Why the NRL’s decision to deny Brisbane a grand final is flat out wrong
At last, a deal in the NRL sticks - too bad it’s one that totally short-changes the Queensland and rugby league public writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.
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Ring the bells. Stop the presses. Wake up the children.
The sporting world has unearthed the most amazing discovery … a rugby league contract that does not dissolve under pressure.
A deal that actually sticks … amazing.
Shame its bad news for Queensland and a bad result for the game.
ARL commission boss Peter Beattie has claimed the reason Queensland cannot host the NRL grand final is because of the contract between the NRL and the NSW Government which sees Sydney hosting the decider for 25 years.
Queensland league fans, how unlucky can you be?
It seems the one contract in rugby league that can’t be broken on the flimsiest of whims is the one which will stop you from watching a Suncorp Stadium grand final.
And it’s hard to swallow.
Barely a week goes by in league without someone breaking a contract or threatening to.
This week it’s Dane Gagai tipped to leave Souths with two years to go on his deal.
Last week James Roberts landed at Souths despite being contracted to the Broncos.
When it comes to player contracts, rugby league has become a game where yesterday’s iron clad deal is today’s wet handshake and tomorrow’s u-turn.
It’s not pretty but it’s the sporting universe at play. Circumstances change and so do people’s needs. The game moves fast on and off the field.
Players can move as they like yet stadium deals are apparently anchored in bricks and mortar.
That’s a shame because this situation was crying out for common sense to overcome the stifling rigidity of a long-term deal.
With ANZ Stadium unavailable due to renovations for the next few years it just made sense on so many levels to give Suncorp Stadium a crack at hosting the big day.
Rugby league has moved past the days when fans would go to the SCG and be happy to watch a rectangular field inside a round ground. The SCG is a great cricket ground but a dreadful rugby league ground.
Suncorp is made for rugby league. And it can hold more fans than the SCG. Had the grand final been moved to Brisbane there would have been no major protest from Sydney fans.
And it would have meant Sydney would still have hosted 24 out of 25 grand finals in the contract period.
The NRL claims the law is the law. But sometimes, particularly if you live in Queensland, the law is an ass.
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