The NRL is wondering why people are turning away? There is no simple solution, but considering my passion has been waning over the past few years, I decided to put my own personal points of view down; you may or may not agree!
Cost/Value for money
Gone are the days of yesteryear where the family could enjoy a whole Saturday or Sunday at the footy; watching all 3 grades, taking picnic baskets & enjoying a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment. Nowadays, by the time fans pay for tickets, overpriced & unhealthy food & drink, transport to & from games if in Sydney or Melbourne, who could possibly afford a good old family day at the footy, without taking out a second mortgage? Sitting at home watching the tv, in comfort, seems a far more pleasurable & less expensive means of watching our favourite sport. Added to this the increasing cost of team merchandise & constant changes of jerseys, including promotional rounds, and the average fan is starting to wonder if it's money better spent elsewhere, like utilities & food on the table.
Media
The NRL has sold it's soul to Channel 9! The constant dictation of scheduling for clubs takes away any fairness for teams. You only have to look at the amount of travel the Roosters had in comparison with other clubs this season to see where equality is non existent! Compounded by constant Friday night games for the Broncos & no free to air games for the Raiders, which fans of the clubs CLEARLY also dislike and it certainly makes you wonder who the consumer is when marketing this 'product'? This brings me to the biggest bone of contention which as league lovers, we have to live with for the next 5 years, the DELAYED BROADCAST! I find it ludicrous in today's technological age, the fans in Australia are still treated with so much contempt as to be expected to accept NON HD, DELAYED coverage. Especially when social media has become such a large part of sports viewing experiences & followers in the UK, NZ & even USA are watching these games live, whilst Aussie viewers are expected to 'stay off' the net if they don't want spoilers?! Seriously? Are the dollar$ from tv rights taken that much more into consideration vs dollar$ from fan purchases? Yes, without the tv rights we don't have money to pay players, clubs, admin etc but without fan retention you don't have a product at all!
Lack of loyalty/breaking of contracts/mid season movements
Contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on in today's generation of footy players/coaches & clubs & it's harming the unification of the game! Almost every day there are rumours & innuendo about which player's going to what club or will this coach be sacked before or after the season is finished! ENOUGH!! Our game has NO transparency on one hand through clubs media manipulation, yet so much transparency & predictability on the other; it all creates conflict! Conflict between players at clubs... disunity within the club, attitudes amongst players that if they don't like their 'boss' (coach) they'll just get rid of him by underperforming or causing dissention. I don't think a transfer window or draft system is the answer, but I do believe loyalty should take precedence & be rewarded, which, under our current system, it isn't! Does that mean a marquee player allowance? Who decides what criteria makes a marquee player? I honestly believe a loyalty tier system would be far better for clubs & fairer on all players.
The other disappointing situation is the utilization of 2nd tier players & the salary cap associated with it. Perhaps the NRL should implement a 'long-term' injury allowance, should clubs lose more than 3 key positional players in a set time period. This would help cover the partial cost against the 2nd tier salary cap.
Slightly off tangent here, why are the coaches held accountable for poor performance yet players contracts don't include KPI's as part of a base wage/incentive salary package. Perhaps if they weren't handed their salaries on a silver platter the appreciation level would rise considerably? I'm by no means under rating the sacrifices & level of athleticism it takes to be an NRL player but every 'job' requires performance reviews & it's about time players were put under as much scrutiny on the field as they appear to be off field! There are of course the exceptions to the norm. Players who do stick to their word, do stay loyal to their clubs, coach & teammates & call me old fashioned, but, for those players, I will always have immense admiration!
Too large a step between NYC & NRL
There needs to be a reserve grade competition brought back as a further stepping stone between NYC & NRL 1st grade. Whilst the Queensland Cup allows that type of transition, it's not given enough focus as a reserve grade comp, it would also allow more players the opportunity to play at higher levels without the added pressures of trying to gain a spot in 1st grade at such a young age. If players knew there was another level between U20's & 1st grade perhaps they'd handle the mental transition a lot better as well & we wouldn't see so many off field incidents, gambling problems or violence?! I seriously believe that today's youth cannot handle the added pressures associated with earning too much money so young which also cries out for reserve grade or over 21's to be reintroduced to the competition.
Lack of repercussions
For poor or even illegal conduct, especially violence against women, there is far too much leniency, or should I call it spineless consequence? It seems dependant on how valuable the player in question is deemed to our game. I'm all for giving people a second chance however when the second, third & even forth chance is squandered there are no more chances. Get It together NOW or you're out completely is the motto which should be adopted. There is nothing in league which has made me feel as ill as when Robert Lui ran back out on the park during Women in League round. It sickened me, because he was CONVICTED after TWICE beating up on his partner within 12 months, the last time whilst she was pregnant! How can the game promote the WIL round without any sense of hypocrisy after that? Other players bringing the game into disrepute get a slap on the wrist, some learn, others don't! For the repeat offenders, what incentive is there to stop their actions when the game only seems to reward their bad behaviour? If a player disgraces a club enough to have his contract terminated, how is that player then allowed to be re-registered to play for another club until he may get sick of that club? It's a kick in the teeth of the club who had the ethics & morality to let him go & total disdain for fans of that club! Repeat offenders should be de-registered from the league for the term of their original contract at the very least. If matters are pertaining to a criminal nature then that player should have to serve a minimum of 5 years deregistration dependant on the charges.
