Footy Developments in NSW and Queensland

[Rob]

I'm afraid you're incorrect on that one. There is an obvious candidate with an identity and a natural fan base: Redcliffe. And it looks like Redcliffe are going to be announced as the 17th club this week, according to the SMH.

There's probably 2 things i'd say about that - Redcliffe is Brisbane urban fringe, although I believe it's a strong state league team. But do they have the support? Queensland rugby league attendances are difficult to find, but last time Redcliffe was in a grand final was 2018, and the crowd (against another Brisbane team) was 7500. I found a recent home final they played a few weeks ago and the crowd looks to be family and friends. So it's hard to see where 20,000 people a week are coming from.
The second thing is that i'm guessing whoever is behind the bid see that problem as well because they've rebranded in an attempt to capture the wider Moreton Bay region and (somewhat optimistically) the Sunshine Coast region. But they do seem to be well resourced, with the backing of a huge pokie palace. That's really the only saving grace, as they're going to have the same problem any state league team will have in any code attempting to jump up. They basically need to find a bunch of fans from nowhere. The only one that's really done it successfully was Port Adelaide, and as a comparison the 2 grand finals they played in immediately before their admission drew 46,000 each.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

There's probably 2 things i'd say about that - Redcliffe is Brisbane urban fringe, although I believe it's a strong state league team. But do they have the support? Queensland rugby league attendances are difficult to find, but last time Redcliffe was in a grand final was 2018, and the crowd (against another Brisbane team) was 7500. I found a recent home final they played a few weeks ago and the crowd looks to be family and friends. So it's hard to see where 20,000 people a week are coming from.

There's something you're fundamentally missing here: rugby league isn't dependent on crowds, it's dependent on TV viewers. Redcliffe will get plenty of those.

That's really the only saving grace, as they're going to have the same problem any state league team will have in any code attempting to jump up. They basically need to find a bunch of fans from nowhere.

Just because people don't show up to games, it doesn't mean they won't buy memberships or watch the team on TV. While I haven't lived in Redcliffe personally, I'm told people there are pretty passionate for their team, and I imagine a lot of the Moreton Bay area and surrounding places will jump on board to some degree.

 

[Rob]

There's something you're fundamentally missing here: rugby league isn't dependent on crowds, it's dependent on TV viewers. Redcliffe will get plenty of those.

But will other clubs back the NRL in distributing more money to that team if their crowds are arse? I can't imagine many Sydney NRL teams will be overly impressed if they're told this new team that just come in need more of their money.

Just because people don't show up to games, it doesn't mean they won't buy memberships or watch the team on TV. While I haven't lived in Redcliffe personally, I'm told people there are pretty passionate for their team, and I imagine a lot of the Moreton Bay area and surrounding places will jump on board to some degree.

Fair call - I'm not going to claim to know the Brisbane rugby league culture, which is obviously pretty strong. Maybe there's a latent demand for a team that's not the Broncos and it doesn't really matter who it is.

 

[Cubs2Lions]

I'm afraid you're incorrect on that one. There is an obvious candidate with an identity and a natural fan base: Redcliffe. And it looks like Redcliffe are going to be announced as the 17th club this week, according to the SMH.

News Corp strikes $75m deal with NRL to prop up 2023 Redcliffe expansion

As part of the deal the NRL has pledged to reduce the number of free-to-air games involving the Brisbane Broncos, which is part owned by News Corp.

www.smh.com.au

This is very good news for the AFL. Redcliffe and surrounds have never been an Aussie Rules area, they've always been very dyed-in-the-wool rugby league heartland, so there's no real loss with that area gaining an NRL team. But more importantly, it means Ipswich didn't get the nod. Ipswich is an area that the Lions have made a huge investment in with their upcoming training facility and AFLW base, and now they won't have competition from an NRL team in the area to win over the kids. And Ipswich is a pretty sweet plum, it's growing faster than anywhere else in South East Queensland, with more development areas in the pipeline.

View attachment 1252761

So this might do a lot to help AFL overtake NRL in more of Queensland.

