Last week during The Footy Show (31/7), Andrew Voss asked NRL CEO David Gallop whether the NRL would expand the competition once the next TV contract was up. David responded by saying that the game would go through a period of growth following the admission of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007. When Mr Gallop was asked where the competition would likely expand, he said South-East Queensland and Gosford. When pushed for a response on expansion into “non-traditional” rugby league heartlands, ie. Perth and Adelaide, Mr Gallop responded by saying that Rugby League did not have the same infrastructure in these cities as the AFL did. Mr Gallop stated that the local WAFL grand final had 5000 people in attendance, highlighting the local leagues’ success. Of course, the local league had a significant attendance on its grand final day. Aussie Rules is the dominant code in the west, so it is a poor comparison. It would be the same as comparing the crowd at last year’s Queensland Rugby League grand final to that of the Queensland Aussie Rules local grand final to determine why there should not be an AFL team in Queensland. When the VFL decided to expand into NSW in the early 80s, they did not consider how many people went to the local Aussie Rules grand finals but realised that an NSW team was necessary for the game’s growth. It is interesting to note last year NSW Aussie Rules grand final attracted a crowd of 2,000 across the day over three games. In contrast, the WARL grand final attracted an average crowd of 3,000 across the day with the same amount of games, yet where is the professional team?
Over the last couple of years, the WARL has worked hard to get an NRL team. Last year it was agreed between the ARL and the WARL that the WARL needed to follow a set procedure to be back in the NRL. The procedure consists of two points: 1. To enter a team in the Jim Beam Cup for a minimum of two years 2. Enter a team in the Queensland cup for a minimum of one year. For Mr Gallop to say what he said in the interview is a slap in the face to the people of the WARL who have worked at getting a team back in the NRL at the time of the next television rights deal.
On a side note, hopefully, the next TV contract deal says the Nine Network has to show the game at the same time across the country, so we do not have situations such as we had in Melbourne this past Friday night. For those who don’t know, the NRL decided not to show live into Melbourne the top-of-the-table match between last year’s grand finalists, the Melbourne Storm and the Manly Sea Eagles but chose to keep with its usual coverage of around midnight. Instead of going head to head with the AFL game between first-placed Geelong Cats and last-place Melbourne Demons. For the record, the Storm V Sea Eagles match finished 16-10 and are considered ” the match of the season”, whilst the AFL finished 157-41, yet it was the only one shown live; go figure…
Quote of the Week: Sydney Roosters captain Craig Fitzgibbon on Sonny Bill Williams walking out on the Bulldogs: “But what (Williams) has missed is, ‘I love my club, I love the colours I wear.” I guess Craig left St George/Illawarra Dragons because he wasn’t happy wearing the Dragon’s colours.
Note: This week’s post is a bit late now that I have an editor who will review my posts before they are submitted, thank you for your help, and hopefully, this is an ongoing partnership
Till next time,
Cheese