Local Rugby League How much should the NRL spend in Victoria to grow the game?

[Aucklander]

I can't think of one person who thinks the NRL do enough financially to grow the game here and I always wonder just where the game might sit if the NRL spent a third of the amount the AFL do in fostering Australian football in NSW and Queensland where the game (AFL) has been long established.

Can the Storm (continue) to rely from players outside of the state? Sure they've done incredibly well since inception with a great coach in Bellamy, especially, and their uncanny ability to turn players who we'd never heard of into stand-out first graders.

Does anyone even care? Are Storm supporters happy just to cheer on players from around the various parts of the world, or would you like to see a heap more money invested in the grass roots?

More importantly, would you continue to support a side who might go through a 5-10 year lean patch in order to grow the game locally?

 

[acm21]

I don't think the nrl does enough to grow the game anywhere in the country, and you can extend that to rugby league globally.

Victoria specifically, they need to spend more money then they are both willing and able to.
Imo the kangaroos need to be the pinnacle of the game, and atm it's a far second (if not thrid behind club games).

 

[Aucklander]

I don't think the nrl does enough to grow the game anywhere in the country, and you can extend that to rugby league globally.

Victoria specifically, they need to spend more money then they are both willing and able to.
Imo the kangaroos need to be the pinnacle of the game, and atm it's a far second (if not thrid behind club games).

No arguments from me. Definitely 3rd.

 

[Colonial]

Problem is the NRL, and the clubs running the independent board, don’t want to spend the money growing grassroots anywhere outside of the heartlands.
It’s why Perth bid fell over as the clubs want the entry fee, the backers said no, and not have to spend any of the competitions money.

 

[Colonial]

The NRL is the sports greatest weakness.
The clubs care about the now not the future, my own club still won’t go all in on the fastest growing area in Sydney with the MacArthur area.
The boss of the comp is basically a used car salesman, bagging other sports and calling League the best while doing nothing.
No movement done in where the money will come from for the Sydney clubs when pokies gets even more hammered.
If you aren’t growing you are going backwards. Especially with how League is run.
If it wasn’t for the forgiveness and passion of the fans the sport would be dead already.

 

[moto748]

The NRL is the sports greatest weakness.
The clubs care about the now not the future, my own club still won’t go all in on the fastest growing area in Sydney with the MacArthur area.
The boss of the comp is basically a used car salesman, bagging other sports and calling League the best while doing nothing.
No movement done in where the money will come from for the Sydney clubs when pokies gets even more hammered.
If you aren’t growing you are going backwards. Especially with how League is run.
If it wasn’t for the forgiveness and passion of the fans the sport would be dead already.

But fortunately, the product is pretty good.

 

[Colonial]

But fortunately, the product is pretty good.

As I said, the fans have saved the sport hundreds of times over.
The talent at an all time high.
Inept leadership has always held the sport back.

 

[moto748]

As I said, the fans have saved the sport hundreds of times over.
The talent at an all time high.
Inept leadership has always held the sport back.

Could be worse, you could have our leadership. The NRL is a model of efficiency and probity by comparison.

 

[Colonial]

Could be worse, you could have our leadership. The NRL is a model of efficiency and probity by comparison.

The AFL plan for the future, if the NRL was in charge then the Swans would of been killed off in the 90s and the Lions.

AFL is so far ahead of the NRL leadership wise it isn’t funny unfortunately.
Using sugar hits to make themselves look good. No plan, no future proofing.

 

[moto748]

OK, so how open are Australians outside of NSW and QLD to embrace league? Is AFL more popular than league in Victoria, WA, NT, Tassie, etc?

 

[Colonial]

OK, so how open are Australians outside of NSW and QLD to embrace league? Is AFL more popular than league in Victoria, WA, NT, Tassie, etc?

It’s about growth and building grassroots. These things take time and patience.
If the NRL had patience we would have had a 30 year old Reds, part of the furniture of Perth and a 25 year old Rams.
They don’t need to be the most popular just enough to be growing the grassroots, sponsorships etc

 

[Aucklander]

Let the Warriors win a couple of Premierships and watch the game surge like never before.

 

[Colonial]

Let the Warriors win a couple of Premierships and watch the game surge like never before.

Haha I’m all for a second kiwi side, amazed with the popularity that it hasn’t happened already, and the A-League beat them to the punch.

 

[Aucklander]

Haha I’m all for a second kiwi side, amazed with the popularity that it hasn’t happened already, and the A-League beat them to the punch.

That would give us two chances of winning. Not going to happen anytime soon. Auckland starting nicely, and credit to the A-league for doing that.

 

[Aucklander]

 

[PhatBoy]

They need to save some of the leagues in country NSW first.

The Outback RL and the Barwon Darling League for example need a leg up. All the NRL would need to do would be to throw a tiny, tiny fraction of a percentage point of its profits at those comps and they would function at a meaningful level and get twice the participation numbers.

BDRL for example features teams from Walgett, Bourke, Brewarrina, Goodooga, Collarenebri, Lightning Ridge. These places are all two hours from one another so it’s a big thing just to get the logistics right in assembling a team to go to a game. By season’s end the sides have played maybe 5 games, 6 max, of a scheduled 8 or 9 because there are so many forfeits due to player availability and a tonne of that is travel and money related. All of them have more than enough players registered because in these places, small as they are, all anyone gives a shit about is footy when they aren’t working. They could easily have thriving men’s, women’s, 18s and 15s teams but none of the clubs get any real funding and because they are from such small towns (Walgett and Bourke are the ‘cities’ in this comp and they are 3000 people) the sponsors can only cover so much. So paying referees, travel costs, uniforms, etc etc and admin would keep those comps in much healthier stead.

Outback RL is based in Broken Hill and Wilcannia and competes with the AFL and it’s like the NRL has just given up the fight. There’s been about 7 clubs start and fold in broken hill because they can’t compete with the afl there even though there’s a big islander population and plenty of league fans around the area. They just get no help to try and organise gala days where in theory if there were say, 6 teams, they could stage a gala day every 2-3 weeks and sides could play two shortened matches perhaps.

I’m very much in favour of rugby league trying to do something not to compete with afl and take players from it: I love afl and it is its own thing but I would like Melbourne to be able to have its own pool eventually to draw from - but to build its own Victorian identity. However there are wounds that need tending to elsewhere first.