NRL set for new regime

The NRL clubs want to avoid the brutality of the Super League days. Photo / Getty Images

Independence and a guarantee of indefinite membership of the National Rugby League (NRL) are behind the Warriors' decision to back a new commission to run the competition.

March 12, the start to the new season, is set down as the deadline for the change when the current 50:50 owners - the ARL and News Limited - will hand over day-to-day control.

The Warriors are in unanimous agreement with the other 15 clubs and their delegates, representing players and coaches. With further negotiations, it looks set to be a 'Velvet Revolution' compared to the more brutal Super League war of the late 1990s.

"When the Super League came along, it caused a split in the game," says Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah. "So to heal the wounds and resolve that, they [ARL and News Ltd] formed this uneasy partnership where they jointly owned the competition.

"There are still conflicts of interest with the grassroots body of the game - the ARL - controlling the professional side and the people who bid for media rights - News Ltd - actually owning the competition. They're paying themselves essentially.

"What the clubs are proposing is something totally independent of the clubs, as well as the other bodies working on it, like the Queensland and New South Wales rugby leagues and media entities."

The proposal took around 18 months to negotiate but the NRL club delegates finalised an agreed document in around 100 minutes.

"The 16 clubs are members but don't control the day-to-day running of the NRL," says Scurrah.

"We would have membership rather than licences. The only way we could then get axed is if we went broke or stopped playing the game."

The proposed structure aligns closely to that used in American sports such as the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) as well as Australia's own AFL, an organisation which is starting to encroach more into league's traditional recruitment territory in New South Wales and Queensland, Karmichael Hunt's transfer being a case in point.

"A commission is elected," says Scurrah. "It's not a new concept. At the moment the professional game is being run by the amateur part. It should also tidy up the layers of management, improve the way the game's administered and create a bigger salary cap with savings of between $5 million-$10 million, which would come back to the clubs through a grant."

Former Warriors captain Steve Price accepts there's still uncertainty on what will get resolved but says it should offer clearer communication.

"It should be so much easier for television to deal with one independent body when the rights come up for renewal in 2013," says Price. "With money going to one place, it should also be dispersed more clearly."

It's understood that while the commission could simplify the TV situation, external factors will still feature.

Those include the wider economic climate, sponsorship and the extent to which player behaviour improves in the next few years. However, issues off the field haven't detracted from viewer or crowd numbers, which went up last year.

Given the sometimes uneasy peace between the ARL and News Ltd, Price says at least it will be clear who is in charge.

"It should help streamline everything so you know who to go to and who makes the decisions," says Price.

"A lot of administrators mightn't be required, so that could free up some money.

"This way, you have to justify why you need funding. The people on the commission need to know where it's going and how it's spent. That way there's no ducking and diving and quibbling over money, it's transparent.

"It's hard to know how they'll structure it. Do they want all business people or do they want a mix of recently retired players in there as well? I think you need business people making long-term decisions then, from the football side, you want guys applying what they learnt from the game. There needs to be compromise and understanding for the game to survive."

MEANWHILE, IT'S understood Price's heel injury is progressing fine despite a minor infection setting him back in rehabilitation. The 35-year-old had surgery in the post-season to take some bone shavings off his heel around the Achilles tendon.

He remains on track to be available for the start of the season but trials starting on February 13 will further determine his progress.

New captain Simon Mannering is in doubt for the first trial, but his hamstring injury is not understood to be a major concern for the opening round.

Micheal Luck is seen as the front runner to captain the side if Mannering is absent at any stage this season.