Today’s NRL press conference saw Peter V’landys and Todd Greenberg confirm that plans to play Round 2 of the NRL Premiership behind closed doors will proceed. However, the enormity of the crisis and the necessity to be fluid in responding to expert guidance hinted that the code could merely be treading water in a rapidly rushing tide.
So why continue to soldier on in the face of overwhelming odds?
The reason is simple and neither of the two backed away in responding.
The professional sport of rugby league faces an economic crisis on an unprecedented scale. A lengthy suspension of the season, a postponement or indeed an abandonment of the Premiership would be financially catastrophic.
We are probably correct in questioning how our code finds itself in such a precarious funding position. However, now is not the time for such reflection or finger pointing. The reality is harsh – the money does not exist and the NRL will not be able to weather an extended storm without government assistance.
Without question, a prolonged suspension of the season will have effects which extend far beyond the game itself.
V’landys and Greenberg referenced the value of sport in the social fabric of our country and they touched on the flow-on impact to those whose businesses are linked to every rugby league season.
Stadium contracts are already under pressure, and this extends to the incomes of caterers, security and match day staff. The flow-on reaches businesses, small and large.
Broadcasters without sports products to offer will be impacted as subscribers potentially drop away. Our game is funded by broadcast rights. Such matters cannot be ignored.
And on that point of revenue streams, besides broadcasting, sponsorships, match day and merchandise all being impacted, there are also the clubs who are funded by more traditional means. Clubs supported by licensed clubs are going to face enormous challenges. Trading in licensed venues will face downturns if not complete restrictions.
So, what about us? The punters, the loyal supporters and members who are also vital to the NRL – what can we do?
There will be those far more qualified than I am who will have some answers, but for now the advice is surely the same as that given to the entire population.
Stay calm.
To that I suggest that we remain strong as members. Don’t demand refunds on your membership. If the season is suspended, clubs will look at ways of ensuring that the value of your membership is delivered – whether it be this year or by extended benefits in following seasons.
If you are not financially impacted by this pandemic and can afford to maintain your subscriptions, don’t cancel them. The game requires such partners.
Furthermore, with financial aid and the support of the punters, there are provisions in the NRL contracts for extended or abbreviated seasons or mid week games. If we can play our part in staying strong, there will be solutions.
Obviously our country and all of its citizens are facing problems far greater than saving professional sport. Individually, there will be those dealing with the consequence of serious illness. There will be those whose livelihood may not recover. Being responsible in our actions and our words and helping where we can will undoubtedly go a long way towards limiting the strain placed on our communities.
However, for those whose lives and livelihood are intertwined with the football codes that we love, I’d hope that we consider how remaining calm and supportive will help.
Eels and NRL forever!
Craig Hawkins (Sixties)
On the back of W Bennett’s suggestion that all squads be isolated up north and all play at a given venue each week, it was reported today that a certain resort has offered its facilities to the NRL to accommodate all the teams.
If this proved viable then I’d suggest pausing the comp for two weeks to give the recommended 14 day isolation period for players and associated staff, ensuring no virus amongst them. Then commence an isolated comp as suggested by Wayne. This is, of course, if players and staff would be willing.
I don’t say this from a selfish “I need footy at all cost” attitude (well mostly not) but rather looking at ways to keep some revenue flowing into the NRL which could hopefully flow on to support other parts of the industry.
Sounds like something worth considering. And that 14 day period of exclusion would be wise.
As one of the older generation and said to be in the bracket where both my wife and I can be more at risk, RL and the eels are still important to me, and likewise one can imagine every RL supporter in the country would be the same along with those who will be impacted with any shutdown and non stadium attendance/viewing, I am not sure if this shutdown in total is necessary.
I watched how China used desperate measures once the virus was identified and it spread, reports say it was known there in early December rather than January as commonly said, that was in a news paper article I read this morning. The total lock down of the Hubei province in January though has the are now free and reopening after 2 odd months, the temporary hospitals have also been closed as the virus is receding. The other item that was strictly checked across China was the temperature checks along with other checks on people going through airports, shopping centres and other areas, I have not seen similar checks in this country.