The only concern that I have with the NRL, in regards to them expanding to 17 teams now, is that they would probably want a 18th team ASAP (2026-2027 latest) in the competition to avoid teams for having a weekly random bye and add an extra-match up for the round to increase the broadcasting revenue for Channel 9 & Fox Sports.

As a result, given the fact that P'Vlandy's has stated before that he doesn't want to spend money/expand competition into AFL-rusted states (SA & WA) and that they want to counteract AFL's following in South East Queensland, it wouldn't really surprise me if they decide to merge both the other bids (Firehawks & Jets) to create a strong 18th club ASAP, located in the Ipswich/West Brisbane area in QLD (where the Lions have a small but significant footprint in).

The other big issue I feel like the NRL are having now and will have for a while, in regards to future expansion of the competition, is that they are finally understanding (20-30 years too late IMO) that there are too many clubs in the metro Sydney/NSW region and as a result, will most likely need to relocate some of those small NSW teams to other states of Australia (South Australia/West Australia), similar to the South Melbourne/Fitzroy situation with the AFL, to help create a unified "National" Rugby League Competition, as the lack of player depth between the best & worst in the sport now is too big for more teams after 18, due to lack of funding/development at the grassroots levels across the country.

The possible reduction of NRL teams in NSW in the future (20-30 years) will only help AFL make a bigger footprint in New South Wales and I wouldn't be silly to suggest that the AFL could probably be the number 1 sporting code in NSW by 2050, if they play the correct cards right with their long-term expansion & development over in that state for community and elite players/teams.

 

[RedV3x]

This is very good news for the AFL.

Well I'd much prefer the potential of the city of Ipswitch to the suburb of Redcliffe.

I'm afraid you're incorrect on that one.

Not really, We're talking about a local suburban club, that has to rise to the occasion.
That's not even the equivalent of putting Swan Districts, Joondalup or Perth into the AFL.
It's not a Port Adelaide, the most successful football club ever with a huge following and universally disliked by the rest of the SANFL.
It's not Fremantle with the Fremantle derbies still producing the biggest non-final crowds of the WAFL.

 

[NoobPie]

There's something you're fundamentally missing here: rugby league isn't dependent on crowds, it's dependent on TV viewers. Redcliffe will get plenty of those.


Just because people don't show up to games, it doesn't mean they won't buy memberships or watch the team on TV. While I haven't lived in Redcliffe personally, I'm told people there are pretty passionate for their team, and I imagine a lot of the Moreton Bay area and surrounding places will jump on board to some degree.

Like Rob I obviously can't claim a deep understanding of Brisbane League culture but I would suggest :
-crowds are still a revenue source even if League has more of a dependence on TV revenue
-to get next to no crowds to a home final when you are bidding for a NRL license can only be interpreted as a bad sign
-Redcliffe peninsular, even if it is relative passionate about the dolphins, only has 60K people
-Moreton Bay itself only has 470K people, many of whom live closer to Brisbane city than redcliffe

 

[I Remember Bluey]

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

NRL seals $100m broadcast deal with Foxtel for expansion in Brisbane
In a landmark development for the code, the NRL’s Pay-TV partner has thrown its support behind a second Brisbane team with a mega deal.


The NRL has agreed to terms with Foxtel on a new broadcast deal for a 17-team competition in a move poised to deliver an NRL expansion windfall of up to $100 million.
In a landmark development for the code, the NRL’s Pay-TV partner has thrown its support behind a second Brisbane team with a mega deal that will bankroll rugby league’s most significant expansionary move in 14 years.

 

[RedV3x]

There's something you're fundamentally missing here: rugby league isn't dependent on crowds.

Rugby league is dependent on crowds. NRL is not immediately dependent on crowds but the NRL is dependent on a number of factors
like crowds, participation and sponsorship. TV viewers are the end result..

Redcliffe will get plenty of those.

We'll have to wait and see. IMO it's a question of how long it will take for the new club to be accepted.
It appears that the NRL have acquired "up tp $100 million" extra.
Does that go to the NRL (clubs) or to prop up the new club ?

