Michael Burgess: Warriors need to connect with ARL

It feels like the Warriors are never going to be successful until they harness the local development in their own region. Photo / Getty Images

The Auckland Rugby League needs to take a stake in the future direction of the Warriors.

All the talk about the possible change of ownership at the Mt Smart club has overlooked one crucial point; it's not just about who could buy the Warriors, but also who should buy the Warriors.

The ARL need to be involved, even if they take a partial share. The Herald on Sunday understands the ARL are open to the possibility, though it has yet to be discussed at board level. It would be the perfect solution to help integrate the country's only NRL club much closer to its roots. It would also boost club and secondary school league in the area.

The Warriors, for all their issues on the field, are now a stable business operation. They are not bogged down with debt, and unlike several Australian clubs, don't require handouts at the end of each year to stay solvent.

And the new club funding model, agreed this year by the NRL and the clubs, will further bolster the equation. Clubs will get at least $3 million more annually from the NRL, which almost guarantees the Warriors a seven-figure profit each season, regardless of performance.

It's unlikely the ARL has the cash reserves to become the sole owners of the Warriors. Their stake in the Carlaw Park Heritage Trust is worth an estimated $60 million, but that is tied up in property and returns a vital dividend to the local game each year.

It's feasible the ARL could take a 10 to 20 per cent share in the Warriors, giving them a voice in the running of the club. Either way, whoever does end up in control needs to work closely with the game's governing body in Auckland.

The local game should provide the heart and soul of the Warriors. We are never going to go back to the situation in the 1970s and 1980s, where Auckland club league could produce teams that regularly beat international sides, but there should be a much closer alignment with the Warriors, that would benefit both parties, instead of the current disconnect.

It feels like the Warriors are never going to be successful until they harness the local development in their own region, like the Broncos and Panthers have done in Brisbane and Penrith.

The club has done well in a business sense over the last five years but they haven't made the same gains in development, to their cost.

It's meant that Australian clubs and agents have the pick of the crop of local young talent in the region, with the Warriors becoming just another option, instead of the aspiration club of choice.