Post by England 3 Lions on Mar 30, 2009 1:54:21 GMT 10
New Zealand rugby league faces tough times
By Steve Ricketts | March 25, 2009 11:00pm
Source: The Courier-Mail
NEW Zealand's World Cup triumph and the Warriors' stunning start to the 2009 NRL season may give the impression all is well across the Tasman.
But unfortunately when it comes to the 13-man game the opposite is true at many levels with player registrations down and public faith in the administration at grassroots level at an all-time low.
The Warriors are arguably the most popular sports brand in New Zealand, outside the All Blacks, and if they win the NRL title it will be the biggest story of the year.
The Broncos head to New Zealand today and the exploits of skipper Darren Lockyer and fellow internationals Israel Folau, Karmichael Hunt, Justin Hodges, Sam Thaiday and Joel Clinton are followed as keenly in Auckland as they are in Brisbane.
There will be a capacity crowd at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturda y and while the result will have the nation on edge, the game's true believers will be hoping for a positive outcome from the NZRFL annual meeting which is being held in Auckland this weekend.
NZRFL chairman Ray Haffenden says league's viability depends on members fully endorsing the findings of a recent independent review of the code.
Haffenden said league was operating in an environment where funding avenues were "extremely limited" and competitions had been severely trimmed. The national Bartercard Cup has been scrapped with many players moving to Australia to play in domestic leagues.
The Queensland Cup has been one of the beneficiaries.
There are no longer club competitions in the Otago and Tasman regions on the South Island and overall registrations in New Zealand have slumped from a high of 40,000 in the 1990s to 17,000.
The proposed reforms include the development of national competitions and the implementation of improved coaching and development systems.
The continued success of the Warriors and the New Zealand Test side must have positive spin-offs and the Kiwis should be able to call on most of their World Cup heroes for the one-off trans-Tasman Test at Suncorp Stadium on May 8.
In the past the Kiwis have been severely disadvantaged by either not being able to select players from Europe or having to bring them out barely 48 hours before kickoff. But Wigan's Thomas Leuluai was the only northern hemisphere player in the Kiwis' World Cup squad.
Former Broncos prop Shane Webcke is a great advocate of the international game and believes the right follow up to last year's Centenary World Cup will see the game grow in the Pacific region after good showings by Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
In his book, <i>Hard Road, </i> Webcke says the NRL must look to establish teams in Adelaide and Perth, and perhaps Darwin.
He also takes aim at the QRL's administration of the game at junior level describing it as "seriously inadequate". "The inclination always seems to be to take the easy road," Webcke writes.
"For example, if there's an event being planned for the Queensland southwest, the league will bung it on in Toowoomba, for sure, even though Toowoomba doesn't represent southwest Queensland.
"They'll just do what they've always done. If they were to take it out further, to St George or Roma where so many people are involved in the footy and rugby league, people would come from everywhere to support it.
"In both the major league states bush football deserves a vastly better deal than it gets."
No one will argue with that and no doubt many people would like to read more of Webcke's thoughts on the game at large.
By Steve Ricketts | March 25, 2009 11:00pm
Source: The Courier-Mail
NEW Zealand's World Cup triumph and the Warriors' stunning start to the 2009 NRL season may give the impression all is well across the Tasman.
But unfortunately when it comes to the 13-man game the opposite is true at many levels with player registrations down and public faith in the administration at grassroots level at an all-time low.
The Warriors are arguably the most popular sports brand in New Zealand, outside the All Blacks, and if they win the NRL title it will be the biggest story of the year.
The Broncos head to New Zealand today and the exploits of skipper Darren Lockyer and fellow internationals Israel Folau, Karmichael Hunt, Justin Hodges, Sam Thaiday and Joel Clinton are followed as keenly in Auckland as they are in Brisbane.
There will be a capacity crowd at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturda y and while the result will have the nation on edge, the game's true believers will be hoping for a positive outcome from the NZRFL annual meeting which is being held in Auckland this weekend.
NZRFL chairman Ray Haffenden says league's viability depends on members fully endorsing the findings of a recent independent review of the code.
Haffenden said league was operating in an environment where funding avenues were "extremely limited" and competitions had been severely trimmed. The national Bartercard Cup has been scrapped with many players moving to Australia to play in domestic leagues.
The Queensland Cup has been one of the beneficiaries.
There are no longer club competitions in the Otago and Tasman regions on the South Island and overall registrations in New Zealand have slumped from a high of 40,000 in the 1990s to 17,000.
The proposed reforms include the development of national competitions and the implementation of improved coaching and development systems.
The continued success of the Warriors and the New Zealand Test side must have positive spin-offs and the Kiwis should be able to call on most of their World Cup heroes for the one-off trans-Tasman Test at Suncorp Stadium on May 8.
In the past the Kiwis have been severely disadvantaged by either not being able to select players from Europe or having to bring them out barely 48 hours before kickoff. But Wigan's Thomas Leuluai was the only northern hemisphere player in the Kiwis' World Cup squad.
Former Broncos prop Shane Webcke is a great advocate of the international game and believes the right follow up to last year's Centenary World Cup will see the game grow in the Pacific region after good showings by Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
In his book, <i>Hard Road, </i> Webcke says the NRL must look to establish teams in Adelaide and Perth, and perhaps Darwin.
He also takes aim at the QRL's administration of the game at junior level describing it as "seriously inadequate". "The inclination always seems to be to take the easy road," Webcke writes.
"For example, if there's an event being planned for the Queensland southwest, the league will bung it on in Toowoomba, for sure, even though Toowoomba doesn't represent southwest Queensland.
"They'll just do what they've always done. If they were to take it out further, to St George or Roma where so many people are involved in the footy and rugby league, people would come from everywhere to support it.
"In both the major league states bush football deserves a vastly better deal than it gets."
No one will argue with that and no doubt many people would like to read more of Webcke's thoughts on the game at large.