NRL General Discussion Thread - 2016

[tommy]

I thought there is a bid for a central Qld team. And a PNG team. And there was talk of Ipswich too.

 

[Broncoman]

Perth should be the next place the NRL expand to. Perth is a great city with lots to offer. They have the right stadium to play Rugby League there and the NRL games they've played there have gotten big crowds and playing the test match there will help. There is also a lot of ex NSW and QLD people there and Rugby League isn't a mystery to the people of Western Australia. It's such a shame that Super League ruined the Reds.

 

[Broncoman]

I thought there is a bid for a central Qld team. And a PNG team. And there was talk of Ipswich too.

It will be many years before it would be possible to sustain an NRL team without support from everyone. I don't know if you're aware of this but PNG is a third world country with a lot of social, economical and crime problems. Many people there live in poverty and the capital Port Moresby is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. There are some positive changes happening but I still think it will be a long time before they can sustain a team there without any assistance from anyone. I also think if they did set up a team there right now that team would get flogged in every game.

Inside Papua New Guinea, one of the world's most violent places

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities In The World | News, Facts & Other Information You Love - UncoverDiscover.com

I would love to see PNG get a team. I personally have been there and I've never seen people more passionate about Rugby League anywhere else then the people of PNG. Their love for the game is unspeakable and can't be compared to anyone else. The fact that PNG play in the ISC is a good move and hopefully it lifts the standard of Rugby League there.

 

[mitch222]

While I agree that I hate the idea of bailing out poorly managed clubs, the reality is that the NRL money depends heavily on TV rights.

If you start taking out teams from the comp, you're not only wrecking supporter bases, but you're going to decimate TV rights income. That's not good for any clubs.

you don't take a team out of the comp completely, you relocate them to a better market and rebrand them

 

[Porthoz]

Perth, Wellington, Central Qld, Brisbane/Ipswich. 4 viable locations where you could relocate struggling teams, while getting rid of the ridiculous surplus of Sydney teams dragging down the NRL as a whole.

 

[Tunza's Chin]

NRL clubs and the game's governing body are a step closer to eternal peace but there is no end in sight to the hostilities at Parramatta with the Eels sending rival chairman candidates Geoff Gerard and Paul Garrard to Thursday's summit of the game's powerbrokers.
The first meeting this year of NRL CEOs and chairs saw clubs move further towards signing perpetual licences to play in the premiership which will ensure there can not be another Super League war as they would be unable to join a breakaway competition.
The clubs and the NRL had signed off on a Memorandum of Understanding last December, which guaranteed them an extra $100 million in funding from the new $1.8 billion broadcast deal and annual grants equating to 130 per cent of total player payments from 2018-2022.
The first payment of $1.5 million to each club from the $100 million pool is due in July but the amount of the salary cap beyond next season is no nearer to being determined.
RLPA chief executive Ian Prendergast suggested that the next collective bargaining agreement between players and clubs should coincide with the finalisation of the licensing agreement but it is believed the proposal only received luke warm support from clubs.
A sinking fund, into which the clubs would invest money which could be drawn upon should any of them fall into financial difficulty, is also believed to have been discussed but has mixed support.
Of more interest was details of the perpetual licence, which would guarantee clubs a place in the NRL on an ongoing basis provided they were financially viable.
Clubs lost a combined $38.4 million last season but the ARLC believe they should all be able to at least break even with the additional funding from 2018, which could be as much as $13 million per club if the salary cap is increased to $10 million per season.
Until the amount of the salary cap is known, clubs are unsure how much they can offer big name stars such as Jarryd Hayne if they come onto the player transfer market but that will be decided as part of the cba negotiations with the RLPA.
The meeting was the first overseen by new NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg in his current role and was attended by the CEOs and chairs of most clubs, with Parramatta sending Gerard and Garrard as they currently have no chief executive.
With the pair at the centre of an internal power struggle over the chairman's job after the NRL suspended Steve Sharp and two other Eels directors and asked them to show cause for why their registrations as club officials shouldn't be revoked, there was much interest in their relationship and Fairfax Media was told Gerard and Garrard barely spoke to each other at the meeting.


Read more: New NRL licensing deal to end threats of a Super League-type breakaway

I'm not sure how to feel about that. On one hand it seems as though it would make it harder for the NRL to revoke the licenses of the some of the Sydney clubs, which I would like to see happen. On the other hand its important for the NRL to take more power off the clubs IMO, so we can make decisions for the games future without their corruptive self interest. This is a step in the right direction in this regard, clubs will no longer be able to hold the game hostage by threatening not to sign them.

I am not a fan of the sinking fund because it will prop up inefficient clubs - market forces are clearly pointing to an over-saturation in the Sydney market, we need to let them do their thing.

As for expansion, New Zealand, Perth and Brisbane are the most obvious choices. PNG couldn't support a team and can't be seriously considered.... PNG Hunters is the right step. I think Fiji came up as an option to join NSW cup as well? It's a good start.

New Zealand has a lot of positives. It has a sport loving population large enough, and with enough $$$, to support another team. If the NRL helped a new franchise sign a couple of All Blacks it could generate a lot of interest. Plus there is just so much bloody talent in New Zealand - this would help league take even more from Rugby. I've given up hope of a successful Warriors team, but it'd be great for the game if there was one in NZ.

