ARL wants Warriors but price too high
AUCKLAND Rugby League hasn’t given up on buying the Warriors, but admits it won’t be able to match what other bidders can pay.
As reported by Stuff in December, a group of Tongan businessmen with NFL connections are keen on buying the club.
The CEO of that syndicate is Hawaiian politician Richard Fale. But Stuff understands there is still another party, which has kept a low media profile, which is still in discussions with current Warriors owner Eric Watson.
It has been reported that Watson is looking for $20 million for the club he brought in 2000. However, it’s understood the price for the under-achieving NRL outfit is significantly higher than that.
If Watson wants the biggest financial return, he’ll sell the club to Fale’s syndicate, or the mystery group, but if he wants to do what’s best for the game in New Zealand, offloading it to Auckland Rugby League could be seen as the better option.
Auckland Rugby League CEO Cameron McGregor says it is still in the hunt, but admits it can’t match what the others are willing to cough up.
‘‘We’re trying to put something together, but we haven’t got too far,’’ McGregor said.
‘‘The problem for us is that we haven’t got a hope of matching what these other guys are going to pay.
‘‘So we’ve got to appeal to Eric’s rugby league instincts.’’
Auckland Rugby League had previously tried to have a joint bid with the Waiparera Trust, but when the Trust withdrew its interest there were discussions about whether it could team up with Fale’s group.
That didn’t eventuate, so Auckland Rugby League is now going for the Warriors on its own.
But unlike the other private bidders, it is answerable to a trust and the Auckland rugby league community, and can’t be seen to overpay.
McGregor is concerned that the two parties looking to buy the Warriors are just interested in the top level of the game in New Zealand.
Auckland’s bid was part of a bigger picture where it would use the club’s influence to help keep players in New Zealand, and would also look to establish a semi-professional league.
‘‘Either of the other parties that are interested in buying the Warriors aren’t going to be interested in the grassroots of the game,’’ McGregor said. What’s a concern for McGregor is that if it is not able to buy the Warriors, then its other plans to revitalise league in Auckland could come to nothing, and more top young players will head to Australia in search of fame and fortune by coming up through the Aussie lower grades, rather than stay playing in New Zealand.
‘‘That’s the fear for us, that if we aren’t able to buy them, then where does the game stand locally?’’ McGregor said.
‘‘It’s going to be a hard struggle for us, that’s really the prospect GETTY IMAGES for us if we can’t do anything like this. It is going to be a hard row to hoe.’’
Any new owner of the Warriors would not only have to complete negotiations with Watson, but would also need to get approval from the NRL to take over.
There may be parts of what’s happened to Fale in the past that the NRL could want to investigate further, and McGregor knows that any deal between Fale and Watson may not be the end of the story. ‘‘The NRL are going to have the final say in this.’’
‘ We’ve got to appeal to Eric’s rugby league instincts.’