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Australian Rugby / RA

SouthernX

John Thornett (49)
Very interesting indeed. The actual quote from Gallagher has the word ‘future’ removed

perhaps they are announcing a competition for 2024 soon? At the end of Australian club rugby season the winners of the local comps have a hit out amongst each other in sept/oct to crown king club of Australia?

atko on twitter hinted he has spme
details tomorrow on his poddy so an announcement can’t be too far away.
 

KentwellCup>ShuteShield

Ted Thorn (20)
National Club Comp was also mentioned by Dan Herbert when he became chairman.


I really hope they do it right. Fund it through rich people who want their egos stroked by owning or financially supporting a rugby club.

I for one am big supporter of it, but I have no idea how they will get all clubs involved. As due to the tribal nature of club footy, a gordon supporter wont support norths because they're both North Shore. As opposed to in Super Rugby a lot of NSW rugby supporters will tune in for Brumbies or Reds to support Aussie rugby as whole.

However, the flip slide of this is, I will support my local premier grade side win lose or draw and would tune into every game. Can't say the same about the Tahs.
 

LevitatingSocks

Watty Friend (18)
National Club Comp was also mentioned by Dan Herbert when he became chairman.


I really hope they do it right. Fund it through rich people who want their egos stroked by owning or financially supporting a rugby club.

I for one am big supporter of it, but I have no idea how they will get all clubs involved. As due to the tribal nature of club footy, a gordon supporter wont support norths because they're both North Shore. As opposed to in Super Rugby a lot of NSW rugby supporters will tune in for Brumbies or Reds to support Aussie rugby as whole.

However, the flip slide of this is, I will support my local premier grade side win lose or draw and would tune into every game. Can't say the same about the Tahs.
September would be far better timing than the current paradigm that feels more like a trial during preseason when most rosters are different from the prior season.

Club rugby is simultaneously too big to be put to the side and not big enough because most clubs don't have the resources or infrastructure to individually support a higher tier of competition. Maybe RA could directly provide funding/support personnel to existing clubs to raise the professionalism level of what's currently Prems?
 

KentwellCup>ShuteShield

Ted Thorn (20)
I was thinking if they want an actual pro comp, what they could do is. RA pays the big bucks for wallabies players and big names, then private owners of the clubs can flip the rest.

Gives RA ownership over players and also takes the weight off of private owners.
 

Raytah

Sydney Middleton (9)
Like the idea, but no way all clubs will be involved. Needs to be short and sharp, costs under control, something players want to play in (i.e. not NRC / ARC all over again)

Could look like a 4 week, 16 team knock-out tourny with 5x Syd, 4x Bris, 2xJID, 2x Dewar, 2x WA, 1x Aus Barbarians (i.e. an amalgam of best talent from non-qualifying clubs).

1st round remains "in state", so only need to fund 3 "travel" rounds (with # of teams diminishing each week).
 

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
National Club Comp was also mentioned by Dan Herbert when he became chairman.


I really hope they do it right. Fund it through rich people who want their egos stroked by owning or financially supporting a rugby club.

I for one am big supporter of it, but I have no idea how they will get all clubs involved. As due to the tribal nature of club footy, a gordon supporter wont support norths because they're both North Shore. As opposed to in Super Rugby a lot of NSW rugby supporters will tune in for Brumbies or Reds to support Aussie rugby as whole.

However, the flip slide of this is, I will support my local premier grade side win lose or draw and would tune into every game. Can't say the same about the Tahs.
Well you're in the minority when it comes to Rugby supporters. Most of whom couldn't care less about them. And I say this as someone who has played for one of those clubs.
 
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PhilClinton

Mark Loane (55)
I know in QLD at least, before we ended up with the QRU run City and Country sides for NRC, there was a club tender process to apply to be part of that competition.

It ended up with a few clubs trying to go it alone, a few trying to join forces with neighbouring clubs and a few who straight up conceded they didn't have the resources to play in that league and would potentially fold if that structure went ahead.

I wonder what lessons were learned during that process but more importantly, I wonder where the $$$ is going to come from. Clubs in QLD this year are seeing a downturn in revenue on game days as cost of living has hit.
 

