Aussie Player Exodus

[Tex]

Cost of living in Sydney, according to expatistan.com (in NZD):

Housing
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in EXPENSIVE area

NZ$3,399​

Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat

NZ$256​

Internet 8MB (1 month)

NZ$60​

40” flat screen TV

NZ$718​

Microwave, known brand, 800/900 Watt

NZ$191​

Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.)

NZ$13​

Hourly rate for cleaning help

NZ$32​

 

[Tex]

Cost of living in Aukland, same source and in NZD.

Housing
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in EXPENSIVE area

NZ$2,286​

Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat

NZ$199​

Internet 8MB (1 month)

NZ$82​

40” flat screen TV

NZ$816​

Microwave, known brand, 800/900 Watt

NZ$206​

Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.)

NZ$7​

Hourly rate for cleaning help

NZ$20​

 

[Bullrush]

Well I've lived in both Sydney and Auckland as well as now living in Canberra as well as having family who still live in Auckland and I can tell you from personal experience how high the cost of living is in Auckland.

One big thing not taken into consideration above is the price of petrol:

Auckland is about $1.70 (it has been well over $2 for about 4-5years prior to the recent drops, maybe longer)

Sydney is around $1.

 

[Braveheart81]

Well I've lived in both Sydney and Auckland as well as now living in Canberra as well as having family who still live in Auckland and I can tell you from personal experience how high the cost of living is in Auckland.

One big thing not taken into consideration above is the price of petrol:

Auckland is about $1.70 (it has been well over $2 for about 4-5years prior to the recent drops, maybe longer)

Sydney is around $1.

The point I was trying to make though is that cost of living can be high in Auckland relative to the median wage when compared to Sydney but if a significant portion of your income is driven by external factors such as an overseas TV deal you could be comparatively better off in Auckland.

If you had an annual salary of AU$100,000 / NZ$107,000 I'm going to bet that you're relatively wealthier in Auckland than Sydney.

 

[Slim 293]

Sydney is around $1.

Although the cost of petrol in Sydney has been a lot higher than that up until the very recent drop in oil price worldwide..........

 

[Bullrush]

The point I was trying to make though is that cost of living can be high in Auckland relative to the median wage when compared to Sydney but if a significant portion of your income is driven by external factors such as an overseas TV deal you could be comparatively better off in Auckland.

If you had an annual salary of AU$100,000 / NZ$107,000 I'm going to bet that you're relatively wealthier in Auckland than Sydney.

I was in the same salary and my dollar went much further here.

But I'm not in triple figures...lol


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Quick Hands]

Yes understand and agree, the NRL couldnt compete for Burgess either, and the Bunnies pocketed $1m. Maybe Sabaticals have money going back to the ARU - whilst $1m would be nice I don't think it would work. But there are also sorts of variations that may or may not work.



I have always liked the idea of involving Japan, I'd love to see them have a GenBlu type concept in the NRC preparing themselves for the 2019 RWC - and let them buy some ownership into the NRC with their big economy.

I just ike the idea of growing the game. IMO, any growth or expansion into the Pacific Rim (Japan, US and Canada) is good for Australia. It would bring more money into the region and thus more opportunity for the ARU to earn revenue and the players to earn more money while staying in Australia.

Just the players that I know of at 22-23 years of age who have left Australia leaves a big hole. The base of the rugby pyramid in Australia is quite narrow compared to NZ and SAF, losing the talent at the next level below the professional game really hurts the game in Australia IMO.

EDIT: I haven't given up on the Pacific Islands either. If they can run a professional marathon in Kenya (which was a comparison made by one of the naysayers), why not rugby in the PI? I note from the website that the Nairobi Marathon benefits the Kenyan economy not just athletics. Call me a romantic idealist, but once upon a time sport used to be about uplifting people.

 

[Bullrush]

This is the desire to prove oneself that I'm talking about.

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11390416


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Marcelo]

Without the ABs, the NZRFU would run at a huge loss. I think I read somewhere that the only thing that got them over the line financially last year was the Chicago Test.

ITM Cup runs at a loss I'm pretty sure - dunno about Super Rugby games/season.

Surely though, there is a direct correlation between how well the economy in general is going. People won't/can't pay for sports when they are struggling to pay rent/put food on the table.

The agreement between NZRU and Adidas is the highest of our sport, ABs have higher incomes. While the ARU loses money everywhere. The point is that NZRU's economy is healthier than the ARU's economy.

