The Awful Truth About The ARU's Financial Position

[papabear]

If that is all that is hurting RL then they should not worry too much.

I really wonder about the off field stuff that is associated with RL.

It is only a very very small number of participants involved, but at what stage do the mothers of Australia say enough is enough with respect to violence against women from the "role models" within RL.

AFL, Soccer and Heavensgame do not seem to have the same off field dramas that RL does. It beggers belief that seems to be almost tolerated by many within one of Australia's major sporting codes. Clearly the NRL itself take a rather dim view on the issue but much of what happens at the next level down seems to be largely rhetorical.

In the longer term, this lack proactive action on a rather serious societal issue could harm RL much more than the boring as batshit game that is is. Never underestimate the power of the sisterhood. They are 50% of the population.

I am not sure how much off field dramas actually hurt codes, its only zealots of codes that take the off field incidents of other codes to make some sort of point.

Also I think you will find AFL has similar sorts of issues but its reported in southern papers, for instances Stephen Milne (a good player??) is / was on some very serious charges, certainly a lot lot more serious then blake ferguson.

Then there was the collingwood rumors with similar sorts of incidents involved, and I am sure there is more. The fact is people dont care here in NSW QLD so it doesn't get the same press coverage, but I am sure if you spoke to the average melbournian they could tell you all about essendon and asada and other issues going on in the game.

In england, I remember bosnich getting up to some serious fun, and I am sure their are many others. But obviously we dont read english reports. I am sure the average english soccer has the same moral compass as an australian one, possibly with a bit more cash.

As for rugby union players, well, it goes back to the topic that the code may be in a situation where the media couldn't even be bothered writing up a story about the mischief.

Or of course rugby union players are just far far better behaved then there counter parts.

 

[papabear]

I tend to agree with the notion that the holden and QANTAS situation or relatively comparable. Same with any sponsorship.

They would both have to ask the same question, are they getting value for their sponsorship, and if either one of them thinks no they are likely to pull out.

Obviously if the company goes under, their goes the sponsorship.

 

[papabear]

I posted t below on another thread but thought its better suited here..

Grim reading indeed.​

Whilst the ARU/Sanzar can focus on extracting precious $ from the next TV deal, its clear that the Australian rugby public need to do their bit for the good of the game. Aussie rugby supporters can be a pretty complacent bunch but if we want the game to actually exist in this country, we all need to get involved.​

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Become a member of a city or country Premier rugby / grade club. They are pretty cheap at less than $100 for entry to 9 / 10 home games.​

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Ditto – super rugby franchise. Heck, get a General admission or supporter membership – its worth it. Encourage family and friends to get one as well. The seats are far better than through Ticketek and an excuse to get out with your mates.​

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Go to the Wallabies game held in your city. ​

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Talk up the game to all and sundry. ​

Click on rugby website advertisements.​

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Use sponsor’s product and let it be known that its due to the rugby sponsorship.​

Ex players help out at club home games by rounding up finals / tour reunion groups. Buy grog – give back to the club by spending precious $.​

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Go to the NRC games en masse​

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Coach a kids team​

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Get Foxtel and watch / record the games​

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It doesn’t matter what it is, but like many of the posters on GAGR, everyone needs to DO SOMETHING rather than sit back or watch the filthy mungos or aerial ping pongers eat into our turf. ​

To be honest, you don't fix a business by screaming at the customers, you fix the product/business model.

The thing is, if a sport ever dies you can't blame its fans, there are none. Only the sport/its administrators can be blamed for administering over a sport that did not grow / satisfy its customers.

Also I think you will find people watch more then one sport at a time, the influence of competition in sport is overrated. Just because you may find yourself watching "filthy mungos" or "aerial ping pongers" because you like their product, you are watching it because of their product not because you hate rugby and your jumping off the titanic.

 

[suckerforred]

Holden is just moving out of manufacturing in this country. They need to maintain a presence in the market in this country. QANTAS on the other hand has a real risk of going belly up.

 

[RugbyFuture]

government will let china southern buy it before they let it go belly up. The china southern consortium is lead by John singleton, Gerry Harvey and Geoff Dixon, I presume for managerial control.

 

[wamberal]

I suppose Qantas could go into receivership, at which point I assume all the restrictions on ownership would disappear? I am not a lawyer, I hasten to add.

Qantas' assets will still exist, even if they do go "belly up". Including the name. Especially the name.

 

[Quick Hands]

There's an eerie similarity between QANTAS and the ARU vis-a-vis management and profitability.

(The broke and run down airline and the broke and run down sport)

Maybe this synergy will see the sponsorship continue.

 

[papabear]

Holden is just moving out of manufacturing in this country. They need to maintain a presence in the market in this country. QANTAS on the other hand has a real risk of going belly up.

I was going to say something like that but to be fair GM went into bankruptcy in america.

 

[wamberal]

I am not sure how much off field dramas actually hurt codes, its only zealots of codes that take the off field incidents of other codes to make some sort of point.

