the latest they can leave is 2017.

they have been talking about leaving earlier but only if the ARL also hands over its 1/2 share to an independant commission.

news ltd dont want the ARL taking it back on their own.

id rather wait till 2017 and have it return to the ARL

they are the only group i trust to run the game for its best interests

It near enough is already...irrespective of the ineptitude of the admin.

It is clearly at least equal with AFL on TV - see the recent SMH article by Masters on the subject. A journalist who uses evidence rather than vitriol.

That is at NRL level only. Rugby league remains bigger on payTV specifically.

Throw in Tests and the importance of the 3 match Origin series each year, rugby league is the biggest free to air and pay TV sport in Australia.

AFL will always maintain a higher crowd average at club level - if nothing else due to the fact AFL followers go to games more regularly due to memberships and the Melbourne factor (Melbourne has always outdrawn Sydney by a factor of about 1/3 in AFL vs club rugby league crowds).

Take out the crowd measurement and the games are very, very equal.

Given rugby league continues to fight with one hand tied behind its back, it is going pretty well.

you dont need faith.

under their control RL was the number 1 sport by a long way in 1995

we are number 1 now too but the NRL is too dumb to admit it.

Seriously in many ways as an actual business we are not close. West Coast Eagles in a city 1/3rd size of Sydney has an operating budget of nearly $50mill and a profit ofover $4.5million last year. Brisbane is by far our biggest RL club and has an operating budget of around $20mill and most Sydney clus are around $12-15mill.

I know if you live in Sydney the NRL seems huge but in direct comparisons it is not compared to AFL. TV audiences are very similiar, playing numbers are similiar, AFL has more $'s at both a club and league level, AFL is expanding beyond its traditional boundaries whilst the NRL is still focused on keeping its heartland alive, the AFL control the media, the media controls the NRL and the people who actually go to watch games is triple in AFL.

I love RL and find AFL pretty boring to watch but we are falling further and further behind the AFL, blind freddy can see that!

AFL has 40 million less viewers than RL each season JB.

if thats your definition of behind you are deluded.

and of course you can remind me - how many AFL teams are there in NZ?

AFL is a small sport played in under half of australia properly.

the NRL is an international competition played in areas with a much larger population

I was just in Perth so I know what you are talking about re- the NRL's profile there.

But be honest, you are a long way from the action in this country.

The east coast - QLD, NSW and the ACT - have all the people (58%) and the NRL's profile there dwarfs everything else...

All of the current sports expansion in Australia is as a result of rugby league. The AFL is desperate to get into Gold Coast and western Sydney. Now union is running to catch up.

We are leading them all a merry tune in this regard...forget the spin, that is what has occurred.