 

[Quick Hands]

Where have all the players gone, long time passing?​

Where have all the players gone, long time ago?​

Where have all the players gone?​

French clubs have picked them everyone.​

Oh, when will that ever change?​

Oh, when will that ever change?​

(Apologies to Bob Dylan)​

Happy Australia Day to all - hope we can keep more of our players here in the future.
Expansion is the key.

 

[hoggy]

All this talk of expansion is exactly what is wrong with the code in Australia. We have a competition that is stuck on pay TV and is basically not even relevant on the sporting landscape anymore.

Rugby union is becoming a niche sport. Grassroots rugby is dying and for 90% of the kids here rugby just doesn't even exist.

But somehow some people think that Japan or Timbuktu will happily pay for the code to survive, heaven help us if we lose one of those pampered Wallabies overseas, much better for the ARU to go bust propping up its top down pyramid.

For 20 years we have ignored a domestic structure in Australia, putting all our eggs into Super rugby, which has delivered the code exactly what.
4th spot in the code wars and a sport that is bankrupt for money and ideas.

 

[Quick Hands]

All this talk of expansion is exactly what is wrong with the code in Australia. We have a competition that is stuck on pay TV and is basically not even relevant on the sporting landscape anymore.

Rugby union is becoming a niche sport. Grassroots rugby is dying and for 90% of the kids here rugby just doesn't even exist.

But somehow some people think that Japan or Timbuktu will happily pay for the code to survive, heaven help us if we lose one of those pampered Wallabies overseas, much better for the ARU to go bust propping up its top down pyramid.

For 20 years we have ignored a domestic structure in Australia, putting all our eggs into Super rugby, which has delivered the code exactly what.
4th spot in the code wars and a sport that is bankrupt for money and ideas.

Keep that positive thinking going.

How ironic that a Rebels supporter is railing against expansion.

 

[Omar Comin']

hoggy, you talk as if rugby union was this major sport in Australia before professionalism. But by pretty much every measure of popularity it was smaller than it is now.

Expanding Super Rugby to new markets and developing the domestic structure - through the NRC can happen at the same time.

But the Australian sporting market, and particularly the football market is saturated. Trying to compete with the AFL and NRL with a copy cat competition (instead of super rugby) would be a bad strategy, especially as it would have a lower standard of play (because every single world class player would move overseas).

 

[hoggy]

hoggy, you talk as if rugby union was this major sport in Australia before professionalism. But by pretty much every measure of popularity it was smaller than it is now.

Expanding Super Rugby to new markets and developing the domestic structure - through the NRC can happen at the same time.

But the Australian sporting market, and particularly the football market is saturated. Trying to compete with the AFL and NRL with a copy cat competition (instead of super rugby) would be a bad strategy, especially as it would have a lower standard of play (because every single world class player would move overseas).

So after 20 yrs of Super rugby the fact that it is slightly more popular than when it was amateur is okay.

Exactly how is the NRC going to develop the domestic market, a 6 week 3rd tier development competition specifically aimed at supporting the Super teams is some how going to gain the ARU market share, believe that and i,ve got a bridge to sell you.

So we shouldn't try to copycat the AFL/NRL because the market is saturated, yes the general public are flocking to the Super rugby alternative. Maybe partly due to being stuck on pay TV for 20 years and the fact that it will be stuck on pay TV for another 20 years.

And yes its amazing that the A league even survives (actually its just kicked rugby into 4th spot), lucky to have a player in the top 200 in the World.

 

[hoggy]

Keep that positive thinking going.

How ironic that a Rebels supporter is railing against expansion.

I have been a Rebels member since day one and support the team, however i do not support Super rugby a competition that has absolutely zero relevance to the market that it is trying to enter.

Having watched grassroots rugby in Victoria survive on sausage sizzles for 20 years. It is ironic now to watch a broke ARU propping the team up $3/4 million each year,

If you think that is a good way to expand.

 

[Omar Comin']

So after 20 yrs of Super rugby the fact that it is slightly more popular than when it was amateur is okay.

Exactly how is the NRC going to develop the domestic market, a 6 week 3rd tier development competition specifically aimed at supporting the Super teams is some how going to gain the ARU market share, believe that and i,ve got a bridge to sell you.

It is a lot more popular than when it was an amateur sport.

The NRC is the same quality of competition you would have as the premier level of rugby (under test matches) in Australia. How would that reinvigorate the code or get it on FTA? In fact your alternative would probably be at a lower quality than the NRC because not only would the Wallabies players leave Australia, so would the next best 30 or 40 guys capable of getting decent contracts overseas.