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
I think it would end up working something like that whereby the Clubs apply to be part of the pro comp. The structure of the top tier would be simplified, say 1st grade, reserve grade and colts.

Using Shute Shield as an example, and more specifically - Easts. Easts have an affiliation with Colleagues next door, Easts go off into the NCC and the surplus players move to Colleagues which becomes (say) Easts Colleagues as part of the Shute Shield. The resulting surplus would then also move to the next subbies club down, etc etc. You'd have a similar setup with Norths/Mosman, Gordon/Chatswood for example. And there would be more pathways and pro opportunities as a result. Can only be a good thing for rugby, but no doubt there would be naysayers shouting from the rooftops.

I don't know Brisbane well enough to use analogies there, but I assume there would be some.
 

Strewthcobber

Simon Poidevin (60)
I was thinking if they want an actual pro comp, what they could do is. RA pays the big bucks for wallabies players and big names, then private owners of the clubs can flip the rest.

Gives RA ownership over players and also takes the weight off of private owners.
Private owners?

I reckon we are a long way away from allowing private ownership of Randwick, Gordon, UQ, Brothers etc. Their constitutions probably don't even allow it.
 

Slayer!

Herbert Moran (7)
I'm fully supportive of it, purely because I'm working on the assumption it's pilot study for a domestic pro comp which will replace Super Rugby in 2026.
Or maybe we could just get Super Rugby right with an extended 20 week season, full home-and-away schedule - more home games for SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) clubs etc.
The alternative is going down the same tired old route off standing up a new comp with limited support (yes, limited, which is why GPS gets 2500 every week and the Reds get 14,000). We will sped two or three years faffing about with it, it'll blow all the money from the Lions and RWC and we'll be back in 2008.
With the Rebels now gone we have the opportunity to get SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) right.
 

dillyboy

Colin Windon (37)
Not sure what thread this best fits in but how do we make rugby relevant again?

Thought it was sad to see this on the today show - one of rugby's traditional best nurseries getting airtime to support origin (and can't remember when I last saw them mentioned in the general public in relation to rugby)

 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
In recent years Australian Super Rugby teams have been quite vocal about the lack of decent match experience our professional players receive outside of the season, embarking on tours, and sending players off to New Zealand to fill this void...

It's a good thing we now have one less professional team, and plans for an expanded amateur club comp.

Yippee...

giphy.webp
 

KentwellCup>ShuteShield

Ted Thorn (20)
Private owners?

I reckon we are a long way away from allowing private ownership of Randwick, Gordon, UQ, Brothers etc. Their constitutions probably don't even allow it.
Look I don't have the answers. I have heard of one club who would have backing. Only saying private owners or philanthropists is the only way this comp could work.
Well you're in the minority when it comes to Rugby supporters. Most of whom couldn't care less about them. And I say this as someone who has played for one of those clubs.
Yeah look I can only speak anecdoctally, but from what I perceieve - especially in Sydney. Is that a lot of my mates, who played Union all their lives only watch league, and I think a big part of that is the local identity of the teams. Many of them don't love the sport for itself. 20,000 at those Shute Shield gfs in the late 2010s can't be discounted and theres definitely potiential for a well supported competition using local club IPs.

Will be a hard task to make it viable financially but look thats not our jobs to work out.
 

KentwellCup>ShuteShield

Ted Thorn (20)
Not sure what thread this best fits in but how do we make rugby relevant again?

Thought it was sad to see this on the today show - one of rugby's traditional best nurseries getting airtime to support origin (and can't remember when I last saw them mentioned in the general public in relation to rugby)

A bit random and unrelated, but seems as though the GPS schools in Brisbane hold a lot more cultural relevance and positive media attention as opposed to the ones in NSW.

Anyone else noticed this?
 

Strewthcobber

Simon Poidevin (60)
A bit random and unrelated, but seems as though the GPS schools in Brisbane hold a lot more cultural relevance and positive media attention as opposed to the ones in NSW.

Anyone else noticed this?
GPS schools in Brisbane are elitist, but not nearly to the same extent that the Sydney schools are.

Plus the producer of the show probably went there or something similar.
 
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