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Dick Tooth (41)
My position is to take the current framework and realities and work within that.
Yours is to basically take a blank slate and start again with your preferred structure.
I agree with plenty of your ideas but I don't see them as a commercial reality. I don't think you can just turf out everything you have and start again without vast financial backing that we are not even close to having. If the ARU had $100m in the bank then maybe that would be the way to go.
Your major criticisms of the NRC seem to relate to things that it has never tried to be.
to take the current framework and realities and work within that.
The current reality is not working and in need of fixing with a view to medium to long term planning.
Yours is to basically take a blank slate and start again with your preferred structure.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
My ideas are to work totally within long existing rugby structures.
In simple terms lets have a 50 team NRC.
Take existing major teams like SS in Sydney, and regional teams... grade them lets say across 3 divisions, 1 to .
Example Eastwood would be grade 1, Parramatta would be grade 2 or 3, Penrith grade 3.
Newcastle grade 1.
So you would have in Sydney say 20 teams and Central Coast, Newcastle Hunter.
You keep travelling distances reasonable so the Gong, Sydney, CC & Newcastle / Hunter play against each other. Same in Brisbane etc.
Perth may not have a grade 1 team and there best team maybe grade 2.
Then each say regional competition play off against each other, and the champions of each region play off against each other, and the team that comes last and first in each division swaps places.
So if Gordon was in Div 1 and came last, and teh Gong was in Div 2 and came first they would swap divisions.
This way you involve all teams all players and its inclusive and will grow the game and highlight the skills and talents of many more players who could be identified and developed.
This way you get multi competitions and rewards for doing good, lots more local media and everyone gets a go.
The cost to the ARU is 000000000.