Subjectively, plenty of reasons to like Brisbane, but other teams can **** off from our turf...

Perth would be fantastic for the extra time zone (Broadcast $$ wise), but doesn't look like the WA gov is going to have any money to spend on sporting infrastructure for a while which is a downside. I think it'd be a great option long term, but likely require patience and support from HQ until they could become a successful, profitable team. West Coast Eagles and Force both have a head start. How great would it be to see the NRL say right we can get an extra $10 mill a year** in broadcast fees for having a team in the Perth timeslot, any Sydney team that moves there can have $5mill of that a year for the next five. And salary cap concessions or whatever else is needed to help them succeed as they start out.

That's what gets me about how the game is run at times... We've been held back decades by self-interest and ineptitude, mostly from a bunch of all leaguies in NSW who don't have any Administrative or business sense about them. I can't see concessions for a new team happening - clubs would be up in arms and still hold too much sway over NRL HQ.

** I've got no idea of a realistic $$ figure - but i'd imagine that'd be conservative? Anyone with a more informed idea, please feel free to correct me.

 

[FAS33]

Broncos rorting the system.

They certainly know how to run a club with 3rd party agreements. But a lot of people complaining about the difference between Broncos and a lowly team like the Knights. Watching the footy show today they talking about bringing in a Draft to even out the competition. lol

 

[Foordy]

Re: Broncos rorting the system.

They certainly know how to run a club with 3rd party agreements. But a lot of people complaining about the difference between Broncos and a lowly team like the Knights. Watching the footy show today they talking about bringing in a Draft to even out the competition. lol

they tried a draft ... they had to revoke it after a court ruled it illegal

 

[mitch222]

Re: Broncos rorting the system.

they tried a draft ... they had to revoke it after a court ruled it illegal

Yeh terry hill argued that it was a restraint of trade
im suprised no one in the afl yet has challenged it

 

[tommy]

So apparently Paul Green had another whinge about the bunker. He reckons Javed Bowen should have been awarded a try even though they knocked it on and Bowen dropped it and didn't even ground it properly.

 

[Broncoman]

It's the cow jokes all over again. They lose another close game and it's never their fault it's somebody else's.

 

[Nashy]

The headline and commentators said it was a bewildering decision. It was a clear as day knock on. They seem to think it being run up the field 60m means it should bea try, but why? It doesn't matter where it happens, and knock on is a knock on.

 

[Unbreakable]

Not sure if I've said this anywhere, but I think the Raiders have an actual chance at making the top 4 this year, potentially even the Grand Final, their roster is superb. One small change I'd make is moving Wighton on to the wing to lighten the work under the high ball he has to do, would also give Rapana a chance at Fullback, who's been their best player all year.

1. Rapana
2. Lee
3. Croker (c)
4. Leilua
5. Wighton
6. Austin
7. Sezer
8. Boyd
9. Hodgson
10. Paulo
11. Papalii
12. Whitehead
13. Bateman

14. Baptiste
15. Vaughan
16. Tapine
17. Soliola

I'd be terrified of us coming up against them at full strength in the Quarters or Semis.

 

[broncos4life]

Not sure if I've said this anywhere, but I think the Raiders have an actual chance at making the top 4 this year, potentially even the Grand Final, their roster is superb. One small change I'd make is moving Wighton on to the wing to lighten the work under the high ball he has to do, would also give Rapana a chance at Fullback, who's been their best player all year.

1. Rapana
2. Lee
3. Croker (c)
4. Leilua
5. Wighton
6. Austin
7. Sezer
8. Boyd
9. Hodgson
10. Paulo
11. Papalii
12. Whitehead
13. Bateman

14. Baptiste
15. Vaughan
16. Tapine
17. Soliola

I'd be terrified of us coming up against them at full strength in the Quarters or Semis.

Their halves are average at best, 2nd row is over-rated and they have close to the worst defense in the competition. They are no chance of a top 4, definitely not the GF. The only way they achieve any of that is if teams like Broncos, Cowboys, Storm, Sharks suffer major injuries to key players or get docked all their points.

No chance. Why do you always get so excited about bog-average teams somehow defying all the odds to make the top 4/GF?

 

[Broncoman]

Bit harsh calling Austin and Sezer average

 

[Sproj]

Put yourself in their shoes though if it did come to a semi between us and them. I'd be far more terrified of a fit and firing us than a fit and firing them.

 

[broncos4life]

Bit harsh calling Austin and Sezer average

Reality can be harsh sometimes.

 

[Morkel]

The Raiders have little in the way of structure and play a high-risk, high-reward style. They can beat anyone on their day but can also be beaten by anyone. It would take an extremely well-timed run of form to get through a finals series, and remember, Ricky tends to burn out his players by round 20 or so anyway.

They're 12th in terms of conceding points. Which is symptomatic of their style of play. Risky attack leads to some spectacular tries, but also errors. Those errors put you under pressure, which leads to leaking points. It's no surprise they can look outright shit in one half and world-beaters the other, exactly what we saw last week.

Wighton & Leilua are in the Top 10 for errors (Wighton leading on 26, 8 above the next), Lee & Croker in the top 20. They average over 5 errors a game just between those 4 players.