This revolutionary rule change would kick-start global domination for NRL
NRL boss Peter V’landys is thinking big. Here’s a radical, revolutionary suggestion for him to leverage his $5.3 billion broadcast rights war chest and realize his dream of “global domination” for the code: Allow one scrum kick or forward pass to the offside receiver per set of six tackles.
The NRL’s halfbacks are so good at finding wingers with pinpoint strikes, often on the run. What an NFL quarterback can do with a pass to a deep wide receiver, they can do with the cleat.
For example, consider the scenario of hitting three kicks with an onside kick/pass per set in an NRL game. A pair of outside backs run downfield, quickly followed by defenders. Instead of kicking the ball, the half decides to pass the ball sideways to the depleted defensive line. The ball is then carried deep into the opponent’s half. There is still only one kick available to the offside player in the attack. If the ball is caught by a teammate who is offside on the third tackle and driven into the goal, this is considered a try.
V’landys nominated Europe, where football dominates, and the United States, where receivers score the most goals across the NFL. As the homes of NRL franchises in 2050.
Ask football fans about their problems with rugby league and they’ll say “passing backwards”. Ask NFL fans what they admire about rugby league and they’ll say “playing without a helmet and pads.” If you allow a kick to the deep offside player every six sets, the 13-side game will attract the attention of Europeans and Americans.
Most football codes (soccer/American football/Gaelic football) allow forward passes.
But if V’landys wants to accelerate global domination, it has to apply the rule change I suggested to its international franchises.
Pay TV partner DAZN, the global broadcasting company that broadcasts rugby league via Foxtel, has 100 million subscribers. Nearly 30 years from now, it could feature the game’s best players showcasing their skills in New York, London or Miami.
But when we return to Australia in the mid-2020s, let’s play by the rules and focus on the Barassi Line rather than flirting with the advantage line.
The line, named after former Australian Rules VFL champion Ron Barassi, refers to the territorial divide between rugby union and league within states otherwise dominated by Aussie Rules.
The line has moved well north of the Murray River since Melbourne academic Ian Turner coined the term at a conference in 1978. The AFL has teams in NSW (Swans and GWS) and Queensland (Lions and Suns). But unlike the NRL, which gives the same amount of money to 17 clubs, the AFL heavily backs the Giants and Suns.
Additionally, the AFL has pledged to spend 10 per cent of all football revenue on grassroots games and is targeting Queensland.
NSW Riverina towns like Temora, which has produced league stars such as Liam Martin, Trent Barrett, Zac Lomax and Ryan Hinchcliffe, now have an even split between rugby league and the AFL. But when their father played, the 13-to-1 rule prevailed.
There is an irony in V’landys boasting that the NRL’s TV deal trumped the AFL’s contract and then investing in overseas expansion while the AFL raided its home game.
The AFL has fallen behind in the women’s game. Chairman Craig Drummond was shocked to learn on the morning of May 15 that TV ratings for the women’s second State of Origin match had eclipsed the AFL’s best game (Lions vs Geelong), which played between 1,009,000 and 663,000 on the same Thursday. And the NRLW will continue to eclipse the AFLW’s TV ratings, especially when it moves to two full rounds and is likely to premiere midweek.
However, the main reason the NRL is investing in TV windfalls is to deepen its player talent pool.
NRL players are great athletes but many of them lack football IQ. Some games produce more bombed tries than scores. Ask former players this question: Are the top 36 players on your club as good as they were 10 years ago?
I’ve raised this many times recently and most of the responses have been negative. Avoiders considered defending a skill, as in both tackling and positional play. Injuries have exposed the weakness in most clubs.
The NRL will expand to 18 teams next year with the inclusion of Perth; It is expected to reach the 19th issue with the addition of PNG the following year, and this number is expected to increase to 20 soon after. At a time when talent pipelines are not producing as many talented players as they were a decade ago, we need an extra 108 players to field these three clubs.
Christchurch’s selection as the 20th team will certainly help as this team will field rugby union players.
Another source of the NRL is Victoria, where the game crossed the Barassi Line in 1998 and founded the Melbourne Storm. The club has been a benchmark in the competition for commercial revenue generation, but has consistently lobbied the NRL for greater investment in participation and ways to grow the game in Victoria.
Perhaps that’s why Storm is considering partnering with private equity to raise funds. Skeptics argue that private capital has traditionally been interested in profits and that the money would better come from V’landys’ war chest.
Recently departed NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was always confident of landing a big TV deal.
“I knew our growth strategy would work and the fundamental valuation would be strong,” he said. “So getting the timing right by implementing the strategy first was an advantage for us.”
Just as V’landys secured $5.3 billion during the AFL’s current deal (2025-31), the AFL will enter the broadcast market with an expansionist strategy in about three years.
After all, as Abdo suggests, the most important TV deal is always the next one.
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Roy Masters is the Sydney Morning Herald’s Sports Columnist.Connect via email.
