AFL’s China experiment should have NRL fans worried and asking why we weren’t there first
Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 7:51 am
Well, there you have it. The AFL succeeds where the NRL fails.
AFL’s China experiment should have NRL fans worried and asking why we weren’t there first
Paul Kent, The Daily Telegraph
May 16, 2017 6:47pm
BACK in 2012 Canberra and Manly discussed playing the 2014 season opener in Shenzhen. It is a city in China of no particular note.
After almost 18 months in planning it all came to nothing when the ARL Commission canned the idea in 2013. Rugby league in China?
It has been a dirty idea in rugby league since John Ribot declared in 1995 that Super League’s intention was to make rugby league players “household names” in China.
Oh, how we laughed.
The only idea sillier than that would be to play Australian Rules in China, or something equally absurd. Oh dear.
Yes, this week the Chinese-language Wenhui Daily, with a circulation of 1.7 million readers — almost double the highest circulation newspaper in Australia — wrote: “The core of the charm of Australian football is that it provides no protection from physical impact except the speed of the players’ reactions.”
Seems they love the game.
This was said after Port Adelaide beat Gold Coast 1.14 (110) to 4.14 (38) in a game that would have recorded not much more than a blip of interest if played the same weekend in Australia. Now, it might eventually prove to be seismic in the Australian sporting landscape.
And it could have been us.
What would they have said watching rugby league players crash into each other, the collisions far more savage than what is seen in Australian rules?
Instead, the NRL sputters along trying to figure out what it wants while dousing spotfires week to week, a game in slow collapse.
Ten years ago the AFL had a vision to be the first billion dollar game in Australia. Tick.
It wanted local derbies in all the major metropolitan centres around the country. Tick.
And while league fans are quick to ridicule the cost of sustaining GWS and Gold Coast, the AFL realise the true secret of local derbies was not so much the extra team but to drive cross-town rivalries and, so, conversation.
And when they saw their game in 50 years, they thought it obvious every metropolitan should have at least two teams and so they planned for it.
Five years ago the NRL published its own, more modest strategic plan.
It was some piece of literature. Among the key forecasts:
“An NRL Growth Fund will have made $200m available for investment in key projects.” Fail. Chief executive Todd Greenberg has said he will look to lend $25 million this year for cash flow.
“Club memberships will reach 400,000.” Fail. There is slightly more than 300,000.
“Average attendance at NRL games will increase to 20,000.” Fail. Crowds averaged 16,415 in 2012 and are 15,557 this year. No year in between reached a 16,000 average.
“700,000 people will play in competition.” Fail. The number playing the game is about 170,000. Including women.
“Central revenue will have doubled to more than $300m.” Fail.
The great fear, which should reach up and with a cold hand grab every NRL fan by the throat, is the AFL’s brilliance at the Trojan horse strategy.
When the GWS Giants launched in Sydney they were careful not to threaten rugby league. Instead, the clear message was follow your rugby league team but come along and watch us as well.
Meanwhile, they recruit strongly through the school-ages, planning to keep them when they became wage earners. More AFL posts pop up at council parks with each year.
Be very clear, the AFL’s goal is to exterminate rugby league.
The true cleverness of the AFL’s move into China has nothing to do with being a “household name” in China.
In all likelihood the Power-Suns game in China was little to do with conquering the world, although you can never underestimate them.
It’s immediate benefit is making the game viable to the thousands of Chinese immigrants in Australia right now. It is a market almost completely untouched.
And the seduction would have less to do with trying to cultivate a Chinese player — who would become an instant star within the Chinese community, generating thousands of unspent dollars — than it is to do with the larger Chinese community already settled but yet to find a major sport to identify with.
The result will be rivers of gold, which the AFL has recognised.
Meanwhile, the NRL heads to Perth this weekend for a one-off between Melbourne and Souths, a place where we have no plans for expansion or anything else really.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... ec5882cdff
