It seems the East coast media is determined to bring RL to its knees. The biased, bordering on hysterical, reporting that we have seen not just recently but for the last few seasons is clearly way above and beyond the treatment any other sport in the country gets. Classic example this week where a soccer player charged with paedophilia got about 10% of the coverage of the group sex saga.

Now the cynic/conspiracist in me is wondering if the fact we are shortly to commence TV negotiations has any part in this meida driven feeding frenzy? Also the desire to see News gone out of the running of the game? A game with a poor public image is always going to be able to charge less for its TV rights, a game in constant crisis may deem it not time to change leadership? Paranoid or are they out to get us?

agreed but read this for good news : www.leaguehq.com.au/news/experts ... 81328.html Fox pay double per game to the AFL vs NRL with the NRL outrating them by 30%. we are in line for a massive TV increase next time

agreed but read this for good news : www.leaguehq.com.au/news/experts ... 81328.html Fox pay double per game to the AFL vs NRL with the NRL outrating them by 30%. we are in line for a massive TV increase next time

something is going on

I do find it weird that the media down your way seems to report so much negative stuff with a little bit on the actual matches inbetween all their stories of the games problems. Youd think they would be more helpful in improving the games image to help it expand but they are obviously more interested in making money out of the games shortcomings.

the Super League war taught the media to talk RL down.

even though a media company owns half of rugby league here, they still talk us down as well.

imagine owning half of something and talking it down all the time.

welcome to the world of the NRL and News Ltd.

until they leave the game of RL and the ARL take over control of the game, we just have to manage the current situation as much as we can

Maybe if the players and those associated with the game behaved in an appropriate manner then the newspapers would have little to write about - sadly the players and others give the papers plenty to write about.

RL are like soccer players here every indiscretion is front page news - soccer is it so big it can take any scandal of this nature in its stride and move on without any effect - not sure that is the case for RL

Pretty much the same for rugby league here in Australia...

The game is going fine. In fact far better than its competitors...a la union which is on a massive slide off the page altogether. LOL.

when will that be? 5-10 years. I remember something in the telegraph a couple of months ago about it, that the structure would be changed cat remember details or when though.

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

I have little faith that the NSWRL, oops I mean the ARL has the vision or the personel capable of making the NRL the number one sport in the country.

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