Likewise in reading articles put out by health department regarding contact with others, what is said is to not touch others and keep at least 1.5metres away from others, do not touch other people and the like. The call for total no supporters to watch games sort of flies in the face of the government saying no crowds/gatherings of more than 500 seems at odds with the no events being available to go to and support.
My wonderment is why when a stadium such as Bankwest can fit in around 260000 patrons, why is it that set seats could not be set aside for patrons allowing at leas two seats each side of a family, or a single patron to be able to watch the game, possible also to have one row of seating only in between two empty rows.
All this may seem dumb or worse but gee! I have lived through several areas of acute viral sicknesses in my life, also as a young child having the vaccinations against many areas that were also fatal but none having the crazy shopping centre panics, which is in many ways worse than the Corona pandemic.
Colin, I think that in light of the restrictions being placed on other walks of life, we can be grateful that the NRL is (at this stage) still pressing on. Not attending games is a reality. Hopefully, a solution is found for the competition, or even better, that the spread of the virus can be contained.
Great comment Sixties and i agree, and yes i am happy to leave my memberships as is, but i also feel for the battlers (its Rugby League i guess) too.
I would be ok for the comp to have a break for 2 – 4 wks and re-assess as i am not sure about having all clubs / officials etc in the one place but i also get the reasoning.
As mentioned throughout summer we are in unprecedented times, and the NRL would be taking the best advice i assume.
By the way is anyone else also sleeping 1.5 m away from their wife / partner?
Col i heard the first case was reported in China in about November? I am intrigued to know what they are doing to reduce the virus.
The no football / soccer in Europe / UK is also killing me….and i guess they will cease the Darts soon. Still peeved they got rid of the girls walking the players out for darts.
I’m sure that those precautions you’re taking at home Milo are based on the best medical advice. Don’t worry about the darts. Those players would be immune to anything.
Agreed on both counts. The audience for darts are superb. My dream to attend a UK event one day……as for the home scene i will let her know your strategic thoughts.
Milo, I accidented on to the Sky news tonight I think it was around 7.30 and it had a very very interesting and information half hour section that was dedicated to the Corona virus. I don’t recollect them giving a difinative start date of the virus but they suggest December as the time and the Chinese doctor who died after contracting it also was the one who discovered it, but when he tried to inform the government, he was short circuited and was told to stay quiet about it.
What seems to be the source of the virus is the same from SARS and originating from specific bats native to a part of China and infected another animal in the Wuhan wet market. Apparently the wet market there has both exotic live animals for sale and slaughtered on the spot, but its supposed to be separate from the main market which has general animals and other foodstuffs there. Problem with those types of markets is the animal bloods that are spilled and washed away with buckets of water. The exotic animal slaughter is actually illegal in China but local Bureaucrat’s get their cuts and therefore cover them up.
And the entire world suffers for the sake of some local greed!
China is worse these days owing to their current premier who according to some in China who believes he wants to be Emperor in the old style China rule. One only had to see the last military parade in BJ as he stood in a cut out top car and would every 50 odd metres make a call to the thousands of armed troops lining the street for him to pass, I am your ruler was the call, and the troops repeated it by saying you are my ruler. Hitler would be proud of that.
There is huge dissent in China which is not just at the lower poverty lines of the general population, it is through to many senior party officials and gathering pace.
Trouble is that with those markets and part of the Chinese peasant, but often more so the elitists is their old world view that anything that breathed and moved was able to be eaten, does nothing to protect many species of animals and also used in traditional medicines, as such any new animal that is captured ends up in the pot. The primary difference though is that the peasant class of people cannot afford those luxury items.
That market was meant to be closed down after the SARS virus erupted.. The failure to enforce that directive has cost the world dearly
Indeed!
John I doubt it would have stayed open for long as the BJ government ordered its closure, and Wuhan still has new virus cases, but according to the news a short while ago there were only 5 new cases there.
The BJ government also put a ban on the exotic animals for human consumption, problem is likely the local stall holders would be trying to keep the trade going, one thing for sure if the BJ central government issues a directive people would be fools to ignore it, but as I said in reply earlier there is a big under current of dissent in China against the current leader, that dissent is growing and could see him removed, if it grows much further.
My sentiments are based around my experience yesterday. We went to our local supermarket to get milk and saw an elderly couple in tears. They could not get any rice, pasta, pasta sauce, toilet paper, tissues, canned tomatoes. They only shop once a month as they are on the pension. They walked to the shop ( they don’t drive anymore) as they were worried that if they waited until mid week there would be nothing left.
