How the NRL is failing

[cos789]

A lot of issues here. Even some new ones for THE List.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/how-the-nrl ... c_rss#fast

[cos789]

WHEN all 16 club bosses convened for their monthly conference call on Wednesday, NRL supremo Dave Smith didn't attempt to hide his alarm.


But it's on the box where the NRL's haemorrhaging most, with overall ratings down more the three per cent from 12 months ago and falling further behind each week.

Disturbingly, couch potatoes aren't trading their sofas for a seat in the grand stand either.

After a strong start with crowds up eight percent in April, average attendances have since nose-dived to virtual parity with 2012 levels.

IDENTITY CRISIS
To reduce that risk, the most distinctive and primal fibres of the game's fabric are being progressively outlawed.
Gone is the shoulder charge. Gone is the Origin biffo.
The only available data is the TV ratings and crowds, both of which are dropping. And those who continue watching are becoming increasingly confused and frustrated.
There was a time, not so long ago, when everyone agreed what a shoulder charge, try or obstruction looked like.
But the multitude of rule changes to a product all agreed was superior to rival codes has created an overwhelming sense of disconnect.



SALARY CAP

Each time Israel Folau grabs positive headlines for rugby union, the NRL is taught a salient lesson.
During Wednesday's conference call the club bosses were left under no illusion about how extensive the NRL's review of the salary cap would be. It was agreed the new system must prevent the red-tape debacle that handed Folau over to rugby from happening again.
Shortly after Folau turned his back on the NRL, salary cap auditor Ian Schubert ran the rule over an even bigger star - Sonny Bill Williams.


INTEGRITY
Not since the horrors of 2009 - when Nate Myles defecating in a hotel corridor was just another drama - has the game suffered so much off-field misery.
High-profile players have been accused of assaulting females, been convicted of high-rang drink driving and also maliciously damaged property.
Behind the scenes there's been genuine tragedy, with two Holden Cup players taking their own lives and another failing in his attempt to do so.
Sickening images have also been exposed on live television after warriors prop Russell Packer was captured urinating on Suncorp Stadium. His immediate reaction was to make light of the situation, despite the fact opposition players had been exposed to his pee-soaked shorts for the previous 80 minutes.

And there's the ASADA investigation - taking in seven clubs and 31 current players.


STADIUM STRATEGY

The friction point between keeping games at traditional suburban ovals and transferring them to bigger stadia is nothing new. Sydney clubs began moving toward a centralised model at ANZ and Allianz Stadium a decade ago, but have not adopted the change in a wholesale fashion.
Had they done so fans would be accustomed to their teams playing out of two venues by now, instead of the NRL and broadcasters having to start all over again.


SECOND TIER

The depth of talent is shallow enough, without complex salary cap rules preventing promising stars from making their debut.


Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/how-the-nrl ... z2YGKTlt7r

[Stewie]

TV ratings and crowds both down. Take away the thuggery and people don't watch. They see rl for what it really is, a boring English outcast shit sport.

[NRLCrap1]

I'd like to know how boxing and UFC is rating in the wake of this.......

[cos789]

Now we have Manly supporters doing the unmanly act of spitting on players.