Grant champions new funding model
OUTGOING Australian RLC chairman John Grant believes the 16 NRL clubs should be funded on a differential basis in the next grants deal, to reduce the disparity that exists in the competition.
Grant will step down from his role at this week’s ARLC annual meeting and is set to be replaced by former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie. It marks the end of the former Kangaroo’s stint as the commission’s inaugural chair.
One of Grant’s legacies is providing clubs with funding of A$3 million more than the salary cap, a significant increase given the clubs were A$400,000 below the cap before the commission’s formation. The outcome was achieved only after a monumental battle, during which the clubs threatened to oust Grant after he altered the terms of the initial agreement.
When Grant first came into office, he floated the prospect of funding the clubs according to their needs, in an acknowledgement that some required more assistance from head office than others. However, the clubs insisted they should all be treated the same and will now get A$13m a year to ensure they are sustainable.
However, Grant believes the inherent differences in the franchises should lead to them being treated differently, to ensure an even and sustainable competition.
‘‘The simple rationale is that if you think all clubs are equal, then differential funding doesn’t apply,’’ Grant said.
‘‘Tell me who thinks all clubs are equal? In the cold, hard light of day, of course not. You’ve got to give some a leg up.
‘‘The best way to do that is through money.’’
The AFL has long had a differential model, providing additional assistance to ‘‘poorer’’ or expansion clubs in a bid to bridge the gap between them and the elite.
Grant said it was his view that rugby league needs to do likewise in the future to offset differences between teams that arise from location, junior numbers, corporate support and infrastructure.
‘‘The prerequisite that needs to be acknowledged is that not all clubs are equal and we need to help them differently,’’ Grant said.
‘‘The prerequisite will be that every club will say ‘to make my club strong, I need to have a strong competition’.
‘‘In a strong competition, you need to have all clubs as sustainable, viable entities, that they can put footy teams on the field each week with a chance of winning, which is what the fans need to believe. To do that, in five years time I think we’ll need to help some clubs. To me, that acknowledges the future will need differential funding.’’
Such a model would likely cause a meltdown in the NRL. The clubs are rarely in agreement on anything, as self-interest rules.
The prospect of some clubs becoming greater welfare recipients than others has the potential to create even further division.
However, Grant hoped the game would become more mature during the course of the next broadcast cycle, and pointed to the fact there was already some inequality in funding from Rugby League Central.
‘‘In the current cycle, there is differential funding because there are other funds that are provided to the clubs aside from the grant,’’ he said.
‘‘The difference is $1.9 million from top to bottom per year. It goes into grassroots support for clubs, home and away travel, it goes into all sorts of things.’’
You’ve got to give some a leg up. The best way to do that is through money.’ JOHN GRANT
Sun-Herald