NRC onwards and upwards

[Dave Beat]

Fuck sake. Sydney's Rugby Union will announce the 2017 Shute Shield draw in coming weeks and have shifted the grand finals so that it overlaps with Rd 1 of the NRC.. whose the vice chairman of Sydney Rugby Union, none other then Brett Papworth..

This is why Rugby Union in this country is screwed, people let their stupid egoes get in the way of what's good for the game, absolutely disgusting.. I won't be watching any Shute Shield matches in 2017 if they do this

That will not be good, and hearing you.

Are you aware if either comp has changed its dates, I.e;
extended by some weeks,
or
started some weeks earlier,
I'd be really interested to see how all this plays out on the calendar.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Fuck sake. Sydney's Rugby Union will announce the 2017 Shute Shield draw in coming weeks and have shifted the grand finals so that it overlaps with Rd 1 of the NRC.. whose the vice chairman of Sydney Rugby Union, none other then Brett Papworth..

This is why Rugby Union in this country is screwed, people let their stupid egoes get in the way of what's good for the game, absolutely disgusting.. I won't be watching any Shute Shield matches in 2017 if they do this

As I've said over on the Shute Shield thread if this is accurate and considering the ego's at play it very likely is then they've completely lost me. I won't watch a single Shute Shield game from now on.

Brett Papworth and his buddies can go fuck themselves. I hope they bankrupt themselves trying to stay on TV and have to grovel to the ARU in the end. Selfish, shortsighted.........(I will refrain from going much further but I'm not happy at this).

 

[Brumby Runner]

The SS clubs giving the finger to the ARU? And didn't they get together a couple of weeks ago to reach some accommodations on the differences between the organisations? Really hope some common sense is introduced before too long, but it's hard to avoid the conclusion that SS clubs are maneuvering to destroy the NRC.

 

[liquor box]

So if the Shute Shield and NRC are on at the same time who gets preference over their players?

Is NRC higher on the pecking order so they get the players?

I would like the ARU to give a big fuck you to the Shute Shied and make Wallabies players available for NRC and have a double or triple header with free entry and prizes for kids as the opening round to ensure a decent crowd. Hell throw in a free Islander test match. What ever it take stick it to the clubs.

 

[I like to watch]

if I was Bill P, I'd tell the clubs that if you do that.
Then I will fund the NRC,make it two rounds, and will sign players for significantly more than they receive playing SS.
It actually wouldn't cost that much in the scheme of things.
If players earn more money & were being given the opportunity at next level,most would pick NRC over club.

 

[amirite]

Note: Repeating what I said on the SS thread (because this appears to be where the conversation is at).

I'm yet to read the rational behind this, but it seems pretty ridiculous.

Yes, the ARU haven't met the SS club's expectations, for reasons that are fair and unfair, but this is a massive 'fuck you' and marginalises the top 2 club's players (who will on past years have around 10 NRC starters ea).

If flipping off guys you've got beef with is more important than running a cohesive rugby club/competition, then you're not only not a very good rugby administrator, you're not a very good adult.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Note: Repeating what I said on the SS thread (because this appears to be where the conversation is at).

I'm yet to read the rational behind this, but it seems pretty ridiculous.

Yes, the ARU haven't met the SS club's expectations, for reasons that are fair and unfair, but this is a massive 'fuck you' and marginalises the top 2 club's players (who will on past years have around 10 NRC starters ea).

If flipping off guys you've got beef with is more important than running a cohesive rugby club/competition, then you're not only not a very good rugby administrator, you're not a very good adult.

Yep it makes SS administrators look pretty petty and to be quite frank does nothing to garner support of rugby supporters for Shute Shield with their childish F U type response.

I was starting to follow more Shute Shield games last year but not after this behaviour as I am so over the childish antics of the Papworths etc and their thinking that only rugby that matters is SS...

