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‘Clubs won’t die’: Storm boss calls for calm amid the chaos

Melbourne chair and part owner Bart Campbell has called for calm amid the chaos.

Cronulla halves Shaun Johnson and Chad Townsend leave Shark Park on Tuesday with fitness equipment after the shutdown of the 2020 NRL season Picture: Brett Costello
Cronulla halves Shaun Johnson and Chad Townsend leave Shark Park on Tuesday with fitness equipment after the shutdown of the 2020 NRL season Picture: Brett Costello

Melbourne chair and part owner Bart Campbell has called for calm amid the chaos.

Campbell, one of the most respected voices in rugby league, insists the game’s 16 clubs will emerge from the current coronavirus crisis. There will be pain, but it will be shared across the game.

“It is time now for some calmness,” Campbell said.

“It is awful out there. Society is doing it tough. We need a bit of realism around the solutions. The game will be fine and we will all get through this.

“We will support our staff and players as best we can allowing for some difficult decisions that have to be made. This is not a financial crisis — it is a public health crisis with dire financial consequences.

“We as an industry are following the government’s health policy to run our businesses in a way that stops the spread of COVID-19 across the Australian people.

“We have made those decisions with government guidance. We are supporting the government. Fundamentally the decisions we are making are health driven for our people and our communities. Yes, they will have meaningful and often dire financial consequences for our businesses but that is rippling through every part of society.”

The Storm have already sent their staff and players on a month-long break.

Other clubs have done the same. Some have simply told staff that they will not be paid until the game resumes.

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Jobs are being lost at a rate of knots. The NRL has no idea when the premiership will resume, having put in place contingency plans for a variety of dates.

June 1 is ambitious, July 1 a slim chance, August 1 a possibility and September 1 the likely D-Day. If the game hasn’t resumed by then, the season will be lost and the financial damage will increase exponentially.

Even a September 1 resumption will bring some pain because it would mean the competition was reduced to 15 rounds — each team would play the other once.

Finals would then be played as well as the State of Origin series as the competition was extended deep into December.

“Yes, it will be challenging but clubs are not going to die, the game is not going to die,” Campbell said. “We are going to have to make some difficult choices but at the end of that we will all come out of this season one way or another, but we will have the game set up and ready to go moving forward. We’re all in this together so we are all part of the problem, and we are also part of the solution.

“The reality is that if the game shares information with all the stakeholders and everyone can make an informed decision … as long as we are transparent, we are fair and everyone is treated equally, then we will get through this and we will be able to survive the challenges and get back in the future to have a thriving ecosystem.

“But we need to make decisions quickly, we need to allocate resources to reflect those decisions. Having been on a call with the chair of the ARLC (Peter V’landys), the chief executive of the NRL (Todd Greenberg) and all the clubs earlier today, it feels like they have a plan that is workable and that all parties are willing to work together to achieve.”

Campbell insists the commission and the NRL executive are doing a good job. They have told the clubs they will receive their regular monthly payment from head office of $1.2 million on April 1. Some are pushing for the game to source a bank loan of more than $250 million. V’landys is likely to approach the NSW government over delaying work on ANZ Stadium and redirecting that money to the clubs and head office. The broadcasters will also be crucial. As it stands, they have no obligation to continue paying the NRL.

“The competition may well finish later than we would normally expect but we are in unusual times and unusual measures are going to be required to present a solution this year,” Campbell said.

“I think everyone is focused on how we deliver a solution that protects our people, protects our community, but delivers some content to a community that is going to need some light relief and some entertainment in pretty awkward and awful times.”

Brent Read
Brent ReadSenior Sports Writer

Brent Read is one of rugby league's agenda setters but is also among the nation's most well-known golf writers. He also covers Olympic sports, writing with authority, wit and enthusiasm. Brent began his career in sport as a soccer player, playing with the Brisbane Strikers in the NSL.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/clubs-wont-die-storm-boss-calls-for-calm-amid-the-chaos/news-story/7b3cfde6359cf7653c1a25fbdfcde03b