NRL Nines could land in Newcastle and Canberra in 2021 and 2022
The NRL Nines will remain part of the rugby league calendar after the tournament in Perth delivered a “pass mark”. But where should it be played? VOTE IN OUR POLL.
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Todd Greenberg has declared Nines footy is here to stay — with Newcastle and Canberra the leading host city contenders for 2021 and 2022.
The NRL CEO also willingly gave this weekend’s NRL Nines in Perth “a pass mark” after more TV viewers tuned into the tryfest on Fox Sports than the last running of the pre-season tournament in Auckland in 2017.
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“Our high point on Friday night was 200,000 viewers with an average of 160,000,’’ Greenberg told The Sunday Telegraph.
“So to put that into comparison, the broadcast numbers are higher than the World Cup Nines and the previous Auckland Nines.
“The day one TV numbers are above the first day of the Test match (cricket) this summer, so it’s clear the Nines is a very good pre-season product for us.
“I’m really happy with the broadcast numbers and, granted, we would’ve liked a few more people on the first day, but it was 40 degrees in Perth. So getting 10,000 was a pass mark.
“I would’ve liked a few more at the stadium, but we’re really happy with the event.’’
Under the TV broadcast rights, the NRL are contracted to stage a Nines tournament every pre-season until 2022.
Greenberg confirmed the NRL were in the final stages of negotiations with several local governments, both in regional NSW and Queensland.
“We’re in discussions with a number of different governments for 2021 and 2022 and we’re hoping to finalise those in the next month or two, so we can announce where we’ll be next year and the year after,’’ Greenberg said.
“We’ve made a point this year of taking Nines to a new market in Perth, where we’ve had some success with State of Origin and we’ve got NRL matches being played here over the next few months.
“But what we do over the next few years, we’re going to have to look at that.
“We’ve been talking to Canberra and Newcastle, we’ve been talking to Queensland, so we’ve got lots of options — it’s just a matter of which ones we pick.’’
Greenberg said he felt the Nines format was the perfect vehicle for the NRL to take rugby league to new areas and markets — which is why Perth is unlikely to host the Nines again next year.
“I think one of the things that Auckland (host city of the Nines between 2014-2017) taught us is that the first few years were great, but then it did plateau.
“It’s an event that you can move around and use it to bring new fans in, and so I think moving it around is a good thing.
Townsville’s new multimillion-dollar stadium would be an option for the NRL.
However, the extreme tropical temperatures of North Queensland in February could prove too great a risk for players.
Working against Brisbane is that the NRL are already committed to Suncorp Stadium for the annual “Magic Round”.
“I’d like to keep it moving around,’’ Greenberg said.
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“We see it (Nines footy) as two-fold: it gives new interest for fans but also it’s a really important part of our participation strategy for kids.
“We think there’s a lot of scope in the junior level for boys and girls to play Nines, so the best way for us to promote that is to have their heroes play Nines in a pre-season.
“It’s particularly important at this part of the year when kids are choosing which sport they’re going to play.’’
Greenberg said he had no issues with some clubs taking the Nines more seriously than others.
“We put big prizemoney up so that some clubs take it more seriously that others, and that’s OK,’’ Greenberg said.
“Some coaches want to come and win and others aren’t that interested and that’s okay. It’s up to each club to work out their own strategy.”