While I haven't lived in Redcliffe personally, I'm told people there are pretty passionate for their team, and I imagine a lot of the Moreton Bay area and surrounding places will jump on board to some degree.

Whilst Redcliffe is doing OK a.t.m. there are a number of more successful and more traditional teams than Redcliffe. Whilst Redcliffe fans may be passionate they are small in number and passion can actually drive away new support. I have been to Redcliffe and it was the most underwhelming place at that time. Hopefully it's improved since then.

 

[RedV3x]

As revealed by News Corp last month, the Redcliffe-backed Dolphins are the strong favourites to win the 17th licence by virtue of their $100 million asset base, 40,000 Leagues Club members and thriving catchment in the Moreton Bay region.

So, yet another NRL club dependent on a leagues club and on a peninsula to boot.

The finals series has been a ratings bonanza, driving up the value of the broadcast rights on a weekly basis.

When Covid19 is over people will tend to watch less television.
Aren't the weekly NRL ratings and S.O.O. down ?

Under terms of Foxtel’s beefed-up deal for a 17-team league, an extra 12 games will be played during the season.

Not necessarily a good thing when you look attendance patterns as the season drags on.

crucially there will be more content in Brisbane, providing another genuine option for a south-east Queensland rivalry.

Ah yes, there will be a NRL game in Brisbane at the expense of a traditional NRL game somewhere else.
It's all dependent on the time it takes for Redcliffe to establish itself as a genuine NRL team in Brisbane.

 

[BringBackTorps]

1.

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

NRL seals $100m broadcast deal with Foxtel for expansion in Brisbane
In a landmark development for the code, the NRL’s Pay-TV partner has thrown its support behind a second Brisbane team with a mega deal.


The NRL has agreed to terms with Foxtel on a new broadcast deal for a 17-team competition in a move poised to deliver an NRL expansion windfall of up to $100 million.
In a landmark development for the code, the NRL’s Pay-TV partner has thrown its support behind a second Brisbane team with a mega deal that will bankroll rugby league’s most significant expansionary move in 14 years.

As revealed by News Corp last week, the NRL is inching towards expansion with the ARL Commission tipped to announce Queensland’s fourth club by the end of October.

Now ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys will attend a meeting with the 16 NRL clubs on Thursday armed with a beefed-up broadcasting deal from Foxtel worth between $17-20 million annually.

Applying the figure across the sport’s traditional five-year broadcast cycle, a new 17th franchise will be worth between $85-100 million to the NRL in a deal that will guarantee the existing 16 clubs are financial winners from expansion.

Contrary to reports, there are no conditions attached to News Corp Australia’s updated broadcast deal and it is incorrect to suggest the NRL has agreed to reduce Brisbane Broncos free-to-air games by 25 per cent.

Adding Brisbane 2 (almost certainly wealthy Redcliffe RLC, 40 kms from the CBD, on a peninsula- access problems- in nthn Brisbane, home games at Suncorp) will undoubtedly be a major boost for the NRL & RL in Qld.- & Foxtel likely contributing up to $100m for 5 years (ie up to $20m pa) means it is unlikely to be a financial drain on the NRL (which provides all NRL clubs with a $13m pa grant).
We can expect a significant net growth in NRL ratings, crowds, & MSM coverage in Qld. (assuming the 4 Qld. NRL teams can become competitive).

The only problem will be if there is a significant decline in average standards in the NRL.
About 30+ RL experts have expressed, in the MSM, their concerns, &/or opposition to a 17 team NRL. They fear there will be a NRL skills' problem, due to lack of talent/declining male contact RL nos., which might cause declining crowd nos., ratings etc.

It is unclear if Brisbane 2 will achieve net growth in Greater Brisbane male contact RL nos. (where there has been a collapse in Greater Brisbane male contact nos., excluding the Ipswich District RL comp.).
Sydney has 8.5 teams, but this has not prevented a collapse in male contact RL club & school player nos. in Greater Sydney- excluding the Penrith District RL comp, covering far WS.