2 referee system causing confusion between officials & creating sub standard officiating
Where do we possibly start with the consistent inconsistency & incompetence of referees? The 2 referee system CLEARLY isn't working! It causes more confusion than clarification on field with both refs having their own 'interpretations' often being on totally different pages. There's an old saying of "too many cooks spoil the broth" & I believe that's exactly what is happening in NRL! The non accountability of refs for reprehensible errors is archaic & needs a complete overhaul. I've seen more competent officiating in the Intrust Supercup than I have in the 1st grade NRL this season. Perhaps a round robin system between NSWcup, Qcup, NYC & NRL is needed to find the best officials on offer? Perhaps we need the rules to go back to basics along with the 'ring in' techniques used by clubs including wrestling etc. Once a player is held, called held within a logical period of time, instead of allowing the player time to; design ways of milking penalties, pick up an injury from over strain, be dragged over the sideline, deliver elbows or face palms whilst struggling to offload or cease the tackle! As for our sideline officials, why are they actually there? Thousands of avid fans can see blatant forward passes time & time again, yet the officials employed to call, offside, forward passes, illegal behaviour & where a ball crosses or whether a player goes into touch, can't see past their own noses. As a fan, there is nothing more frustrating than the change of momentum or scoreboard due to incompetent officiating, I believe it's possibly the major cause of people's discontent & the reason thousands of fans are turning to other sports in preference.
Sanitisation of the toughest game in the world
Fans of rugby league follow the game because of it's sheer brutality & toughness. Now, I'm not saying that means maiming or denying player safety, but sanitising a contact sport so heavily has taken the essence of the game away. Any player who chooses to play rugby league knows it's the toughest sport in the world & that unfortunate accidents may happen on the odd occasion. It's a good move to stop contact with players heads however it needs to be without depleting the game of good solid body hits. If the consequences were harsher for contact with the head, there would be far fewer incidences I can assure you. Stop the wrestling in the game & we can get back to free flowing footy with good solid body shots.
State of origin
Whilst many believe, myself included, that state of origin is the pinnacle of our great game, it also causes anxiety & inequality for club teams during this 6 week turmoil! We love seeing players from our club team chosen to represent either QUEENSLAND or New South Wales but it has always been at a cost. Shouldn't there be a hiatus during this time where other forms of the game can become the centre of everyone's attention? Women's league, NSW & Qld cup, Island nations given opportunities to play on a bigger stage? All these facets of league that could be expanded & explored, yet which nobody seems to bother about. There needs to be some adjustment, because it should be an honour to play for your state, but not at the expense of perhaps costing your club a place in the top 8 at the end of the regular NRL season.
Inconsistency with regard to gradings of reports
Is it any wonder fans cry foul when certain players appear to be protected species? Of course everyone's views will differ on who those protected species are but we can all agree that it happens! Some players are thrown the book at, whilst others are either not charged or get a slight slap on the wrist. I also have never understood why there should be a difference whether a player pleads guilty early or not? Is that just to save the judiciary time? If a player is guilty of an infringement then each incident should be ruled on individually! The blanket cover of gradings is understandable for expediency but not for accuracy. This has never been more clear than with the shoulder charge. The shoulder charge is NOT black & white & definitely needs some tweaking due to circumstance. Whether or not the head contact or blindside contact causing the head to be involved in some degree of whiplash has taken place should be the ONLY time this charge should be upheld. As previously stated, good body shots in league SHOULD NOT be punished, as that is what our game was founded on!
My last point comes due to the continual & constant 'lovefests' over specific players & clubs, from biased media representation. The 'inner voice' of Sonny Bill Williams was as cringe worthy as Tom Waterhouse shoving gambling down our throats, with his uninformed & uneducated run down every pre-game. Accompany this with the Burgess brothers & their mum, and, of course most fans would swear there were only 5 players in the NRL. Sorry, but there are hundreds of interesting back stories of players from ALL teams across the league, why is the focus so prevalent on just 5? Perhaps if each club were given the same exposure, we would find some unsung heroes that weren't forced upon us?
So, that's my food for thought. As stated at the beginning, you may or may not agree with me, I don't mind. It's just my take on what has been my favourite sport for nearly 4 decades & why I'd like to keep my passion until I die.
Love,
@LadiesWhoLeague
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