We spoke to them and got them some lunch at the take away. We then dropped them home but first went to our house and got some toilet paper, canned vegetables, canned soup, pasta, rice, long life milk and pasta sauce. We are young, my son can use tissues, it won’t kill him and I can make my own pasta and sauce, bread etc and my son can eat the veggies from the garden. Seriously what has happened to our caring, sensible country. We have told them we will drop in once a week to check in and get them anything they need. Seriously, a little humanity is needed.
On the footy, it will be interesting. My family will not ask for our membership back and in fact will not accept it if it is offered but we can afford to and in our work we will not suffer economically from the virus.
I think the players, top paid players, need to take the lead and be united with fans. Maybe rep league players can show the lunatics in our community who are being greedy and selfish, how to act. Maybe they could forgo rep payments for the next three years. They get $ 30,000 each a game. No players is guaranteed that money. Over 3 years you would be looking at between 13-15 million, including origin and tests. It won’t make a dent in the financial loses but it will show enormous good will as I think fans can rightly be upset if the players are not willing to also make sacrifices to deal with the fallout.
Thanks for having the courage to share your act of kindness to the elderly couple, it brought back memories of the acts of kindness that my parents and grandparents would share around the dinner table when recalling “the great depression” and the second world war. My Nan and Pop had a general store on Elizabeth St. Strawberry Hills (near Surrey Hills) and a few acres in Matraville where they bred ducks and chickens, (my father built the incubator for the chicks from a book, he was a tailor and had a shop in the city) they also had a large veggie garden during that period of time and would talk of the privilege they had to be able to help people who couldn’t help themselves, customers would come into the shop who had no money to put in the gas meter let alone buy the food they needed for their family. Nan said she would give them what they needed and most people were honest and came back after the war to square up. She also said that God had blessed them with good health and wonderful opportunity as they were a hard working and resourceful family and should not take that for granted. I taught my kids the same principles and we are teaching the grand-kids the same things now also. Good on’ya Shelley, giving is like a friendly smile or a kind word. It has it’s own reward.
Thank you for sharing this story Rowdy. You are a good man and you’ve raised a caring family. And for anyone reading this, I know Rowdy and his family. He’s one of a number of good people that I’ve met via a mutual passion for the Eels, so I’m not blowing smoke up someone that I don’t really know or know what they’re like.
As a teacher I used to speak to my students about helping others – from helping their parents without being asked to helping older people at the shops if they see them struggling. And the thing I used to emphasise was that helping another person actually makes you feel so good that it is its own reward.
Shelley, we need more people with your sense of humanity.
Bless you Shelley, that was a lovely act of kindness and I’m sure one that comes so naturally to you.
Shelley, thank you for this post but, more so for you goodness and kindness, there is not many so it seems in this day & age.
Its very sad to see the attitudes of people these days, especially when they cry out saying they are doing it tough yet race in with the family and fill several carts with food and necessities, and how often to they go in? My wife and I go once a week mainly for perishables such as milk and fruit, usually wait for the toilet paper until there’s around a week’s supply left before buying more, thankfully we got our usual large packs around 3 weeks back and are ok for a couple of more weeks.
The news this morning that Woolworths will open an hour earlier from tomorrow until Friday is a good move except that many older people and welfare recipients may not be able to get up at that time, and buses are infrequent as they are used for school transport, the best time for Woolies to have that would be for an hour after normal opening time of 8am when many of the mums are dropping their children at school, similar from 230 in the arvo when its pick up times, that’s when we do our shops.
I remember my mum on Wednesday nights when the newspapers had the weekly shopping specials in their afternoon prints. My mum would sit there for at least an hour comparing the prices and writing down what was needed based on the specials. Saturday mornings was when we purchased meat, at the butchers on Kliens road, a baked dinner on Sunday and left overs were used in stews, cheapest cuts of meat and out by mid week. Then it was cold sliced meat.
To see riots and shop staff having to separate on TV a couple of nights back made me wonder where this country is heading, must be the laughing stock of the world — sadly!
We are not alone in the world when it comes to this chaos Colin.