2. Wookie has predicted 5.10.21 NRL total ratings will exceed those of the AFL in 2021, by c. 15m-17m in total.

(I assume:-
. this should assist it obtaining a good FTA deal, for the period after 2022, from NINE etc.

. total hours watched, however, since AFL games go for much longer, will result in the AFL retaining its primacy in ratings.
Notwithstanding this, the AFL will be embarassed by this rare NRL ratings' ascendancy).


" sportsindustry@footyindustryAU

Linear TV - FTA and Fox et top boxes are estimated to be around the same for the season. Rating differences come down to Streaming where the NRL is predicted to have a big lead, and Origin, Thats without NZ

sportsindustry

I expect the NRL to trounce the AFL for ratings this year - between 15m and 17m i think".

 

[RedV3x]

assuming the 4 Qld. NRL teams cab become competitive

AFL has done well in Qld when the Lions have done well.
AFL has done well in NSW when the Swans have been competitive.
NRL has done well, when the Storm has done well.
NRL has done well when the Broncos have done well.
The future sporting landscape in NSW and Qld does depend a LOT on certain team performances.

The only problem will be if there is a significant decline in average standards in the NRL.

Any drop-off in competitive years sports participation has a larger than ripple effect for that sport.
"standards" means different things to different people above the basic standards.
To me, if all NRL teams were 100% then all games would be nil-nil draws but i do get what you are trying to say.

 

[BringBackTorps]

1. The Australian 23.9.21

"NRL Expansion: Second Brisbane team to rival Broncos from 2023

In a landmark moment for rugby league, News Corp can reveal the code is ready to embark on its first expansionary move in 14 years ...

The NRL is locked in a sporting turf war with the AFL in Queensland and a second Brisbane club will give rugby league more ammunition to win a new generation of fans and participants.

M. Tripp, Melb. Storm Chairman, said...“While the talent pool will be thin for a period, as long as the game continues to evolve and improve and stay an elite sport in this country, it will then warrant better broadcast deals, better sponsorship, all the things that can drive revenue and bring people to the game.

“The salary cap will increase and more people will want to play the game. There will be a knock-on effect.

News Corp understands Redcliffe are the raging favourites to be Brisbane’s second team.

V’landys still has to meet with the clubs to sell them his vision but they already have a guarantee in place that their funding won’t be damaged by a 17th side.

V’landys could do worse than show them the recent comments of former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou (who recently said AFL & NRL clubs only consider their own self interests when expansion is suggested, not what is in the best, long term interests of both codes),.. (My words in brackets, & emphases)"

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...s/news-story/c7a00b559d69c75f8f74db20aa091ab2





2. Female contact RL is having significant growth in Australia- but prior to 2016, jnr female-only contact RL comps. hardly existed.
This female contact RL growth will deliver major benefits for RL, across a range of factors ie sponsorships, internal club fund raising, more volunteers & expertise, more outside sponsors, better culture, & general "feel-good" factors.

Attesting to this growth is the NSW Katrina Fanning Cup comps., which are for NSW schoolgirls (U12-U18, nine-a-side) playing contact RL against other schools.
C. 2000 school girls are expected to play in Terms 3 & 4- this is an impressive figure, since the NRL has only recently been promoting jnr female contact RL, & spends relatively small sums on promotion.

Plan in place to regionally relaunch schoolgirl Katrina Fanning Cup

Schoolgirl competition could relaunch regionally.

www.nrl.com

There will be greater challenges for the AFL, in NSW & Qld., in its promotions of female GR AF from the NRL/female contact RL in future decades.

 

[BringBackTorps]

1. On 24.7.2020, the QRL said there were c. 5000 RL club juniors, in 498 teams, from U6-U12 inclusive, male & female, in the RL Brisbane Juniors comp.- RLBJ.
(And c. 10%+ of this 5000 figure included RL club players who were only playing tag, in their RL club non-contact tag comps.! RLBJ U13-U18 nos. worse, much less than 5000).

