A rookie National Rugby League draft, expansion and the next A$1B ($810M) billion broadcast rights deal will form "key elements" of South Sydney CEO Shane Richardson's new role at NRL headquarters, according to James Hopper of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. A "tearful Richardson has announced his next move will be the newly-created position of Head of Game Strategy & Development at the NRL, ending a roller-coaster 11 years at South Sydney." In what ranks as one of NRL CEO Dave Smith's "most astute appointments, Richardson will begin his new role at head office on March 2 with a brief to immediately review State of Origin football being played on stand-alone weekends" and the possible reduction of the 26-round competition. Smith has kept Richardson's appointment a "closely guarded secret for the past fortnight," only informing Head of Football Todd Greenberg on Tuesday and the majority of his staff on Wednesday (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 1/22). In Sydney, Chris Barrett reported Richardson will enter the game's headquarters on the "same management level" as Todd Greenberg and COO Suzanne Young, reporting to Smith. His first objective is set to be a "revaluation of the NRL and representative schedules and how best to fit the game's showpiece and top money spinner -- State of Origin -- into the season before the game's rich broadcast rights are next offered" to TV suitors in '17. Richardson: "I think we've got to have a look at the structure of the NRL fixture rounds, State of Origin, international football. Instead of just piecemeal throwing them together ... to actually think about the long term of where we take it into the next television contract because the type of competition we want to present to the media is something that we should be making the decisions about, what's best for the members and fans of the game" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/21).
STATE OF ORIGIN 'TOO EXPENSIVE': In Brisbane, Beth Newman reported some "footy tragics" said that the State of Origin game is "just too expensive" for rugby league's "most loyal fans." Ticket prices for game three at Suncorp Stadium this year will start at A$80 ($65) for adults, with top tickets going for A$265. In comparison, adult tickets for the 2014 Bledisloe Cup match in Brisbane ranged from A$89-A$199. Browns Plains Bears junior rugby league President Tony Mills will be "watching from home again this year." He had attended every State of Origin match at Suncorp Stadium since moving from the U.K. in '07, but "last year's price hike put him off." He said, "Last season was the first year I said no because of the prices and I just feel that they price the genuine supporter out of the market" (BRISBANE TIMES, 1/21).
SOUTH SYDNEY LANDS JOHN LEE: Hooper reported in a separate piece South Sydney has landed "another forward-thinking CEO" in the form of John Lee. As former rugby league coach Jack Gibson "famously stated, winning starts in the front office." In Lee, "not only have the Rabbitohs landed a new CEO with a fair tinge of red and green DNA but also a passionate rugby league person with a variety of experience at all levels of the game." He was most recently CEO of the Casinos and Resorts Australasia, was the CEO of Sydney Buses and worked with the NSW Department of Commerce and the Tourism and Transport Forum (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 1/22).
