Canberra: A love story again

[greeneyed]

Canberra: A love story again
Matt Cleary

Given most Aussie kids’ memories of Canberra comprise FIFO visits to the War Memorial, Art Gallery and Questacon if they were lucky, it may surprise you that growing up in the capital was actually pretty good. Indeed it was pretty great.

I was in Canberra couple years ago when former winger Paul Martin blew the big bastard horn. He used to do bombs off top tower at Civic Pool in his little footy shorts. He wore a thin leather choker necklace, might’ve had a shark’s tooth on it, and he thought he was pretty cool, Paul Martin. And he was. In that context, winger in the greatest-ever grand final, he was flat-out Fonzie.

Read more: https://www.todaystale.com/NorthernBeac ... ry-s__fuqf

Apart from all the stuff about Manly... Australian rules and rugby union... and deserting the Raiders after Super League... not a bad read!

[BadnMean]

I swear I've read the bits about Paul Martin and Canberra's 80s sporting renaissance before... just without the Manly stuff. I wonder if he's submitted that article elsewhere as well...

Yeah a nice article for Raiders fans of that, or any vintage. He must be around about my age (40). That's just what it was like. Ah nostalgia!

I never left the Raiders over SL though. That cheapskate **** Packer and Nein had been underpaying players for years and then expected them to stay on unders, out of "loyalty", while they made millions off their broken bones and concussions of the players playing for peanuts.

[greeneyed]

I swear I've read the bits about Paul Martin and Canberra's 80s sporting renaissance before... just without the Manly stuff. I wonder if he's submitted that article elsewhere as well...

Yeah a nice article for Raiders fans of that, or any vintage. He must be around about my age (40). That's just what it was like. Ah nostalgia!

I never left the Raiders over SL though. That cheapskate **** Packer and Nein had been underpaying players for years and then expected them to stay on unders, out of "loyalty", while they made millions off their broken bones and concussions of the players playing for peanuts.

I think I've seen it somewhere else before too... or something similar.

I have never understood the anathema to Super League from a Raiders fan... to the extent of saying, I'm no longer supporting the Raiders or rugby league. I can understand disaffection, but not giving up on your team.

And you're right. Packer was trying to maintain control of his broadcasting rights... but the broadcasting deal was detrimental to rugby league. He refused to broadcast every game, controlling which games were shown or not. He had a bargain basement deal and the code deserved more funding from broadcasters, a lot more as history has shown.

In addition, Super League introduced a lot of overdue innovation... which was preserved later... and a much more professional approach to the presentation of the game.

[The Nickman]

Personally, I only watched Super League that year. The only ARL game I watched was the grand final, and that includes their Origin series as well.

I followed the Raiders over and followed them back.

[afgtnk]

All that ended up from Super League was News robbing the game to the tune of hundreds of millions by giving us bargain basement deals, whereas FTA (Nine) was there or thereabouts in terms of market value afterwards. Can't only blame Packer for what Murdoch was far more guilty of, and for much longer.

[gerg]

I drifted off during the SL era. But rugby union brought me back. I remember watching one of the rugby union world cup games at the Hellenic club and a Panthers game was on the other tv. Had a 'what the hell are you watching this ruggers garbage moment' and immediately re-joined the Raiders.

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[greeneyed]

All that ended up from Super League was News robbing the game to the tune of hundreds of millions by giving us bargain basement deals, whereas FTA (Nine) was there or thereabouts in terms of market value afterwards. Can't only blame Packer for what Murdoch was far more guilty of, and for much longer.

I’m not sure that is correct, certainly not in the long term. The entry of Fox has added a significant new competitor for broadcast rights... and that has ultimately significantly bid up the price. The new subscription TV model also showed that commercial television was undervaluing the product, by not broadcasting every game.

Murdoch so highly valued the rights they were prepared to invest huge sums of money to establish a elite new competition. If Packer had been sensible, he’d have negotiated, off loaded the games they were not broadcasting to STV from the start and made them a partner until new rights were up for negotiation. If the ARL was sensible, they’d have facilitated negotiation for a better game. Instead a battle ensued... we didn’t properly rationalise the game or develop a proper national foot print... and once truce was called Murdoch insisted on getting some return as part of the peace deal.

[BadnMean]

All that ended up from Super League was News robbing the game to the tune of hundreds of millions by giving us bargain basement deals, whereas FTA (Nine) was there or thereabouts in terms of market value afterwards. Can't only blame Packer for what Murdoch was far more guilty of, and for much longer.

I’m not sure that is correct, certainly not in the long term. The entry of Fox has added a significant new competitor for broadcast rights... and that has ultimately significantly bid up the price. The new subscription TV model also showed that commercial television was undervaluing the product, by not broadcasting every game.

Murdoch so highly valued the rights they were prepared to invest huge sums of money to establish a elite new competition. If Packer had been sensible, he’d have negotiated, off loaded the games they were not broadcasting to STV from the start and made them a partner until new rights were up for negotiation. If the ARL was sensible, they’d have facilitated negotiation for a better game. Instead a battle ensued... we didn’t properly rationalise the game or develop a proper national foot print... and once truce was called Murdoch insisted on getting some return as part of the peace deal.

