Looks like a 15 game season with everyone playing each other once (minus the 2 already played). But I still expect games behind closed doors for a long while, which is why Channel Nine have kicked off because they see less value in their TV deal if this happens.
Also, no word on whether the Queensland clubs will have to play in Sydney in order to maintain an ‘isolation bubble’ of players. The AFL have made no announcement about their restart date so I’m thinking the NRL have jumped the gun slightly. It’s only 7 weeks away and whilst Australia is in better shape than us partly due to its relative isolation, it’s still not out of the woods at all. I’ve spoken to cousins in Melbourne and Canberra and their attitude to all of this is not that different to ours.
Last edited by Gray77; 10th April 2020 at 14:46.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...ue-competition
New Hubs for the teams to isolate, NW Warriors keen to get over to Oz but not certain of the restrictions?
Sad news about the young player Mitch Cronin 27, outside of NRL.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...ining-accident
Is this confirmed? F&L podcast were very much of the opinion that it is still a case of wait and see during the week. It'd be a Godsend at the moment to have live, and therefore current and relevant, sport back even if I have to say I think the Superleague with their Rewind matches and the OurLeague site with CCup games are doing their bit to at least give us something to watch.
I will just start with the headline and first paragraphs in today's The Sun Herald, (Sydney) better computer skills than mine can put a link up.
The NRL has received private equity and loan proposals from American investors that will be on the agenda for one of the most important meetings in the ARL commission's history on Tuesday, "Park Lane" a company that specialises in assisting high net worth individuals become owners of sporting franchises, it has brokered a series of proposals that have been put to officials at Rugby League Central.
Park Lane Founder Andrew Kline-who has facilitated deals to sell teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, has previously said he has clients prepared to buy entire Australian sporting leagues.
The ARLC will consider several offers, including a $250 million line of credit brokered by Oakwell Sports Advisory, the London firm previously brokered sporting investment deals, including for CVC Capital to buy into European Rugby.
ARLC chairman Peter V'Landys said he is open to the prospect of selling an equity share in the NRL declaring it would be negligent not to consider all options but would never relinquish a controlling interest. Andrew Kline is passionate about Australian Sport, he quoted America is a much bigger market that is not diluted by four sporting codes
It's a long interesting article. can someone link it please.
There you go, but merging this and other stuff into the NRL thread to keep it neat and tidy.
All NRL chat in here please so it’s easy to keep it all in one place.
ARLC to consider US investment options and loan proposals for NRL
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/arl...18-p54l1x.html
A lot of the union fan reaction to this investment in that code has been quite negative viewing it as a race to the bottom.
Would V'landys be incorrect in saying that the US is not diluted by four sporting codes (American football, ice hockey, basketball, baseball) or does he simply intend that the population is huge compared to Australia and so there is still a market there anyway?
i think this was important enough to the game to warrant a post and discussion on its own
Todd Greenberg quits, Big Mal upset, it's all kicking off now!
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...-nrl-departure
'It's back on again until it isn't' ! May 28th 2020, now given for the start, but you can't take given these days?
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/bro...24-p54n27.html
Teams in further preparation for the NRL to resume on 28 May. It's a 1 in 10,000 chance of catching virus according to V'landsy, head of the ARLC, if players stick to the biosecurity protocols?
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...players-gather
Bloody good game this.
It is. I'm loathe to shower praise on the Aussies for anything, but I watch the game and it just seems like a different sport to Super League. I'm not sure if it's the fitness levels, whether they are better athletes to start with, i.e they attract the best stock from Australia while the equivalents in the UK never play the game. Or whether it's the carpet like surfaces they play on or the weather? Or the extra ref? Or even the TV coverage, which is another aspect which puts us to shame. Camera angles, technology and commentary are all better than ours. Compare those commentators to the Northern mining community parody we have on Sky Sports, it's not pretty. Whatever the cause, the game is just so much cleaner, so much faster. There is no obsession with holding down and slowing things down, there is no moving off the mark or crawling/pushing forwards like Wigan/Warrington do over here. At times they don't look human
I’m loving the rule change with the ruck infringements. The speed of the game is ridiculous. Plus it will stop lesser sides deliberately slowing the game down for a tactical breather.
To use the Huddersfield game as an example we’d have never lost that game with this rule. I’m sick of seeing teams deliberately coming to spoil and slow the game down so I’d be a massive fan of this rule over here.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
The only “problem” with the rule (as pointed out by someone else on twitter) is if a team are 1 point up in the dying minutes. They could keep holding down and slowing things down knowing they couldn’t give a penalty kick away.
EDIT: just seen this on the NRL website:
An attacking team cannot request a penalty instead of getting another set but referees will retain the right to issue a full penalty and place players in the sin bin for persistent ruck infringements and professional fouls.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
Not the best game, nor was it expected to be given the circumstances. The speed was frenetic and the game more than enjoyable. Glad to have the game back.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
Humans are more concerned with having than being.