David Gallop, who is pretty careful with his words (being a lawyer and all that) used to say that the NRL's popularity, measured by ratings, and presumably in other ways, actually increased when there were off-field dramas. I used to think that the off-field stuff mattered, but it does not seem to.


The NRL seems to be attracting more women to their sport, not fewer (to answer Hugh's point about the mothers wanting their sons to choose rugby).

Actually, Hugh, I think you will find that a lot of mothers will choose soccer for their sons, or even AFL.



I used to think that the huge influx of PIs to our shores would automatically translate to an equally huge boost to the popularity of our game. I was dead wrong. The PIs seem to be quite happy to go where the money is and, frankly, they are probably a lot more interested in the more open game. Yes, loig is boring to us rusted on supporters, but there is little point pretending that it is not entertaining to the masses. Because if it was not entertaining the masses, it would not be on FTA, and all over Fox Sports, earning very large broadcasting revenues.

 

[Quick Hands]

Many of the Pacific Islanders of which you speak would probably play junior rugby if there was a junior village club nearby. People aren't going to drive 30 or 40 minutes each way (or more) to find a junior rugby club for their son when there is a junior league club 5 mins away and for which all their school mates play.

 

[Dave Beat]

I'd like to see options with Japan explored.
They have paid our players serious coin.
Our seasons don't overlap.
There is their world cup coming up.
There is our proposed 3T.

 

[wamberal]

Many of the Pacific Islanders of which you speak would probably play junior rugby if there was a junior village club nearby. People aren't going to drive 30 or 40 minutes each way (or more) to find a junior rugby club for their son when there is a junior league club 5 mins away and for which all their school mates play.

I used to think that, but some personal experiences tell me otherwise. The kids are not culturally aligned with rugby any more. It is not just the availability of loig, it is more than that. The schools they go to are loig schools, their mates are playing loig, they actually enjoy a simpler game. Who can really be surprised at that?

Fijians, in particular, love Sevens, they love throwing the ball around, they are not very good at 15s any more, as the game has become more and more technically demanding for the forwards. Who can be surprised at that? Samoa and Tonga ditto, to a greater or lesser extent.

 

[beserker]

Fijians, in particular, love Sevens, they love throwing the ball around, they are not very good at 15s any more, as the game has become more and more technically demanding for the forwards. Who can be surprised at that? Samoa and Tonga ditto, to a greater or lesser extent.

Everyone loves sevens, but with ten minute halves it's hard to sell it to TV. You'd have to do a tri-nations each outing.

 

[ChargerWA]

Holden is just moving out of manufacturing in this country. They need to maintain a presence in the market in this country. QANTAS on the other hand has a real risk of going belly up.

With $2.8B cash on hand (yes, 2.8 billion) they have the room to turn it around. I'm glad the Abbott gov isn't going to guarantee their debt. But by same token we need to remove their foreign ownership restrictions if we won't guarantee their debt. We either protect them or we don't.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Gotta love Green and Gold.

From an observation that PI players like throwing the ball around (who doesn't?) to QANTAS having $2.8B in cash reserves in 2 posts in a thread on the ARU financial position.

They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways.

 

[Ash]

To get an idea on the challenge in rugby, the Today show this morning in 9 (wife left it on, don't blame me) had a sport segment with three stories.

Top story: Tuivasa-Sheck to return for the Roosters. That's it; a league player to return from injury before the season even starts.
Second story: Roar beat Perth 3 - 1.
Third story: Whincup and the V8s.

Excuse me, but didn't the Rebels play last night? Not a mention.

 

[qwerty51]

C9, what do you expect..

 

[TOCC]

Exactly, its not a conspiracy, Ch 9 is actually conscious about cross promotion so it will always run a rugby league story ahead of a rugby union story.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

To get an idea on the challenge in rugby, the Today show this morning in 9 (wife left it on, don't blame me) had a sport segment with three stories.

Top story: Tuivasa-Sheck to return for the Roosters. That's it; a league player to return from injury before the season even starts.
Second story: Roar beat Perth 3 - 1.
Third story: Whincup and the V8s.

Excuse me, but didn't the Rebels play last night? Not a mention.

Ch9 Sports segment I saw had (very brief) footage of both games & mentioned that Rebels hadn't previously beaten Cheetahs. Only 1 player got named, tho, & obviously that was Benji, with the caption "Benchy Marshall" under a shot of him on the bench.

On a more encouraging note 10's weather guy was at something called rugby tots which I'm guessing is someone's answer to what AFL & NRL have been doing for a while now. From little things, big things grow, hopefully.

 

[Braveheart81]

Fijians, in particular, love Sevens, they love throwing the ball around, they are not very good at 15s any more, as the game has become more and more technically demanding for the forwards. Who can be surprised at that? Samoa and Tonga ditto, to a greater or lesser extent.

Surely this is a domestic coaching issue rather than a player issue. Islanders of all persuasions are excelling in large numbers in Australia, New Zealand and in all the leagues in Europe and Japan.

I don't think the relative quality of Fiji and Tonga's national teams is a reflection of islanders finding rugby too technically demanding.

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