I hence won't be watching any SS games this year as totally peeved off with their behaviour.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

if I was Bill P, I'd tell the clubs that if you do that.
Then I will fund the NRC,make it two rounds, and will sign players for significantly more than they receive playing SS.
It actually wouldn't cost that much in the scheme of things.
If players earn more money & were being given the opportunity at next level,most would pick NRC over club.

If I were Pulver and Co. I'd look to emulate the JGC structure and cut out the clubs from the pathway completely. If they want to be independent then let's make them truly so. Split Sydney into 5 zones. North Harbour, Sydney, Western Suburbs, Nth-West and South/South West. Mandate that for all serious Rugby talent that this is the new (and only) recognised pathway to professionalism in NSW. Add to that list the Illawarra, Newcastle-Hunter and the Central Coast (if it could be made to work with the Central West then them as well) and run a state league. Align each and every junior and sub district club up within these new regions as well as schools.

 

[I like to watch]

like it or lump it,the SS clubs are the backbone of the sport.
That's the identity and the structures that are currently in place.

You can re align the pathway for 14's and below,but you can't really change things overnight in higher age groups/opens without substantial collateral damage.

Pulver breeds to get back to the table,and get everyone on the same hymm sheet

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

like it or lump it,the SS clubs are the backbone of the sport.
That's the identity and the structures that are currently in place.

You can re align the pathway for 14's and below,but you can't really change things overnight in higher age groups/opens without substantial collateral damage.

Pulver breeds to get back to the table,and get everyone on the same hymm sheet

Mate, that's not going to happen. Hoping that the clubs would seriously entertain putting the interests of the gamd before that of their own isn't realistic. They've decided to try and wreck a structure that is not only beginning tp really pay dividends talent wise but is beginning to really threaten their place in the game. Why? Because it has gained a foothold.

I've supported the Wicks for as long as I care to remember and have watched the Saturday game religiously for the better part of 18 years. When it comes to club rugby I'm a fairly avid fan but I am and always will be a fan of the game first and foremost. The SS clubs have too much power in this equation and it has and if they get their way will once again hurt the game. They themselves have in a way drawn the line stating no perceived inclination to show any cooperation or loyalty to the ARU. Why should the ARU afford them anything if that is their attitude.

I'm not saying the nuclear option is my prefered option. But it might become a means of necessity.

 

[TOCC]

like it or lump it,the SS clubs are the backbone of the sport.

Australian Schoolboys, QLD Premier Grade and every other single club In the country may have something to say about that..

Looking at 2016 Wallaby debutants; DHP, Kerevi, Frisby, Coleman, Naivalu, Godwin and Arnold all came through via pathways outside of the Shute Shield.

 

[Merrow]

Add to that, both the Brumbies and the Force are both recruiting a fair bit more home grown talent as well. Glad I wasn't the only one boiling over after reading the article.

 

[Slim 293]

like it or lump it,the SS clubs are the backbone of the sport.

Backbone?

More like sphincter.........

 

[I like to watch]

Backbone?

More like sphincter...

Even more important.
If you don't crap,you die

 

[Pfitzy]

The problem with Shute Shield being a pathway is they're now a logjam.

Talented kid plays for Penrith or Parramatta - he might get snaffled by someone bigger. Next minute, clubs like Uni are playing rep players in their 2nd XV to ensure that their first XV is covered for injury. If there are no injuries, that guy doesn't see game time.

if Begg et al are serious about making club rugby great again, then they're going to need to actually put more money into it, so that clubs can compete on an even footing. But they won't do that because the arse is out of their pants right now.

My view - as someone who has no SS alignment - is that you're unlikely to give two hoots unless you're inside the compound. A lot of people actually in rugby are too busy running a club on the weekend to attend SS games on a regular basis.

The fact that they're now moving their GF to the start of the NRC is exactly the kind of pettiness I expect from amateurs like SS administrators.

Really hope some common sense is introduced before too long, but it's hard to avoid the conclusion that SS clubs are maneuvering to destroy the NRC.