You think it would replicate the A League? Try the NBL, if that. Rugby and soccer are very different. At the top level soccer was run terribly in Australia for decades. Now that it's being run well (and a big injection of investment pumped into it) the A League has gained the support of a % of its enormous base of participants, fans and casual fans. A base much, much bigger than rugby's.

If the A League was the highest quality competition in the world you can have no doubt that it would be significantly bigger than it is. You only have to see the crowds teams like Liverpool and Manchester United have attracted in Australia for pre-season warm up matches. There are many big soccer fans in Australia who don't watch a lot of A League and follow the English Premier League or other leagues a lot more passionately. I'd bet you anything that if Australian soccer clubs were part of the highest level of competition in the world it would be bigger than the AFL and NRL.

Creating a new domestic structure in place of Super Rugby would both shrink the pie, and cut it into more pieces. The only possible way it could work would be if this new competition and its immediate expansion teams were bankrolled by very rich individuals. Do you have rugby's Frank Lowy lined up?

Fact is that the expansion of Super Rugby through the conferences model can achieve all that you hope for. As the competition grows globally Australian rugby will benefit and will continue to expand the game further in Australia, creating more local content - both in the Australian or Australasian conference of Super Rugby and in the NRC. Super Rugby has a unique selling point compared to the other codes - genuine world class international competition. Lets celebrate that. Super Rugby is epic and if given more focus and promotion could make domestic competitions like the NRL and AFL seem insular and plain.

What I would like to see is for the SANZAR unions to stop seeing Super Rugby's primary purpose as developing test players, and instead try and turn it into the biggest and best competition it can be in its own right. The NFL of rugby. The goal should be for it to become a (much) bigger source of revenue than the Wallabies.

 

[Slim 293]

Brumbies' potential contract overhaul to hang onto players:

ACT Brumbies chief executive Michael Jones says the club will have to be innovative to beat rich overseas teams trying to poach their stars, flagging a potential contract system overhaul to help retain Australia's best players.
..........
But Jones believes changing the contract system from a 12-month deal to base it around the length of a season will free players up to supplement their earnings with overseas stints in the Super Rugby off-season.

"We need to be innovative, maybe we need to look at the way we're contracting players," Jones said.

"Rather than contract on calendar years so that we allow guys to play for the Brumbies and then they can head off to Japan in the off-season and then come back to us.

"Or a 10-game stint somewhere in Europe, deals done in mutual agreement [with overseas clubs] so they can top up on lucrative contracts overseas and then they can have stability here.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug...to-beat-french-rebellion-20150125-12wsdo.html

 

[Inside Shoulder]

It's not a bad idea but it could undermine the NRC if it became the norm

 

[hoggy]

It is a lot more popular than when it was an amateur sport.

The NRC is the same quality of competition you would have as the premier level of rugby (under test matches) in Australia. How would that reinvigorate the code or get it on FTA? In fact your alternative would probably be at a lower quality than the NRC because not only would the Wallabies players leave Australia, so would the next best 30 or 40 guys capable of getting decent contracts overseas.
You think it would replicate the A League? Try the NBL, if that. Rugby and soccer are very different. At the top level soccer was run terribly in Australia for decades. Now that it's being run well (and a big injection of investment pumped into it) the A League has gained the support of a % of its enormous base of participants, fans and casual fans. A base much, much bigger than rugby's.










Well good luck with your little vision statement. No doubt when Super rugby takes over the World, everything will be alright.

It is just so sad the Rugby Union in Australia will come up with whatever excuse it can find instead of actually dealing with the shortcomings of how the code has been run here. Somehow all the other codes have these unique advantages.
For 20 years now we have invested in a top down Wallabies and Super rugby model that has left the code bankrupt and in a slow decline.

Yet all you can come up with is more expansion, don't worry once we have conquered that market they will pay our bills.
Instead of a grassroots build from the ground up and a domestic structure that over time with sacrifice and hard work has been proven.

No much better to chuck a Super Duper MK4 model on the c/c, they reckon you'll double your money.

GOOD LUCK MATE!!!!

 

[Omar Comin']

Where do you think the money to invest in the grassroots comes from? It's a circular system - the grassroots and the elite both support each other. This is the same in every professional sport.

But the grassroots isn't the only influence on the popularity of elite level sport. I don't think it's even the main influence. There are plenty of sports that are very strong at the grassroots that don't succeed commercially at the elite level. It's not as simple as saying you have to 'build from the ground up.'