Footy Developments in NSW and Queensland

Seems to me that RL has had a large influx of Pacific Islanders / Kiwis. All the big stars when I lived in Sydney were Australians/ Aboriginals. The diversity of player type has changed. Maybe this is good for the growth of the game not sure. AFL is/was the best footy code in OZ.

www.bigfooty.com

The RLBJ comp. covers all Greater Brisbane, but excludes the Ipswich District Junior RL comp.

This 5000 figure, for U6-U12 inclusive, is extraordinarily low, & shocking, for a RL heartland city of c. 2.1m (ie excluding the Ipswich District RL comp.).
Male GR contact RL nos., in both jnr & snr clubs, & schools, have collapsed in Greater Brisbane in recent years (excluding Ipswich District RL comps.).

Greater Sydney has also experienced a collapse (excluding Penrith District RL comp.) in GR male contact RL nos., in both jnr & snr clubs, & school, in recent years. Due to lack of nos., all the Greater Sydney once discrete District RL comps. have had to be amalgamated, generally from U12's, into various Combined Comps. GR contact RL now has very low Club & school comp. player nos. in NS, ES, & inner WS.

Sydney has 8.5 NRL clubs, but this has not prevented the collapse in GR male contact RL nos. in Greater Sydney.
Will Brisbane 2 (based & training HQ in Redcliffe, c. 8 home games at Suncorp- others in Redcliffe & Sunshine Coast most likely) help revive male contact RL nos. in SEQ?






2. Female GR club & school contact RL nos. (& female contact RU nos.- mainly 7's, & other "small" side teams) are having significant growth, since 2017, in NSW & Qld.

This female contact RL growth is very likely to become stronger, & is permanent- & will be a major benefit for GR jnr & snr RL clubs, for a range of factors ie more sponsors, better internal club fund raising, more volunteers & expertise, cultural, & general "feel good" factors.
It will likely challenge the growth of female GR AF in NSW & Qld.

The NSW Katrina Fanning Cup competition, covering school girls from U12 -U18 (nine-a-side) attests to this female growth. It will attract c. 2000 female contact RL players in this schools' only comp.- which will occur in NSW in the 3rd & 4th terms 2021.

Plan in place to regionally relaunch schoolgirl Katrina Fanning Cup

Schoolgirl competition could relaunch regionally.

www.nrl.com

Prior to 2016, GR jnr female-only contact RL comps. hardly existed. (Snr female contact RL comps. have existed since the 1990's in NSW & Qld.)

 

[Kwality]

Have we ever been able to link participation with sport at its highest level in Australia ? Soccer & basketball come readily to mind, OR is it AFL/NRL only?

 

[NewMelbournian]

There are some very non politically correct answers for why many parents don't want their kids playing rugby league even if they love the sport in these states. Certain trends in recent decades have made it hard for many kids to be physically competitive. If you take a look at a typical junior rugby league environment, there is a body type that is very far outside the Australian mainstream. Puberty comes at different times for different people, at the age when you might want to learn the game there are boys who are the size of grown men. What do you with your average 13 year old if he is supposed have a 90 kg boy run at him.

AFL even at the professional level but also at juniors is a place for body frames that are much closer to the average. Of course professional AFL players have extraordinary aerobic capacity, but in terms of height and weight it is a much more attainable look for most people. If I am a mum or dad looking for a footy code for my son, I'd pick AFL over NRL every day of the week and I say that as a genuine fan of both.

 

[yamborghinidream]

There are some very non politically correct answers for why many parents don't want their kids playing rugby league even if they love the sport in these states. Certain trends in recent decades have made it hard for many kids to be physically competitive. If you take a look at a typical junior rugby league environment, there is a body type that is very far outside the Australian mainstream. Puberty comes at different times for different people, at the age when you might want to learn the game there are boys who are the size of grown men. What do you with your average 13 year old if he is supposed have a 90 kg boy run at him.

