League v Union: ‘Soft diplomacy’ now an all-out Pacific code war
The cash splash by the Albanese government on an NRL team in Papua New Guinea has unexpectedly opened a door for China to exploit in the Pacific.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the really fancy suite at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle next Sunday when the Wallabies host Fiji in their first international for the year.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese will watch the match sitting alongside Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka, a former prop who played for his country in the 1970s.
You imagine, at some point, Rabuka will lean across and ask Albanese a question along these lines … Why is the Australian government handing $250m of taxpayer money to the NRL to destroy rugby union in the Pacific?
I’m sure the Australian taxpayer would like to know the answer, too.
Earlier this week, ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys made his first trip to Papua New Guinea and was, unsurprisingly, in his element at a media conference revealing the board for a new franchise allegedly entering the NRL premiership in 2028.
“Rugby league is the No.1 sport in the Pacific, and this new club will solidify rugby league’s role as the unifying language of the region!” he declared.
Which says everything about rugby league’s myopic view of itself and its place in the world.
Rugby league might be the national sport of PNG, but it’s certainly not the national sport of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, where rugby union has been entrenched for decades.
Last December, Albanese stood alongside PNG prime minister James Marape and confirmed his government’s $600m commitment over 10 years to fire up a new club playing out of Port Moresby.
We were told it’s all in the name of soft diplomacy, strengthening the relationship between the neighbouring countries to thwart China’s influence in the Pacific.
The NRL licence will be revoked if PNG does a security deal with Beijing.
We were also told it’s not just about PNG having an NRL team. Of the $600m, no less than $250m will go into the “Pacific Rugby League Partnership”, which in theory is about promoting rugby league in schools to “promote development, health, social and gender equality outcomes”.
Yet there’s growing suspicion in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga that the money will be used to pinch the best rugby union talent and funnel it into the NRL; that it’s got less to do with national security and helping kids and communities than helping one professional code get an advantage over another.
As we revealed in this space a week ago, one NRL executive keeps telling anyone who will listen that’s the case. Might be time for V’landys to muzzle his boy.
The NRL is becoming increasingly aggressive in the region, especially Fiji, whose national identity on the world stage is shaped by its sevens and 15-man rugby union teams. The Flying Fijians are a global brand.
Meanwhile, rugby league’s presence is limited to the west with a small domestic competition played between a handful of clubs.
There’s anecdotal evidence of the NRL approaching rugby schools throughout the country, offering to fund entire sports programs if they switch codes.
At the Perth Sevens in January, Fijian deputy prime minister Manoa Kamikamica told a public forum that “Australia’s NRL investment is the biggest threat our sport has ever faced”.
So why is the Australian government funding it?
It partners with peak sporting bodies through the PacificAus Sports and Team Up programs to support high-performance and community sports in the Pacific.
In the past year, PacificAus Sports has contributed $18.1m to create new opportunities for elite athletes, coaches and administrators for rugby union, rugby league, soccer, netball, Aussie rules, cricket, basketball, tennis and Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.
Team Up has contributed $9.45m in the past year for grassroots development.
Rugby Australia’s current partnership is worth $3.55m per year, with most of the funding going directly to partners in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Oceania Rugby – a drop in the Pacific in comparison to the enormous rugby league investment Albanese has promised.
The Fijian Drua, which was established in 2017 and played in the Super Rugby Pacific competition since 2021, was founded on the back of Australian government support – and with soft diplomacy in mind.
China has been circling rugby union in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, for some time, and the federal government’s commitment to backing rugby league has only intensified that.
Earlier this year, China spent $US25m ($38m) on Tonga’s National Sports Complex in the nation’s capital, Nuku’alofa, while Tonga Rugby Union representatives recently visited Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing and Hong Kong to explore partnerships across player pathways, coaching, school programs and commercial ventures.
It’s an interesting topic and one that warrants further investigation, but it’s hard sell for the Albanese government when V’landys shoots his mouth off as he does.
Under pressure to deliver a lucrative broadcast deal after the last one was dwarfed by the AFL, V’landys told The Courier-Mail last week that capturing the Pacific was critical to his plans.
“By having a cheap subscription to watch, we could attract millions of new subscribers in the Pacific,” he said, adding: “This has been a planned strategy – and it will pay off big time!”
