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$1 million Rugby Revolution

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Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
...snip...

Any ambitious kid would jump at the chance to play just seven games a year. ...snip...

7 games a year. Ambitious kids. Jumping at the chance.

Bruce, you have just described GPS, and ISA rugby in Sydney.

CAS have stretched it out to 10 weeks, but that is near enough to the basic premise.

Is this Balmain bloke offering to fund a Sydney Schoolboy Competition to rival GPS/ISA and CAS with a winner take all $1m prize pool? Look out for the Scholarship Thread meltdown!!
 
T

TOCC

Guest
Even the most devout club rugby supporter must admit that persisting with the shute shield, premier grade etc as our 3rd tier is not a sustainable path to providing depth to our super rugby teams, nor does it provide a marketable product which sponsors, broadcasters and fans are really interested in.

I think rather then reading into the semantics of the article and the obvious hurdles and timing conflicts which need to be overcome, we should look at the positives of someone pushing the idea of a alternative competition which has potential to appeal to a bigger market.
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
Even the most devout club rugby supporter must admit that persisting with the shute shield, premier grade etc as our 3rd tier is not a sustainable path to providing depth to our super rugby teams, nor does it provide a marketable product which sponsors, broadcasters and fans are really interested in.

I think rather then reading into the semantics of the article and the obvious hurdles and timing conflicts which need to be overcome, we should look at the positives of someone pushing the idea of a alternative competition which has potential to appeal to a bigger market.

Bingo. I thin we should wait and see what else comes of this first before we categorically dismiss the concept. Perhaps the release of the article at this time was to garner interest from clubs both in Sydney and interstate who may want to compete. Should be interesting.
 

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
Bruce, you sound like WSC and IPL never happened. Fuck, it happened in rugby, too. Read The Rugby War by Fitzsimons. The Shute Shield already got divided into 2 seasons in a year, so anything can happen.
 

barbarian

Phil Kearns (64)
Staff member
Here is a statement from Balmain's website in response to the reports:

A story broke yesterday about Balmain Rugby Club’s involvement in a $1 million rugby revolution currently being developed. With that in mind here is some clarification on our plans and its ‘wrinkles’.


Since March this year we have been working on the creation of a 3rd tier competition to supplement the development of rugby in Australia. Over that time we have worked on different models while trying to maintain a strict fiscal discipline to ensure that this is an achievable goal and not a pipe dream. We are now a lot closer to that goal but there is still a long way to go.

Our plan is not anti-establishment, instead we are developing a viable solution and we will be working with the various bodies to ensure its success.

Our proposal includes the realignment of club competitions to match the Super rugby finishing date which would free up players to compete in this competition while The Rugby Championship was played.

We believe there is a window in late August, September and early October each season for an attractive rugby product using players that do not make the Wallabies 30 player squad, alongside young developing players. It would act in part as a selection tool for Australia’s rugby franchises and assist them with assessing talent in a higher standard than premier rugby. We know from our discussions with these franchises that it is a concept they would support.

This competition will be similar to the 3rd tier competitions currently existing for the last two World Cup winning nations New Zealand and South Africa; the ITM and Currie Cups.

Our short term plan is based on building a sustainable competition by managing overheads. The vast majority of rugby followers agree that a completion like the proposed is a tremendous opportunity but the barriers to entry are primarily fiscal.

Conscious of this we have decided, at least in the first season, to concentrate on two conferences; one in Sydney and the other in Brisbane. It is then hoped once the tournament proves itself that we will expand into other rugby strongholds in Perth, Melbourne, Canberra and potentially NSW Central Coast, NSW & QLD country.

In the first season each Sydney and Brisbane conference will have 6 privately funded teams based on districts that will appeal to a broad supporter base.

By keeping participating teams to 12 in the first year we believe the returning players from each Australian Super rugby franchise (30 contracted players + 5 extended playing squad members) will strengthen these teams beyond what is possible in premier rugby.

The introduction of 5 Super rugby franchises has undeniably diluted the standard in premier rugby competitions and the well documented financial challenges of these premier clubs have been exacerbated by the player drain to Super rugby. All clubs have an important part in Australian rugby but the cavernous hole between club rugby and super rugby is only getting bigger.

The Australian Rugby Championship in 2007 provided this bridge between club and Super rugby and produced some tremendous rugby while uncovering current Wallabies such as Kurtley Beale and Lachie Turner. But the high cost of travel dictated for the new proposed tournament that we would need to look at a different model, at least in the first instance that is played in cities where travel is reduced to short commutes.

New Clubs will be created and all 12 teams will be privately owned. Importantly we would not have promoted this concept without the substantial interest in ownership from individuals we have targeted and we are confident that creating these Clubs with inspired owners will not be a speed hump.

The basic premise of this competition is the promotion of developing footballers – providing pathways that will once again make Australia a great rugby nation yet at the same time appeal to the rugby faithful who have come out and overwhelmingly endorsed the idea.

To develop young footballers all 30 man squads must be made up of at least 10 players under 22 years of age. Marquee signings will be encouraged and will be outside the modest salary cap. Non-marquee players will receive modest match payments with the opportunity to win the $1 million prize money. They will be part-time players and will need to supplement their incomes with other employment or rugby contracts.

