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Mike canon brookes. 30 BILLION


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1 hour ago, rlno1 said:

That's why we shouldn't have killed off Balmain they are just as popular as South Sydney.

Moot point of course whether Balmain were fully "killed off".

They were certainly popular with me. The jersey, for a start. My earliest evocative experience of Aussie club RL was seeing Ellery alongside Garry Jack, Junior, Blocker, Big Siro, Bouncing Benny.

Most people would go for the Bears as the ones who shouldn`t have been "killed off".

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On 15/11/2021 at 18:50, The storm said:

South sydney now have one of the richest men in the world as a part owner

He is worth between 26 to 37 billion dollars. 

 

 

On 15/11/2021 at 19:01, M j M said:

When combined with Packer there can't be many sports clubs in the world with wealthier backers.

Whether you like what's changed or not it's a long way from George Piggins keeping it together with chook raffles.

 

On 15/11/2021 at 19:27, The Rocket said:

Some brilliant headlines over here the last few days with loads of  Mitchell Pearce `is he/isn`t he` going to French Catalans adding a real international flavour to the coverage and today we`ve got one of the worlds wealthiest men buying into the comp. Great headlines like `League the plaything of the rich and famous`,` Massive vote of confidence in Rugby League` etc. etc.

One of the things I think is great about this is that this bloke is universally known amongst that increasingly hard to reach group the millennials, you see the Souths and the NRL know it by the photo in the NRL piece on his buy-in. Him being a part owner of Utah Jazz basketball team just adds to his cred. Great move Souths, great move NRL.

NRL 2021: South Sydney Rabbitohs, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Russell Crowe, James Packer, Atlassian co-founder buys stake - NRL

Follows on from a story in todays Australian about how the NRL were approached by an English billionaire about purchasing a piece of the action.

Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes; Souths; Rabbitohs; Mike Cannon-Brookes latest in a string of affluent and savvy businesspeople to dive into NRL (theaustralian.com.au)

NRL clubs firmly on the radar of billionaires

About eight months ago, ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys received a phone call out of the blue. It came from an agent claiming to represent an English businessman with billions to burn and appetite to spend it on an NRL team.

You want evidence that rugby league clubs are suddenly a prized commodity, look no further than the mystery Englishman who wanted a piece of the action.

Hot on the heels of South Sydney’s part-sale to Atlassian founder and one of Australia’s richest men Mike Cannon-Brookes, V’landys confirmed the overseas approach to News Corp on Monday as he discussed the growing clamour for a piece of the rugby league action.

“There are a lot of people on the sidelines that would invest in rugby league but there is no-one interested in selling,” V’landys said.

“I know there was an interest from a very large investor in England (eight or nine months ago) but nobody wanted to sell.

“He approached me through an agent but I know he was a billionaire. I told a couple of the clubs and none of them were interested. (Manly chair) Scott Penn said to me at the time, why would I want to see now when there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I didn’t even mention a price. It is exciting. I think the game has got itself in a position where it is going to get better and better and better.”

Rugby league clubs have entered a golden age. Two years ago, they had combined losses of more than $30 million. Last year they made a combined surplus and the expectation is that they will do the same this year.

I don`t care if it`s half bull-dust it just makes great reading and is a real positive for the game.

 

 

 

I hope his investment can be used to augment the Rabbitohs junior playing base and increase Rugby League junior clubs in the area and beyond

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On 16/11/2021 at 06:33, Copa said:

The US thing seems to be serious. V’landys’ other hat is as the chief executive and a board member of Racing New South Wales. He does this and the NRL. He knows gambling.

Storm chairman and part owner, Matt Tripp, has made a fortune as an online gambling entrepreneur and will no doubt be providing advice too.

https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2021/10/13/59708-australian-rugby-league-moves-to-capitalize-on-us-sports-betting

 

And the NRL is partners with News Corp who are going into the US sports betting big time now state regulations have opened it up.

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On 16/11/2021 at 07:30, RayCee said:

UK SL just can't seem to catch the eye of any billionaires with lazy money to throw at a sport. The value for relatively little outlay makes SL clubs a steal. I guess the sheer size of Soccer overshadows everything when the super rich are in the spending mood. The low profile of RL in the UK means it is doomed to fly below the radar for an investor. Good on Souths for their windfall. 

If the NRL had premier league in their backyard they would struggle also.

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On 15/11/2021 at 15:30, RayCee said:

UK SL just can't seem to catch the eye of any billionaires with lazy money to throw at a sport. The value for relatively little outlay makes SL clubs a steal. I guess the sheer size of Soccer overshadows everything when the super rich are in the spending mood. The low profile of RL in the UK means it is doomed to fly below the radar for an investor. Good on Souths for their windfall. 

That's because unlike the NRL, SL isn't based in two of the country's three biggest cities but instead in smallish, unfashionable, economically depressed towns in the North of England.  If the NRL's base was Adelaide and Perth instead of Sydney and Brisbane those billionaires wouldn't be interested in it either.