Unfortunately, that will be the case from here to eternity.

SS clubs go cap-in-hand to the ARU, and bitch when they don't get free money.

The competition is barely worth the broadcasting $$$ paid - I was talking to one of the guys working on 7TWO's coverage and they'd be amazed if they got shoestrings, much less real budget.

There is very little alignment between some SS clubs and their local junior scene, which is actually something for NSWRU to sort out, not the ARU.

Let's face it: SS has had two decades since professionalism to grow, engage, and become more successful; to actually fill that third tier space. It has failed, exactly because of the kind of politics that comes around every time they decide to fire a shot across Pulver's bow.

Bill surely needs to pull his shit together and work out the best way forward. But the NSWRU and SRU need to start understanding their place is to assist rugby in this country, not run the fucking joint.

 

[TOCC]

Some are claiming it has to do with the Saturday arvo Test match, appatently it forced the SS to overlap with the NRC... can't say I buy that excuse, seems to be plenty of alternative options

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Some are claiming it has to do with the Saturday arvo Test match, appatently it forced the SS to overlap with the NRC. can't say I buy that excuse, seems to be plenty of alternative options

If it looks like bullshit and smells like bullshit, it's probably bullshit.

 

[I like to watch]

Let's face it: SS has had two decades since professionalism to grow, engage, and become more successful; to actually fill that third tier space. It has failed, exactly because of the kind of politics that comes around every time they decide to fire a shot across Pulver's bow.

Bill surely needs to pull his shit together and work out the best way forward. But the NSWRU and SRU need to start understanding their place is to assist rugby in this country, not run the fucking joint.

In that 2 decades every club in every sport has increased its dependence on its ruling body for subsidies, dramatically, in both real dollar terms and percentage of income.
This code has lost significant ground to its competitors in this time frame.

Most,if not all Super franchises have been bailed out at least once by the ARU over this period.

The ARU has eliminated subsidies paid to the SS clubs,the CEO is on the record saying that paying players is pissing money up against the wall.

And it's the clubs fault,they have not exploded payments to players to make them professionals?

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

In that 2 decades every club in every sport has increased its dependence on its ruling body for subsidies, dramatically, in both real dollar terms and percentage of income.
This code has lost significant ground to its competitors in this time frame.

Most,if not all Super franchises have been bailed out at least once by the ARU over this period.

The ARU has eliminated subsidies paid to the SS clubs,the CEO is on the record saying that paying players is pissing money up against the wall.

And it's the clubs fault,they have not exploded payments to players to make them professionals?

They haven't exactly looked at widening their own bases as a means to overcome these challenges either. The primary source of revenue for clubs comes from game day operations. How much they make is heavily reliant on numbers through the turnstile and concessions.

So, at least to me the obvious solution is to generate greater attendaces. Now I know its not that simple but where do most of the spectators that do come regularly tend to first engage with the respective clubs. Usually by playing for them or knowing someone who has.

Now, perhaps the one avenue to do that which has been under their control for the past two decades has been their playing base. More specifically expanding its team composition to involve more social grades and more importantly extensive junior wings. I know its a different culture but look up the URBA competition in Buenos Aires. An amateur competition featuring clubs just as I have detailed above. These clubs draw thousands to their games regularly.

They do so by running teams from U6s up. This way players both can play for and support their club all the wag through their Rugby lifespan and beyond. The Shute clubs could and dare I say should back two decades ago looked to somewhat emulafe these clubs. But theu didn't. Instead choosing to maintain the status quo.

I should note that the URBA clubs didn't always get those numbers but through junior development and club building they have grown these crowds as the game has grown.

 

[Pfitzy]

And its not all the clubs' fault - there is a bit of a shitfight for players against the private schools system that needs to be rectified - this comes back to NSWRU getting their shit together on alignment.

Compared to NRL and AFL clubs, we don't have huge money coming in from sources like poker machines. They have taken their big clubs and used the money to prop up their clubs. We need to be smarter.