This competition won’t make players rich but it will provide players increased exposure to potential future employers while continuing their development via contact in game situations with a higher standard of players, teams and coaching.

The season will be short and intense. 5 games will be played in each conference with the top 2 teams from each conference playing off in the conference Semi-Finals – Sydney 1 v Brisbane 2, Brisbane 1 v Sydney 2. Winners will go through to the Grand Final.

Matches will be played at times attractive for television such as Friday night double headers at 6:30pm & 8:30pm. These matches will be played at suburban grounds; eg Leichhardt Oval, Redfern Oval with low entry fees offering fans value for money. Sunday afternoon games will be played at 4:00pm with mid-week night games as the tournament develops.

Earlier this year we spoke in confidence, to key decision makers at Fox Sports and Channel 10 about the concept of a 3rd tier rugby tournament and the resulting proposal we are developing is based on their feedback.

It is without doubt a work in progress and we look forward to the continued refinement to make this an attractive product for television and Australian rugby fans. Watch this space! We Are Balmain.
 
D

daz

Guest
Better to start something than do nothing - good on them and I hope the concept gets up.

+1

If nothing else, give the bloke some due respect for getting off his bum and having a crack. We can do our bit by supporting it.
 

kronic

John Solomon (38)
That's clarified several things.

6 fabricated "clubs" per conference in Brisbane/Sydney? I'm skeptical.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Someone within Balmain Club has been reading these threads, and is prepared to turn words into action.

It may be $1m p1ssed up against the wall, but what about the $43m surplus from RWC03 that was earmarked for grass roots. How much of that was p1ssed up against the same wall?

The rugby establishment has no claim on the moral high ground here, however it would be in their best interests to engage in constructive dialogue with Balmain to try to prevent the code in clubland level tearing itself apart.

The beauty of the AAGPS adoption of Rugby as an endorsed winter sport is that the game will never die within that system while it remains an AAGPS endorsed winter sport. They care little about the health of Shute Shield.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
That's clarified several things.

6 fabricated "clubs" per conference in Brisbane/Sydney? I'm skeptical.

IPL hasn't destroyed the basic fabric of cricket. Now I am not suggestign that this is the equivalent of IPL, but the teams are all pick up sides owned Privately and serve to operate as a Billionaires plaything.

ICC have moved things around here and there to accommodate the IPL competition to ensure that both parties can survive/retain their relevance. Players who IPL together find themselves on opposite sides of International fixtures without any problems.

With careful treatment the same could happen here, without the contract largesse seen in IPL.
 

kronic

John Solomon (38)
IPL hasn't destroyed the basic fabric of cricket. Now I am not suggestign that this is the equivalent of IPL, but the teams are all pick up sides owned Privately and serve to operate as a Billionaires plaything.

ICC have moved things around here and there to accommodate the IPL competition to ensure that both parties can survive/retain their relevance. Players who IPL together find themselves on opposite sides of International fixtures without any problems.

With careful treatment the same could happen here, without the contract largesse seen in IPL.
The skeptical remark was about the ability to extract 6 clubs from each city.

It could probably work in Sydney, but Brisbane? I think a city/region model is probably the best option. It's suppose to be the layer between clubs and Super Rugby, it would be the correct basis then.

Eg. Sydney City/East, North Shore, Western Sydney. Brisbane City, Logan, Ipswich?

I applaud the use of suburban grounds though. It's grassroots, the way it should be. None of this plastic fantastic stuff. If it comes to Melbourne, I don't want it at AAMI Park. It'll cost.
 

East Coast Aces

Johnnie Wallace (23)
To develop young footballers all 30 man squads must be made up of at least 10 players under 22 years of age.

If this gets up and going This is my biggest problem with the model. I think everyone should have to earn their place. A youth quota will gift opportunities to players who just don't deserve it. Making people work for a reward forces the cream to rise. (Capitalism at its best).

Suburban grounds sounds great for Sydney but sadly there aren't any good grounds to watch Rugby at in Queensland. None with TV facilities. We would have to use league grounds, couple soccer grounds around are suitable too.

However if there is 6 investors willing to throw money at this then we might be able to upgrade grounds such as Easts Bottomley Park and Brothers Crosby Park. But I just can't see the return on investment. Do we have 6 altruistic wealthy entrepreneurs? I would think this is an oxymoron.
 

Bowside

Peter Johnson (47)
I think the idea of fabricated teams has been tried and failed with the ARC.

But still, it is good to see the wheels in motion in regards to the 3rd tier, even if the format is not perfect, I will still be more than happy to see this competition get off the ground.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Fabricated teams could come with tribalism if it they named and organised along some form of Representative basis. We have been doing it for years.

Think North Harbour vs South Harbour in the CAS. There is typically little love lost between Trinity, waverley and Cranbrook, until it comes time to have a lash at the combined Barker, Aloys, and Knox lads in the CAS Rep team trials. Plenty of other examples in rugbydom.
Same for City vs Country, orgin or otherwise.

Barbarians is a total fabrication yet they manage to fill Twickers, and clubs are typically happy to release their rock stars for Bar Bars duties.

It is not unheard of to have Fabricated Teams, and also for these to work alongside existing structures in the game. Further these Fabricated teams can attract and retain tribal support if done the right way.

Alternatively it is rather easy to totally shag them up.
 
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