Rugby 360’s rivers of gold are not going to wash away the NRL in Australia
Rugby league is in the middle of a golden era, rugby union is on its knees - and with NRL salaries about to skyrocket the threat posed by a Saudi funded breakaway is being hyped, writes Brent Read.
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If you’ve been in this game long enough, it all becomes a little familiar.
Like the rugby union threat that has emerged this week amid speculation that rugby league is about to be pillaged by the rival code.
The NRL has been down this path before. In the 20-odd years I have covered the game, more than once in fact.
Rugby union, a code that is just about on its knees in this country, finds some money from some wealthy benefactor or benefactors, and threatens to steal rugby league’s finest.
They have followed through on occasion as well.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s departure still stings. Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri all took the cash on offer. Sammy Burgess ducked over for a World Cup and came back.
Sonny Bill Williams snuck out in the middle of the night but eventually returned. Even Andrew Johns, the eighth Immortal, dabbled with a code switch.
More often than not, the threats of mass defections have come to nothing. It’s certainly hasn’t decimated a code that dominates the eastern seaboard for six months every year.
Now, as is the way, rugby union is back again. Right as a British and Irish Lions tour lands on our doorstep. This time it’s the cashed-up R360, armed with private financing and claims that the Saudis are ready to unleash big money to back the concept.
Rugby league players are apparently on their radar - and so they should be. The code is thriving in this country and the best players from the two codes now gravitate to the NRL.
That’s not about to change even if the Saudis chime in with their rivers of gold. There won’t be a flotilla of rugby league players jumping ship and chasing the cash.
At best, there will be one team in this area of the world. They’ll want the best rugby union players they can find out of Australia and New Zealand, not the pick of rugby league.
They’ll want players who understand the game and are passionate about it.
They’ll be reluctant to engage in bidding wars for rugby league players who won’t shift the needle around the globe or with overseas broadcasters.
Nathan Cleary is the best player in rugby league but with due respect to the Penrith star, his signature isn’t going to convince American and European broadcasters to hand over more cash for the fledgling concept.
Which brings us back to the NRL, which is in the midst of a golden age.
The game is thriving on television. Chair Peter V’landys has just returned from America, where he visited broadcasting heavyweights armed with stats which show the game is attracting record numbers of eyeballs on a weekly basis.
The salaries on offer in this country are about to skyrocket.
If the NRL gets the broadcast deal they want, and the signs are promising, the number of million-dollar players in the game is set to explode.
The highest earners will be raking in closer to $2 million a season. Maybe more. It’s big money. Enough money to keep rugby union at bay. That’s if they even need to be fought off.
History has shown that there’s no sense in jumping at shadows. Too often in the past rugby league has been insecure about where the game stands.
We’ve been down this path before and the NRL is still standing. Most people would say thriving.
If only rugby union could say the same.
* * * * *
The best thing St George Illawarra can do off the field right now is nothing. On the field, the Dragons need to recruit some big names and sign some players who can make a difference.
It’s something they’re well aware of. In the corridors of power at Wollongong, they have the right men in place. So the last thing they should do is tinker with it.
Chief executive Tim Watsford has a big job in front of him and he needs to be in lock-step with his chairman. That man is Andrew Lancaster, one of the most powerful men in Australian broadcasting as the chief executives of WIN, the part owners of the Dragons.
Lancaster is about to celebrate an anniversary of his own - three years as chair of the Dragons. And therein lies the problem.
The Dragons used to operate under an archaic system where the chair rotated each year between a representative of St George and a representative of WIN - their two owners.
Wisely, they made the move three years to change the rule to allow Lancaster to stay in charge. His time now ends later this year and it is understood the Dragons have had private discussions about making another amendment - to ensure he stays as chair.
The last thing they can afford right now is to put someone in charge who doesn’t have the ear of the ARL Commission or the clout to make a genuine difference.
It wouldn’t be fair on a club that is struggling for relevance or a chief executive who has only just walked into the role.
That much became very clear amid a disastrous week of headlines around their unfortunate celebrations of the 2010 grand final, where not a handful of players showed up and then-coach Wayne Bennett wasn’t even told it was on, the Dragons have been in the crosshairs.
It was the continuation of a year where the club has been under the gun from all angles. Coach Shane Flanagan has had to deal with constant scrutiny over his selections. The NRL and police were called when the criticism went too far.
The club has lost a series of close games and where once they looked finals contenders, they are now locked in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
The good news is there are some green shoots. They have a batch of young players coming through their ranks who could take the club forward.
They also have an ambitious chair and chief executive who want to restore the Red V to their former glories. They see a brand that is ailing and want to make a difference.
On the Dragons website, underneath the link related to their board members, it reads: “Dragons stand together through thick and thin, united and resilient in our relentless battle pursuit of success.
“Dragons are role models to each other, our fans, our community, our region. All Dragons are custodians of the Red V.
“While the Red V is in our possession, it’s our responsibility to add to the story and hand down the history and legacy to the next generation of players, staff, fans and community.”
That responsibility is significant. It deserves to be in safe and secure hands. The Dragons are mature enough to realise that now. Those hands belong to Andrew Lancaster.
Originally published as Rugby 360’s rivers of gold are not going to wash away the NRL in Australia
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