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3 hours ago, rlno1 said:

If the NRL had premier league in their backyard they would struggle also.

RU also has the Premier League in their backyard, but they're not struggling so that can't be the reason why RL is struggling in the UK.

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14 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

That's because unlike the NRL, SL isn't based in two of the country's three biggest cities but instead in smallish, unfashionable, economically depressed towns in the North of England.  If the NRL's base was Adelaide and Perth instead of Sydney and Brisbane those billionaires wouldn't be interested in it either.

I think that is an unfair statement. If billionaires like Packer and Cannon-Brookes were only interested in associating themselves with wealth they would probably back the Roosters.

In fact I suspect a big part of why Russell Crowe was able to convince Cannon-Brookes to come on board was because of the opportunity to work with, fund and provide inspiration through his name for Souths community arm `Souths Cares` who work with some of the most disadvantaged communities in Australia.

 

 

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3 hours ago, The Rocket said:

I think that is an unfair statement. If billionaires like Packer and Cannon-Brookes were only interested in associating themselves with wealth they would probably back the Roosters.

In fact I suspect a big part of why Russell Crowe was able to convince Cannon-Brookes to come on board was because of the opportunity to work with, fund and provide inspiration through his name for Souths community arm `Souths Cares` who work with some of the most disadvantaged communities in Australia.

In a roundabout way you backed up my point there.

Russell Crowe is from Sydney, if RL was based in Adelaide and Perth instead of Sydney and Brisbane he would never have been interested in it.  And without his interest in RL and South Sydney in particular, he would never have a community thing associated with South Sydney.

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18 hours ago, Big Picture said:

In a roundabout way you backed up my point there.

Russell Crowe is from Sydney, if RL was based in Adelaide and Perth instead of Sydney and Brisbane he would never have been interested in it.  And without his interest in RL and South Sydney in particular, he would never have a community thing associated with South Sydney.

Yes and if my uncle had #### he`d be my aunty.

The insinuation in your original post was that " smallish, unfashionable and economically depressed towns in the north of England "  produce no ` billionaires ` ergo, no investment from billionaires in English Rugby League.

Couple of things: billionaires is an emotive term and they aren`t exactly lying around thick on the ground and there is certainly no guarantee that they will have an interest in sport. But a couple spring to mind straight away who didn`t grow up in League territory and spent millions on Rugby League.  Rupert Murdoch - probably spent more than anyone; David Argyle - love him or hate him it is estimated that he spent $30m+ and Richard Branson grew up in London.  I dare say that the number of multi or even just millionaires is extensive.

But getting back to your original assertion, as someone who reads a lot on a variety of topics the amount of high achieving businessmen, inventors, scientists, writers, explorers, artists etc. etc. etc. who came out of the north of England, and Yorkshire is prominent, is impressive, some might say incredible. Now because they have or haven`t ploughed their money or profile into Rugby League is another issue, but it`s not to say that that region hasn`t produced more than its` far share of successful people.

 

 

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48 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Yes and if my uncle had #### he`d be my aunty.

The insinuation in your original post was that " smallish, unfashionable and economically depressed towns in the north of England "  produce no ` billionaires ` ergo, no investment from billionaires in English Rugby League.

Couple of things: billionaires is an emotive term and they aren`t exactly lying around thick on the ground and there is certainly no guarantee that they will have an interest in sport. But a couple spring to mind straight away who didn`t grow up in League territory and spent millions on Rugby League.  Rupert Murdoch - probably spent more than anyone; David Argyle - love him or hate him it is estimated that he spent $30m+ and Richard Branson grew up in London.  I dare say that the number of multi or even just millionaires is extensive.

But getting back to your original assertion, as someone who reads a lot on a variety of topics the amount of high achieving businessmen, inventors, scientists, writers, explorers, artists etc. etc. etc. who came out of the north of England, and Yorkshire is prominent, is impressive, some might say incredible. Now because they have or haven`t ploughed their money or profile into Rugby League is another issue, but it`s not to say that that region hasn`t produced more than its` far share of successful people.

I never said that those smallish, unfashionable and economically disadvantaged towns in the north of England — by the way that's how Sean McGuire described them — don't produce any billionaires.  I agree that the number of multimillionaires is probably extensive, yet with a small handful of exceptions they apparently aren't interested in investing in RL. 

Rupert Murdoch and David Argyle coming from Adelaide and Perth respectively and being willing to invest in the game just shows how Sydney's influence extends across Australia and how the game down there has benefitted as a result of being based in Sydney.  The North of England has no comparable influence in the UK, and English RL being based there is consequently an obstacle which it will have to overcome to be appealing to those multimillionaires.

This of course raises the question of how the rumoured 100 million £ investment can materially change its fortunes if it's just used to prop up a structure which has no influence beyond that one unfashionable region of the country.

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On 17/11/2021 at 11:59, Big Picture said:

RU also has the Premier League in their backyard, but they're not struggling so that can't be the reason why RL is struggling in the UK.

