Gallop flies in to Wagga Wagga to do battle with AFL

THEY parachuted NRL boss David Gallop into Wagga Wagga , ready for combat in another fight on another battlefront with the AFL.

Gallop

THEY parachuted David Gallop into Wagga Wagga yesterday, ready for combat in another fight on another battlefront with the AFL.

But has rugby league pulled the big guns too late? Again?

David Gallop, along with Canberra chief executive Don Furner and CRL boss Terry Quinn, rolled into town asking for a please explain from Wagga City Council, which has agreed to pay Greater Western Sydney $300,000 to host pre-season matches and promotions in the city for the next three years.

The trio left the Riverina last night with "no guarantees" from Mayor Kerry Pascoe, who might have asked why someone from headquarters wasn't there sooner.

"We met with a representative from the NRL about five years ago, when Wagga Leagues Club folded and the main ground, Eric Weissel Oval, and the junior fields closed," Cr Pascoe said. "But we haven't seen them since. I'm glad this has come to the surface. It is now up to the NRL to present a package to us to consider."

In truth, rugby league has run strong in the Riverina for decades. When Canberra met the Bulldogs in a trial match this year, it was a full house. That game reeled in more than $40,000, all of which was used to improve the facilities at Wagga's McDonald Park.

Yet the issue for rugby league in Wagga appears to be the same issue as it is everywhere. That the AFL is too powerful, too cunning, too quick. Australian sport's version of Predator.

Ask Panthers general manager Phil Gould how adept the AFL has been at meeting local councils in Sydney's west and he will tell you how deeply resourced they are.

Gallop was quick to drop everything to fly in a small plane to the Riverina, yet it bemused club officials in Sydney's west, who have seen precious little of him in the last year. Some wondered if Andrew Demetriou would have made such a mercy dash.

In all fairness to Gallop, he had gone there on the invitation of Furner, who had sniffed a major problem when he heard about the council's agreement with GWS. Furner had already seen the Giants hatch a $26 million agreement to play four games a season in Canberra for the next decade.

"I think that David and Terry flew out and met the mayor shows they think the area is crucial, right on the borderline between AFL and league," Furner said.

"Once we alerted the NRL, David was more than prepared to come down and talk. That goes a long way. That's what AFL has done well over the years."

For their part, the Giants believe they have done nothing wrong in an area that lauds the rise of Chris and Steve Mortimer as much as Wayne Carey. In exchange for their $300,000, the AFL will bring their product to town, with all the same benefits to the local economy in the same way State of Origin benefits the city of Melbourne.

GWS chief executive Dave Matthews says the AFL has invested $8.5 million over the past decade into development in the Riverina. It has provided $250,000 in capital funding to Robertson Oval, the city's main sporting complex which is currently undergoing a $7 million upgrade.

Matthews dismissed claims from Chris and Steve Mortimer that the agreement with the local council was "pathetic". "I don't expect the Mortimers to be totally across the investment activity the Giants and the AFL have in Wagga," Matthews said. " The reality is we are investing significantly ... It is disappointing that Wagga City Council have tried to do a meaningful partnership on behalf of its community, and develop ongoing benefits, and get questioned for it."

Rugby league can now do the same thing. Before the war is over.

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