AFL even at the professional level but also at juniors is a place for body frames that are much closer to the average. Of course professional AFL players have extraordinary aerobic capacity, but in terms of height and weight it is a much more attainable look for most people. If I am a mum or dad looking for a footy code for my son, I'd pick AFL over NRL every day of the week and I say that as a genuine fan of both.

It doesn't have anything to do with political correctness considering the governing bodies are well aware of and openly address the disparity between the huge Polynesian kids and the rest, hence some areas moving to weight rather than age separated groupings.

 

[RUNVS]

There are some very non politically correct answers for why many parents don't want their kids playing rugby league even if they love the sport in these states. Certain trends in recent decades have made it hard for many kids to be physically competitive. If you take a look at a typical junior rugby league environment, there is a body type that is very far outside the Australian mainstream. Puberty comes at different times for different people, at the age when you might want to learn the game there are boys who are the size of grown men. What do you with your average 13 year old if he is supposed have a 90 kg boy run at him.

AFL even at the professional level but also at juniors is a place for body frames that are much closer to the average. Of course professional AFL players have extraordinary aerobic capacity, but in terms of height and weight it is a much more attainable look for most people. If I am a mum or dad looking for a footy code for my son, I'd pick AFL over NRL every day of the week and I say that as a genuine fan of both.

I don't think it is non-politically correct to say that some races grow a lot faster than others.

 

[RodneyMaynard]

Another element here is that touch footy has grown as a fun and easy alternative to full contact league.

 

[HaroLad]

I don't think it is non-politically correct to say that some races grow a lot faster than others.

It's scientifically backed I'm pretty sure

Pretty big correlation between being a good player at 13-16 and having had your growth spurt earlier in most contact sports

 

[Percel]

There are some very non politically correct answers for why many parents don't want their kids playing rugby league even if they love the sport in these states. Certain trends in recent decades have made it hard for many kids to be physically competitive. If you take a look at a typical junior rugby league environment, there is a body type that is very far outside the Australian mainstream. Puberty comes at different times for different people, at the age when you might want to learn the game there are boys who are the size of grown men. What do you with your average 13 year old if he is supposed have a 90 kg boy run at him.

AFL even at the professional level but also at juniors is a place for body frames that are much closer to the average. Of course professional AFL players have extraordinary aerobic capacity, but in terms of height and weight it is a much more attainable look for most people. If I am a mum or dad looking for a footy code for my son, I'd pick AFL over NRL every day of the week and I say that as a genuine fan of both.

You're bang on.

I was exposed to it as junior Rugby Union player at a private school in Canberra. We were reasonably big and strong against most clubs/teams and rarely lost, but one particular club would rock up driving to games at the age of 14, smoking before the game and generally give us a belting. It turned a few parents off....but we eventually caught up and got our own back. But we lost a few kids along the way.

 

[Colonial]

Have we ever been able to link participation with sport at its highest level in Australia ? Soccer & basketball come readily to mind, OR is it AFL/NRL only?

There’s a difference that both Basketball and footballs biggest national comps are overseas.

 

[RUNVS]

You're bang on.

I was exposed to it as junior Rugby Union player at a private school in Canberra. We were reasonably big and strong against most clubs/teams and rarely lost, but one particular club would rock up driving to games at the age of 14, smoking before the game and generally give us a belting. It turned a few parents off....but we eventually caught up and got our own back. But we lost a few kids along the way.

Problem is that there is no easy solution.

Keep it as an age-based competition and it massively disadvantages the caucasian kids, turn it into a weight-based competition and it massively disadvantages the Polynesian kids.

 

[Percel]

Problem is that there is no easy solution.

Keep it as an age-based competition and it massively disadvantages the caucasian kids, turn it into a weight-based competition and it massively disadvantages the Polynesian kids.

Exactly, I'm really not sure how you address this, you end up with boys playing against teenagers, teenagers playing against men, which all sorts of machinations, emotionally and physically.

 

[BringBackTorps]

SMH R. Masters 20.5.20

Masters said the NRL has spent $150m establishing its digital arms; & that J. Grant believed that these could be worth, eventually, c. $2b (?!).

