RUGBY LEAGUE NEWS:
| Off the Wall | ||
| Written by: Jeff Wall | ||
| February 1st 2010 05:31 PM | ||
The response - raising the profile of the 20/20 - concept has been remarkably successful. With a couple of 20/20 matches against Pakistan and the West Indies in the days ahead, we are going to find out just how successful the strategy has been...but 40,000 plus at an interstate 20/20 match is an impressive result by any measure. What this has driven home to me is just how fortunate rugby league is to have a "product" that has stood the test of time, and is as strong today as it has ever been by the measurements that count - attendances, television ratings and junior registration numbers. The "seven-a-side" concept did not take off - because rugby league is a body contact sport best played by seven backs and six forwards and is not really suited to abridged versions. And tackling is a vital part of the game's DNA! The game's administrator’s need to look very carefully at the predicament cricket officials got themselves into largely by not taking full account of the changing demography of sports fans - and the changing consumer market place. For rugby league, the game has been remarkably successful at adjusting to demographic changes. Its’ appeal is growing among young women, and it remains strong with families, and of course with the traditional supporter base. It is even having a growing impact in ethnic communities once wedded to sports such as soccer. There are some gaps of course, but overall the game enters the 2010 season in good shape when it comes to community appeal. Cricket has to change, and change radically. We don't have that need - if anything our greatest need is to protect the integrity of a remarkable product that has stood the test of time and turmoil. Innovations such as the Indigenous v All Stars match are welcome - but the basis of our game's success, and strength, is a competitive premiership running from March to September. Origin is vital, and a major income earner. But we need a strong premiership above all else. I worry at times that we have been goaded into making change merely for change's sake. We are running dangerously close to over-relying on technology, and there is too much "political correctness" when it comes to what is allowable in tackles etc. Rugby league is a body contact sport - long may it remain so! The day may come when the game's administrators will have to address a fall of in public interest. But that day has not arrived, and there is not the slightest indication it is even on the distant horizon. Comparisons between the apparent success of 20/20 cricket as an innovation and what might be proposed by some for rugby league are just not relevant. If ever the saying "if it is not broken, why try and fix it" applied then it applies to rugby league today! |
