up this rebranded NRC competition?

If it’s not rocket science than I’m all ears.

There isn't, but you have to start somewhere, 20 years of Super rugby has ensured the game is utterly broke with a rapidly declining supporter base.
You take the existing 5 teams, add the Drua to start with 6 teams. Beg and scrimp over the next 3/4 years to get to 8 teams (add one each in QLD & NSW)
Look at cross over competitions to try and add value, but guess what you live within a budget the code can afford, because reality is a bummer.

We have been going on about this shit for 20 years now, the narrative never changes, every second day we come up with another option or country that will pay for our rugby, its the Japanese or American broadcast money. We've lived of a credit card for 20 years now and there's no money in the bank left, hell they just spent $50 million of the $80 Million they borrowed.

The top down structure of the game here is collapsing as there is not enough people following the game to pay or follow it to support something that simply does not engage enough supporters.

You can no longer fund the code through the Wallabies, when you long ago turned that option from Wallaby gold into Pizza & six Pack.

Super Rugby starts this Friday and this like every other year, were still talking about the same shit, the narrative never changes.

Standing on the deck of Super Rugby Titanic saying we have no other options is just bullshit to me.

 

[Omar Comin']

It's not that difficult to imagine a 10 team domestic competition. 3 in Sydney (North Sydney, South East and West), 2 in Brisbane (North and South), 1 Newcastle/Hunter, 1 Canberra, 1 Melbourne, 1 Perth. 10th either Fiji or a separate Gold Coast team. If it's an 18 week competition plus finals that's run to be like a mini NRL then I think you might even attract more interest from private investors.

But you could definitely start with 6 teams . A triple round robin isn't ideal, but it's ok to start with.

 

[LevitatingSocks]

Hoggy - please give me 10 cities in a national competition to make up this rebranded NRC competition?

If it’s not rocket science than I’m all ears.

There would likely have to be some city/region splitting similar to the original NRC.
QLD: Brisbane City, QLD country up north, QLD coast based in GC or the sunny coast
NSW: Sydney, Western Sydney, then a NSW country team
Victoria: Melbourne
WA: Perth
ACT: Canberra

There's one spot left that would either go to Newcastle or Adelaide.

It's a fun thought experiment but I don't know if regions that already barely support one Super Rugby team can suddenly support three in order to have 10 teams in the competition while the competition also breaks ground in unfriendly territory like Adelaide. 8 seems more sustainable for the moment. Salary caps would almost certainly have to come down and there would need to be a big recruitment push for Shute Shield or Hospital Cup players to relocate and fill out rosters, which is difficult when the starting pay will likely be unimpressive.

If you look at SuperW pay as a rough benchmark, it might not move the needle for a guy who has the option to get an elite athlete scholarship to uni or finish out an apprenticeship.

 

[SouthernX]

What happens to reds and Waratahs if we add extra teams into QLD/NSW?

The suggestion of a national competition is just the NRC but lipstick on a pig.

plus - the drua might decide to just go play with the New Zealanders

 

[Omar Comin']

What happens to reds and Waratahs if we add extra teams into QLD/NSW?

The suggestion of a national competition is just the NRC but lipstick on a pig.

plus - the drua might decide to just go play with the New Zealanders

What happened to the Sydney Swans when GWS was added? Or Sydney FC with Western Sydney Wanderers. They didn't have to change their names or identity just because a new team came along laying claim to a chunk of their region.

I think the 5 Super Rugby clubs/brands should be the core of any domestic competition, and that the Waratahs in particular would thrive with a cross town rival or 2. That would be my preference anyway, but the other option would be to use the Waratahs and Reds as representative teams in a state of origin style series.