HooperPocockSmith
Bill Watson (15)
Manu is one of the biggest names in the game. They won't want to admit it but he's a big loss. Especially for the NZ market.
Aussie Player Exodus
- Thread starter swingpass
- Start date
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
Good chunk of the Clubs will use this to push for a bigger salary cap increase.
Pfitzy
George Gregan (70)
Not sure what that is supposed to mean.
While I've got little time for the game itself, you've got to admire how far ahead of Rugby the NRL hierarchy are when it comes to development.
Pfitzy
George Gregan (70)
They'll create another paragon. It's a numbers game, and they have numbers, exposure, and marketing in a big market.
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
They've nailed it. Roosters had been angling for Crichton to leave for the last 18 months. They were fine with the RA/Force approach as they had the next guy lined up in Siua Wong (Also out of Scots).
They would now have at least 1.5m in space to go sign players and we know they have been in contact with Jorgenson even when he was at School. I know it doesn't fill what has walked out but it's a depressing thought.
This is going to be the norm. Once upon a time when 95% of the NRL was Aussies only the two sports were very seperate. With the NRL now being 50% Pacific Islanders, they all have a background playing both or the physical skill & build to play both.
Adam84
Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Yeah, he isn't a loss. Billy Smith (another Scots College 1st XV) is on track to be replace Joseph Manu anyway, they've also got Robert Toia (Nudgee College) in the pipeline also, who was arguably one of the best Nudgee has produced in years. If those fail they'll just pinch someone from another team.
PhilClinton
Geoff Shaw (53)
The Brisbane Broncos held their fan open day yesterday, closed a street, huge amount of people etc.
My friends and family friendship groups all have strong ties to rugby still, most if not all have been or are playing rugby currently at the local club (GPS Ashgrove). Pretty much all of the families attended the Broncos open day yesterday because of the kids wanted to meet player xyz.
The broncos being in Red Hill and these families all living in or around Ashgrove obviously played a part there as it was so close, but still it’s a pretty fair assessment of the current state of the game. Everyone still happy to play rugby but at a professional level there is so much more community connection to the NRL.
My friends and family friendship groups all have strong ties to rugby still, most if not all have been or are playing rugby currently at the local club (GPS Ashgrove). Pretty much all of the families attended the Broncos open day yesterday because of the kids wanted to meet player xyz.
The broncos being in Red Hill and these families all living in or around Ashgrove obviously played a part there as it was so close, but still it’s a pretty fair assessment of the current state of the game. Everyone still happy to play rugby but at a professional level there is so much more community connection to the NRL.
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
Just have to go to a post game Rugby beers and see everyone watching the NRL over Super Rugby.
NRL while they have the market exposure also push their stars to the front and get them on all platforms. Look at Brisbane and for a week we were seeing Reece Walsh catch a pass from Tom Brady... Kids live in clips and it's one after another for the NRL.
Even down another lane is kids going online and watching Luai play video games on twitch.
NRL while they have the market exposure also push their stars to the front and get them on all platforms. Look at Brisbane and for a week we were seeing Reece Walsh catch a pass from Tom Brady... Kids live in clips and it's one after another for the NRL.
Even down another lane is kids going online and watching Luai play video games on twitch.
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
Can't speak to the rest of Aus, but with Ballymore reopened and hosting games it definitely feels like the Reds are keen to work on those club-community links and reengage the fans in that way. It's not going to happen overnight, but there was a pretty healthy crowd at the trial vs the force and the vibes were pretty good.
There's only so much they can do on their own in terms of building the full on star power in the broader community that draws those young kids in, but at the very least the seem to be getting everything in the best place they can to maximise the increased profile from the Lions->World Cup->Olympics run.
HooperPocockSmith
Bill Watson (15)
I'm a big fan of Billy Smith but thats a little premature, especially given his injury record.
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
Would cost half as much as Manu which means they can give it a go or go sign from the market. He had a good year last season and I was hoping he was one Rugby might target. As @Adam84 said they also have Toia in the system who I haven't seen much of but in a losing U18s Origin game a couple years ago for QLD he was the best player on the field.
I also feels it is harsh to compare with the lower media exposure. Rugby's best avenue might be being the most accessible. Club-community links, always sending players back to Club footy, affordable tickets (free U16 has always been something I thought would be good). And whatever it costs make junior rego the cheapest option for parents. Expensive endeavour if you multiple kids in sport. Can create players, fans and volunteers if we get them in the door.
PhilClinton
Geoff Shaw (53)
Yeh I think it’s the personality aspect which we need to harness.
I actually think the Reds at least have been good at getting exposure to clubs in general for a while. Training clinics, appearances etc have been decent.
The difference is we don’t have relatable players being plastered on billboards or associated with sporting Mecca events like State of Origin. It’s hard to bridge that gap at the moment.
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
Yeah, that's the tricky part with exposure levels though. You need that broader community fame to really take advantage of those personalities.
For what it's worth the Reds have really upped there social media game so far this year with a lot more player and coach interviews and general pre-season content. They do have a bit of a nascent tiktok presence too, which it looks like they might be leaning more into this year particularly focusing on personalities. It's mostly just some of the instagram content chosen to suit, but hopefully they have plans to build it out more once the season is going. Throw in the socks up podcast (hopefully they're continuing it) and individual player content, which looks to have more of the official media released straight to them to use, all the way to the more involved stuff like what Toomaga-Allen is doing and it's clear there is an effort to get them out there.
That's all only worth so much without the actual "fame" though - until the broader profile of the game (or at least the team) lifts you just won't see the broader public latch onto it. It's important they do have it there as a base for when/if that happens though, it may just take a successful season with some sort of home quarter/semi at Suncorp to kick start it. Next steps need to be more media engagement to help that flow into the Reds channels, both with traditional media and more with more modern social media personalities, though they are few and far between in the rugby space right now. This is probably drifting a fair bit off topic for the player exodus thread though.
Strewthcobber
Andrew Slack (58)
The player exodus explains a fair bit of that engagement issue though.
So many of our high profile players have no domestic visibility (even if they are no longer the best, they are recognisable and marketable)
So many of our high profile players have no domestic visibility (even if they are no longer the best, they are recognisable and marketable)
LeCheese
Peter Johnson (47)
The Reds' post-2011 drop-off also coincided with some strong seasons from the Broncs, Cowboys, and now Dolphins
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
I had a brief moment of hope that we might get a sneaky Reds unveiling when I saw his parents were in town at New Farm coles yesterday, but it was not to be. Still, better Italy than England