Murdoch's Sky had taken over the EPL/established the EPL and it only went from strength to strength. Becoming the premier competition in the world. KP, Arko and Quayle- boofheads all- were strangling the game.

Packer replayed his cricket/Ch9 war, this time in the role of tight assed old fuddy duddy instead of visionary newcomer.

[BadnMean]

I drifted off during the SL era. But rugby union brought me back. I remember watching one of the rugby union world cup games at the Hellenic club and a Panthers game was on the other tv. Had a 'what the hell are you watching this ruggers garbage moment' and immediately re-joined the Raiders.

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[raiderskater]

Being of a younger sort, my only real memory of "the war" was sitting at my grandparents' one day and looking up to see a plane tracing the big Super League "S" in the sky.

A whole lot of foolishness, but brought on by the ARL refusing to pay the players properly while profiting off them; and sometimes you have to make a lot of noise to make a change.

[afgtnk]

All that ended up from Super League was News robbing the game to the tune of hundreds of millions by giving us bargain basement deals, whereas FTA (Nine) was there or thereabouts in terms of market value afterwards. Can't only blame Packer for what Murdoch was far more guilty of, and for much longer.

I’m not sure that is correct, certainly not in the long term. The entry of Fox has added a significant new competitor for broadcast rights... and that has ultimately significantly bid up the price. The new subscription TV model also showed that commercial television was undervaluing the product, by not broadcasting every game.

Murdoch so highly valued the rights they were prepared to invest huge sums of money to establish a elite new competition. If Packer had been sensible, he’d have negotiated, off loaded the games they were not broadcasting to STV from the start and made them a partner until new rights were up for negotiation. If the ARL was sensible, they’d have facilitated negotiation for a better game. Instead a battle ensued... we didn’t properly rationalise the game or develop a proper national foot print... and once truce was called Murdoch insisted on getting some return as part of the peace deal.

I believe that's absolutely correct and widely stated in the long term. Pay TV would've come along regardless, it was bound to happen - they wouldn't have been kept out forever, just like plenty of other sports around the world. Instead of being an independent party bidding for the rights in the aftermath they took a half chunk of the game itself for 20 years, thus having a seat on both sides of the negotiating table.

The ensuing underpayment system they were able to facilitate robbed the game of hundreds of millions of dollars at a time when the commercialising of sport was still relatively new and growing in this country - financially, we're only now catching up and being paid what we're worth after they relinquished control.

[yurithe1]

All that ended up from Super League was News robbing the game to the tune of hundreds of millions by giving us bargain basement deals, whereas FTA (Nine) was there or thereabouts in terms of market value afterwards. Can't only blame Packer for what Murdoch was far more guilty of, and for much longer.

I’m not sure that is correct, certainly not in the long term. The entry of Fox has added a significant new competitor for broadcast rights... and that has ultimately significantly bid up the price. The new subscription TV model also showed that commercial television was undervaluing the product, by not broadcasting every game.

Murdoch so highly valued the rights they were prepared to invest huge sums of money to establish a elite new competition. If Packer had been sensible, he’d have negotiated, off loaded the games they were not broadcasting to STV from the start and made them a partner until new rights were up for negotiation. If the ARL was sensible, they’d have facilitated negotiation for a better game. Instead a battle ensued... we didn’t properly rationalise the game or develop a proper national foot print... and once truce was called Murdoch insisted on getting some return as part of the peace deal.

I believe that's absolutely correct and widely stated in the long term. Pay TV would've come along regardless, it was bound to happen - they wouldn't have been kept out forever, just like plenty of other sports around the world. Instead of being an independent party bidding for the rights in the aftermath they took a half chunk of the game itself for 20 years, thus having a seat on both sides of the negotiating table.

The ensuing underpayment system they were able to facilitate robbed the game of hundreds of millions of dollars at a time when the commercialising of sport was still relatively new and growing in this country - financially, we're only now catching up and being paid what we're worth after they relinquished control.

Nine had been low-balling the NSWRL for some years and, as a consequence, Packer wanted to keep the broadcast rights to himself so that he could continue to pay unders. It was also an opportunity to work with OptusVision and maybe get a foothold in STV. He turned up at a meeting of the ARL and reportedly intimidated a number of the club CEOs into remaining. So, instead of a unified front moving to Super League, you had two competitions.

I can only imagine how Arko must have felt when he read in the paper that Packer had abandoned the ARL and done a deal with Foxsports.

BTW, let's not forget the war was good for elite players who finally received the sort of money that was on a par with overseas sports stars. Many of them were able to quit their day jobs and go fully professional.

Regarding League catching up, you have to remember that we suffered an own goal moment when former CEO, David Smith, pissed off Rupert Murdoch during broadcast rights negotiations. Instead of putting the FTA TV rights out to bidding, he gave them exclusively to Nine. He also messed around with the Saturday and Monday nights rights, IIRC, which would have impacted on Foxpsorts. Murdoch flew to Australia to be present at the AFL negotiations. Despite AFL having a smaller TV audience than the NRL and lacking the commercial history, the AFL got a huge contract. It was a gigantic "F U" to Smith and the subsequent broadcast deal he signed was pretty much a case of here's what's left in the kitty. No surprise he resigned after three years at the helm.