Masters also said

" that Nine Entertainment Co, the NRL’s free-to-air broadcaster, is interested in acquiring the NRL’s digital arm as part of a strategy to lower costs and renegotiate the existing broadcast deal.

Should ARLC chair Peter V’landys agree to the acquisition, it would represent a short-term gain for the NRL and its greedy clubs but long term pain for the code.
Nine’s strategy would be to relieve V’landys of the costs of the NRL’s digital arm, probably for a zero acquisition fee, while raking in its future revenue.

Yet one of the key reasons former ARLC chair John Grant and his board invested $150m (in an asset with an eyewatering future potential value of $2b!) over six years in the NRL’s digital arm was to create an asset that could potentially stream games direct to subscribers and create competitive tension over broadcast fees with its traditional media partners, Foxtel and Nine (My emphases, & words in brackets)".

'Two-billion-dollar asset': Don't sell digital arm, Grant warns

Selling NRL.com to Nine would be a major mistake, according to the man who helped build rugby league's digital arm.

www.smh.com.au

R. Masters & J. Grant will, likely, be unhappy now.
The NRL is now making significant reductions in the myriad of services (including "breaking news") etc. it (& the 16 NRL clubs) offers on its digital arms- there will also be c. 10 redundancies, initially. This will provide Foxtel & NINE etc. with less competition for publishing NRL "breaking news"/other NRL items etc.

This is a very unusual step, since most professional sports in the world are trying to expand their digital assets, & increase their patronage;- &, also, most importantly, monetise these assets ie remove the middle men, other broadcasters- so the sport can maximise its own revenues & profits.

Will the NRL's decision deprive it of major revenues & profits in the future- & thus scuttle its chances of fully investing in/protecting its GR etc.; & ability to thwart the current strong progress of AF in NSW, ACT, & Qld. The NRL is not prevented from streaming its own games exclusively from 2028.



sportsindustry 6.10.21
https://twitter.com/footyindustryAU

"The National Rugby League has bowed to pressure from its media partners and decided to scale down its digital content arm in a move that is expected to result in several redundancies at the organisation".

NRL scales back digital arm following broadcaster pressure
The National Rugby League’s online website NRL.com will move way from publishing breaking news.
smh.com.au



It has been reported in recent days in the Daily Telegraph that Foxtel will pay the NRL "up to $100m extra", over 5 years, for the 12 extra H & A games pa Brisbane 2 will provide from 2023; the SMH says it is $ $15m extra pa, for 5 years

Will the NRL eventually regret the downsizing of NRL.com, & club digital assets etc?.

Four months ago, even the struggling A League decided to spend $30m to expand its digital profile/connect directly with fans.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bu...s/news-story/a59fbfb09817ee3fd1cf180b3d475563

"The A-League will make a $30m bet on a bold digital strategy designed to win the hearts and minds of soccer fans, as part of what looms as the most crucial off-season in the game’s recent history once Sunday’s grand final is played.
Soccer’s huge spend will form the foundation of what the A-League — now under the club’s Australian Professional Leagues control after decoupling from governing body Football Australia — hopes will arrest a decline in crowd and broadcast numbers amid falling interest in the code in recent years".

 

[Fountain Springs]

There are some very non politically correct answers for why many parents don't want their kids playing rugby league even if they love the sport in these states. Certain trends in recent decades have made it hard for many kids to be physically competitive. If you take a look at a typical junior rugby league environment, there is a body type that is very far outside the Australian mainstream. Puberty comes at different times for different people, at the age when you might want to learn the game there are boys who are the size of grown men. What do you with your average 13 year old if he is supposed have a 90 kg boy run at him.

AFL even at the professional level but also at juniors is a place for body frames that are much closer to the average. Of course professional AFL players have extraordinary aerobic capacity, but in terms of height and weight it is a much more attainable look for most people. If I am a mum or dad looking for a footy code for my son, I'd pick AFL over NRL every day of the week and I say that as a genuine fan of both.

Race is a social construct bigot