NRL: Poor behaviour a threat to game’s profitability

The game is in the black, but also in the dock as Commission chair Peter Beattie prepares to celebrate his first anniversary

ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie says the profitablity of the NRL is at stake

The ARL Commission will spend much of today devouring facts and figures that suggest the game is in the rudest of health.

Profits for the past year will be measured in the tens of millions.

The game is in the black, but sadly it is also in the dock as ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie prepares to celebrate his first anniversary at the apex of rugby league. Beattie is proud of the game’s financial progress but deeply concerned by events of recent months and the damaging impact they could have on the code in the short and long terms.

Sponsors and broadcasters will turn away if footballers continue to behave badly.

“The biggest thing for us is player behaviour,” Beattie said.

“It’s only a handful of players. The reality for us is we need to continue to work with clubs and players to stop that behaviour.

“Every time we get one of those stories, it affects our ability to get a sponsor and the players miss out.

“If they squash our ability to raise corporate money, they get less money.

“We can’t do this on our own. It comes down to individual players and if people behave like idiots, all it does is take money out of the players’ pockets.

“They hurt themselves, they hurt the game and they destroy anything the game’s adminis­trators are trying to do.

“If we can’t have self-discipline as a game, then we will stunt our group. It is not rocket science.

“We cannot grow this game if players — even a tiny percentage of them — behave like idiots.”

The NRL conducts regular research into supporter loyalty using a tool called the net promoter score. It is calculated based on one question: how likely are you to recommend our product to a friend?

After last year’s grand final, the response from NRL fans was overwhelmingly positive.

The mood has swung since — a recent study brought a largely negative response thanks to a slew of off-field incidents, the latest resulting in Ben Barba this week being deregistered by NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg.

Greenberg made no apologies yesterday as he signalled the end of Barba’s career following an ­integrity unit investigation into ­allegations of domestic violence.

The reaction from many will be: “It’s about time.”

“People just have to realise what may have been acceptable in some people’s minds a few years ago is no longer acceptable,” Beattie said.

“It is a different world. People have to behave themselves. If they don’t want to behave themselves … we don’t want them in the game and we will be tough on it.

“[Bad player behaviour] is the cancer that is eating away at the game and we have to stop it.”

While player behaviour is the overriding concern at Rugby League Central, it is far from the only important issue on the commission’s agenda.

A watchful eye remains on Cronulla, although the embattled Sharks appear to have bought themselves some time.

Many would have you believe the club’s financial situation is dire, although it is understood they have convinced the commission of their short-term security after ­answering a series of questions about their budget late last year.

The Sharks will also form part of today’s discussion, as will the ongoing debate over constitutional reform.

Plans to have the clubs and states represented on the commission remain at a stalemate, although Beattie will persist.

He is also intent on removing the mandatory three-year stand-down for club officials, which means some of the most influential and respected figures in clubland are currently forced to bide their time if they want to transition to the commission.

“As you know, I think the qualification period is silly and I want to get rid of it,” Beattie said.

“We have one person on the commission with club experience and that is Todd, and he is the CEO and technically not on the commission.

“We’re lucky we have Todd’s experience. But you can’t afford to lose people like (Souths chair) Nick Pappas. He is a good guy.

“In the long run, we need that. I am still talking to the clubs and the states. This will take a bit longer than I thought but I am going to keep working on it in 2019.

“We don’t have agreement yet but I am not giving up.”

Beattie promised to bring unity and peace to the game when he took over nearly 12 months ago and on that front he has been largely successful.

Much of the animosity at the game’s upper echelons is gone.

The likes of Sydney Roosters chair Nick Politis and Melbourne’s Bart Campbell are now part of an investment committee charged with shoring up the game’s financial future.

There are significant issues on the horizon, not least the ongoing debate over Sydney stadiums, which rests on the outcome of the NSW election.

If Labor wins next month, the development of ANZ Stadium will be in doubt and the grand final will again be up for grabs.

Beattie is intent on staying the course. He has copped his share of criticism over the past 12 months but defiantly insists there is more to be done. “I will be around for as long as I think I need to drive this. I am not going away tomorrow,” he said. “I want people to know I am not clinging to this job because it is something I want desperately to hang on to.

“I am doing it because I want to do it, I like it and I think I can make a contribution.

“John Grant was here for six years and I am not going to be here for six years. I don’t want people to think this is a sinecure.

“I am doing this for all the right reasons.”