The club game in RU is no more prominent than club RL. I’d say the profile of RL would be slightly higher at club level. Club RU teams invariably make losses. I honestly couldn’t say what channel club RU is on or who the last champions were.

RU has the good fortune of the international game being much more established which ultimately bankrolls the sport. This is what separates it from RL. 

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On 17/11/2021 at 16:58, rlno1 said:

If the NRL had premier league in their backyard they would struggle also.

You are not comparing the two sport markets honestly.

The relative to Premier League in the way I anticipate you are interpreting it is the AFL. The NRL is doing a fantastic job when set next to the AFL and even is outperforming in some metrics.

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On 17/11/2021 at 19:38, Big Picture said:

That's because unlike the NRL, SL isn't based in two of the country's three biggest cities but instead in smallish, unfashionable, economically depressed towns in the North of England.  If the NRL's base was Adelaide and Perth instead of Sydney and Brisbane those billionaires wouldn't be interested in it either.

That’s the fault of the RFL and SL though isn’t it?

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On 17/11/2021 at 23:17, Big Picture said:

In a roundabout way you backed up my point there.

Russell Crowe is from Sydney, if RL was based in Adelaide and Perth instead of Sydney and Brisbane he would never have been interested in it.  And without his interest in RL and South Sydney in particular, he would never have a community thing associated with South Sydney.

So are you saying there are no billionaires or multi millionaires that hail from UK RL territory?

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14 hours ago, rlno1 said:

But they do have a presence in London.

Unions attendaces ate down 25%  however, so they ate in huge debt at every club. 

Wasps are 70 million in debt and sale are watched by 5000

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4 hours ago, DC77 said:

The club game in RU is no more prominent than club RL. I’d say the profile of RL would be slightly higher at club level. Club RU teams invariably make losses. I honestly couldn’t say what channel club RU is on or who the last champions were.

RU has the good fortune of the international game being much more established which ultimately bankrolls the sport. This is what separates it from RL. 

Without any facts to back it up, my hunch is that club Rugby in UK has overtaken club RL. I suspect crowd figures are now larger, RU definitely has a wider geographical spread, the capital turnover would surely heavily be in RU favour and the commercial partners would be far more fitting of the tags “elite”, “multi-national” and “global”.

I don’t have the will to investigate all this, so I will leave that as my suspicion, awaiting evidence to the contrary.

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1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

Without any facts to back it up, my hunch is that club Rugby in UK has overtaken club RL. I suspect crowd figures are now larger, RU definitely has a wider geographical spread, the capital turnover would surely heavily be in RU favour and the commercial partners would be far more fitting of the tags “elite”, “multi-national” and “global”.

I don’t have the will to investigate all this, so I will leave that as my suspicion, awaiting evidence to the contrary.

I think you’re right in terms of crowds (I believe it’s around 14k average for RU clubs), but that I would put down to a having a larger following as a sport aided by the international game. In terms of profile though I can’t see any difference between the two codes at club level. I’d actually be confident more would have seen the two RL finals than any club RU finals. The only RU coach that I recall seeing on Sky Sports News for example is Eddie Jones, the England coach. Don’t think I’ve seen one club coach nor could I name one. 

1 hour ago, The storm said:

Unions attendaces ate down 25%  however, so they ate in huge debt at every club. 

Wasps are 70 million in debt and sale are watched by 5000

Wages exceed income meaning the owners are bankrolling the clubs. All but one club has left London in the hope of making money elsewhere. There’s no solid foundations. Wasps have moved three times is it? I’d hazard a guess and say the financial situation in club RU is more perilous than RL.

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1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

Without any facts to back it up, my hunch is that club Rugby in UK has overtaken club RL. I suspect crowd figures are now larger, RU definitely has a wider geographical spread, the capital turnover would surely heavily be in RU favour and the commercial partners would be far more fitting of the tags “elite”, “multi-national” and “global”.

I don’t have the will to investigate all this, so I will leave that as my suspicion, awaiting evidence to the contrary.

This has been discussed multiple times on these pages.

Off the top of my head over the last twenty years the union salary cap has doubled whereas the Super League cap has declined in real terms or certainly stagnated, that is probably the most telling indicator of all. I think their crowds have been relatively strong but have taken a hit this year ( see thread on `Cross-code forum`). I don`t think it rates as well as Super League on T.V.

I`m fairly certain though that someone on these pages said that despite the advantages that club union has: greater geographical spread; closed ties to the business community often through the `old-boys` network and of course their enviable international calendar, League has still done remarkably well. In fact someone said fan loyalty to their particular club and perhaps by extension the game is far stronger in League.

It would seem to me that despite the advantages that union enjoys the fact that it hasn`t surged ahead of League in that country - like League has done to union over here - is a testament to the relative attractiveness of the codes. Such a bloody shame it has never been harnessed properly.

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2 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

So are you saying there are no billionaires or multi millionaires that hail from UK RL territory?

No of course not, I have no knowledge of whether there are or aren't.  If there are though, they've shown that they're not interested in getting into the sport.

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