As for Woolworths, if they did that hour after being open to normal shopping, there would be severe shortages on the shelves. This is their best possible option.
sixties, the normal opening hour up this way is 800am, if one gets there in the first hour its usually pretty quiet, so should not be a problem and more a benefit for the older people.
I oft wonder how often the world is actually not in chaos.
I have to shop for my parents. That is done on a weekly basis. It has not been possible to purchase the normal basics like toilet paper since this chaos began. I lined up at 6:45am on Saturday as I was advised by Coles to do so. There was already a throng of people there and when the shutters went up, people charged thru every entry point. I could only purchase a single 4 pack. That wont last long. People had multiple large packets under their arms, and the insanity was that they would not be able to get through the check outs with it – they simply prevented others from getting it. If Woolies has controlled shopping for the elderly, it will be a huge help during a time when people’s selfishness is impacting the more vulnerable.
Therein is the psyche of the human race In psychology, the psyche is the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious. How many are actually conscious in the quest to deprive others?
The idea and concept that Woolies has taken on board, seemingly came from an IGA store in Victoria to open their shop for those on Commonwealth health/seniors cards to open from 645am – 800am M-F is overall a very good idea and concept, but as I said those early hours are not in many instances ideal for many older people as its too early.
Likewise the aspect of opening at their normal hours of 800am for one hour before allowing others in to the shop provides a better opportunity window for those older, a case point may, note may! the case that Shelley referred to in the older couple who walked to the shop but they could not get what they wanted. I don’t think Shelley mentioned the time factor, but would an earlier time been better so the couple could get their items?
If this pandemic continues, the survivors may be those who pushed others out of the way, as how many shops, and even phone/internet orders for home deliveries may overwhelm the shops and general services for other than the greedy.
This is a very tough time. What worries me is that for this to work successfully you have to rely on people being ‘ compliant ‘ doing the right things based on the advice they have been given by medical officials. Historically, compliance is a very difficult thing to maintain. It is based on ones view, interpretation, experience and I suppose ones own ability to be measured. You self isolate for 14 days but people will still leave the house, still go to the local shop, still interact with others albeit on a lesser degree. You then have to rely on policing the persons in isolation. Who does that ? how is it done ? lots of questions ? Talk that Police will assist is another can of worms. Core business for the Police doesn’t stop because of Cronovirus. Lot more questions than answers.
In the simple form, everyone does the right thing we will get through this hopefully in months . But if people do it ad hoc and not consistently we will continue to develop cases. Doom and gloom ? I am just a another battler trying to get my head around this. If Warriors go, think the competition is doomed for 2020. Damn, our window just shrunk further.
Very relevant observations mate, and given your background, they are observations that I value.
On a purely football note, I feel for those players who are potentially in the final year of a contract or their final year of footy. Their careers are in the balance.
We ducked up to local Woolies(small village 5000 population) this morning to check on the access rules on behalf of our elderly neighbour. We don’t think she’d cope with lining up, rushing through the aisles etc. We found out that we actually qualify ourselves(moment of reflection), so we’re going up to line up for her and dash like Maika Sivo to the paper products. The store manager said that she is surprised by the antics of some people.so I won’t hit anyone with a Maika fend.
I’m trying to psyche myself for no NRL, no Eels, for the first time since 1967 (the year I switched from my family’s club Wests to Parramatta). I worry for my kids and grandkids so that”ll keep me occupied. Well said sixties.
Thanks BDon. And thanks in advance to Woolworths.
Wollies announced today that they they are opening from 7am to 8am from tomorrow until Friday specifically for pensioners. Pension cards will be required to gain entry.
I understand Coles are going to follow suit. Woollies also said that at some stage they will be closing early to restock the shelves
A coffee acquaintance who works at Woolies warehouse at Warnervale told me they have stacks of toilet paper and have put on casuals to load the trucks.
The big problem is finding room on the trucks. They can’t ignore the other stock
John, I believe that another problem related to transport laws, so with some leniency they can clear the warehouses.
Closing the stores early for restocking is an excellent idea. Here at Greenhills shopping centre the only day there are many people at the supermarkets is Thursday nights but after 8pm there are not many there at all, more shelf stockers than customers.
There has been around 6 shops in the centre close in the past few weeks, and all before this corona problem.