Asked earlier this week about a compound that will house the players and coaches in the PNG capital, Port Moresby, one of the most dangerous cities in the world, he said: “We’re going to make this a resort-style area for our players and their wives, so they’re going to be on a permanent holiday when they’re over, except when they play and train.”
Your tax dollars at work!
The showman cometh
The word out of the Gout Gout camp ahead of his European debut was he’d “pull out something special” at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic.
And pull he did, the 17-year-old winning the 200m in a time of 20.02 seconds, improving his Australian record by two-hundredths of a second.
“Another national record!” he said. “Pretty happy with that, it’s not a bad first-up in Europe.”
Gout might be a teenager – he’s on school holidays for crissakes! – but he already possesses a sense of occasion, much like the legendary Jamaican Usain Bolt, to whom he’s regularly compared.
The showman inside meant there was little chance he was going to ease his way into his first senior meet in Europe.
He’ll stop by his shoe sponsor Adidas in the coming days, then it’s on to Monaco for his Diamond League debut on July 11.
SEN and sensibility
Australian Test opener Usman Khawaja refused an interview with SEN Radio because it sacked commentator Peter Lalor for sharing social media posts about the war in Gaza.
What a time to be alive. Remember when sport was much simpler? Khawaja can speak to whomever he wants, Lalor can tweet about whatever issue he is passionate about, and SEN boss Craig Hutchison can flick a contractor if that contractor breaches the terms of his deal, although it’s not entirely clear if that was the case with Lalor.
(For the record, this columnist is contracted to SEN to talk about rugby league and other associated gibber).
According to Cricket Australia, Khawaja hasn’t broken his playing contract by snubbing SEN.
Players are obliged to speak to host TV broadcasters and are expected to “share the load” with their teammates. But here’s an interesting one: would Khawaja adopt the same no-talkies policy with Fox Sports, to whom he is personally contracted, if it sacked a commentator for the same thing as SEN?
All give and no take
You could count on one had how many interviews Lance “Buddy” Franklin did during his 18 seasons in the AFL. You could count with a closed fist how many times he said anything of note.
How times have changed.
Now he’s joined the podcast realm, Franklin has realised you need to actually say something of interest to get traction with the masses.
Besieged Carlton coach Michael Voss was low-hanging fruit for talking heads in the AFL this week, and Buddy duly picked it from the tree.
“I’m going to put this out there, I know this is a big call, I don’t think he sees out the year,” Franklin told The Buddy & Shane Show, which he co-hosts with fellow Hawthorn legend Shane Crawford. “All of the Carlton supporters would probably say the same. I’m probably speaking on behalf of them. I think there needs to be a change and it’ll probably happen in the next few weeks is my tip.”
You can’t help but shake your head in disbelief about the amnesia sporting stars suffer in retirement. Would the player they were cop the media tart they become?
I once posed that question in a column on the late Shane Warne, who delighted in slamming Australian quick Mitchell Starc at every opportunity.
Within minutes of the column appearing, Warne complained to my bosses.
Doin’ it for themselves
Some of the biggest names in Australian sport gathered on Monday night at Admiralty House – the fancy Kirribilli digs in Sydney of Governor-General Sam Mostyn — for a private celebration of the Minerva Network, which is dedicated to supporting professional sportswomen.
Among those in attendance were Australian cricket team captain Alyssa Healy, Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis, Paralympic champ Madison de Rozario, Winter Olympian Zali Steggall and Athletics Australia chair Jane Flemming.
The Governor-General was one of the women who helped create the network in 2016, alongside Suncorp chair Christine McLoughlin.
In her address, Mostyn recounted the early days of the not-for-profit organisation when it helped upcoming Matilda Ellie Carpenter get her first ever car sponsor.
Like women’s sport itself, the network has come a long way. On Monday night, it inducted its 1000th athlete: Wallaroos captain Pesi Palu.
“When we began, our vision was simple but powerful – to support women in sport by surrounding them with the leadership, networks and resources they need to thrive both during and after their athletic careers,” McLoughlin said.
“Reaching 1000 athletes demonstrates the strength of the community we’ve built and the growing recognition of women in sport as leaders in society.”
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