While the competition is called the National Rugby League, the Australian side is actually run by the Australian Rugby League which also owns the Origin series.
The New South Wales Rugby League is somewhere in the mix as is the New South Wales Country Rugby league.
The NRL has two Boards, its own and one that represents the "Partnership" which apparently, depending on who you ask, is the one that wields the power.
Of course the ARL has its own board as do the other entities.
That is a brief snapshot of the upper levels of the administration of the game in NSW and Nationally, but trust me , there are many tiers beneath that.
Queensland then has its own various administrations, as do all other states.
Of course there are some quality people involved in all levels of all states but the problem lies in the detail.
Consider the money that is consumed to keep it all going. Naturally not all levels need to be done away with, but certainly change is required.
Surely its time for the game of Rugby League to completely overhaul its administration and put an end to the seemingly aimless wanderings of the game.
The various divisions need to be consolidated to take us into the future under one banner with a united strong direction.
If there is a real difference between League and AFL, its not in the entertainment that we provide, rather it is in the AFL's strong administration which leaves ours shamefully wanting.
There should immediately be an independent audit of all levels of administration and a new streamlined model adopted.
The other deficiencies in the game cannot be addressed until this occurs.
League Legend Shane Webcke is Channel 7's Brisbane League Expert
Comments
The attitude of Directors also counts. AFL places the interests of the game above all other loyalties. Back in the 50's Western Districts in Brisbane had a full forward called Ray Hughson who would have walked into any VFL side but he and talented players like him were not able to be poached because the VFL had declared Queensland a 'development area'.
Jul 15 02:06 pmCompare this to Arko's comments in his book. "I'm a Manly man first, a New South Welshman second and an Australian
Problem is with rugby league it just does not compare to the afl when it comes to watching a great spectacle.Thats why so many people watch the game of afl, that I thought was obvious.It is about time heirachy of rugby league start thinking that there game is going to be extinct in 10 years time and wake up start smelling the roses.
Jul 29 05:41 pmThere is just one,game that is of interest to me,and that is Rugby Union,because it is a man's game,but very seldom of interest to our sensational news bulletins,yet the two games in question,gets coverage at all times,from sunrise right through to the next day,day in and day out,and it keeps going even news flashes about the outcome of tribunals,this is crap
Aug 5 09:21 amGood piece Shane.... you hit the nail on the head. The game be run by professional administrators and not ex players, unless they have professional qulaitfications in business etc. If all these board members and the like love the game they should do what is best for it and reorganise the admin and get a strategic direction... Enough talk... get on with it
Sep 9 11:11 amyou cannot compare the two codes, as they are totally different games, with only 1 similarity, there are too many hangers on.
Sep 28 01:02 pm