While many rugby league fans "might find this hard to believe in the wake of a horror week on the Gold Coast," the financial reality for the National Rugby League heading into '15 is that the game at the top level has never been in a stronger position, according to Paul Crawley of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. TV is "to thank for that." The fact "is the TV deal provides a phenomenal" A$225M ($177M) of the game’s A$344M ($271M) overall revenue. And as part of NRL CEO Dave Smith’s business review that will be presented publicly on Friday, "comes the first real proof that this former banker has held up his end of the bargain since taking charge of a game he initially knew little about." Smith "can now unveil" a record A$50M ($39M) profit over the last year. On top of that there "is also the promise" of a A$200M ($158M) fighting fund to be locked in within two years. Admittedly, "there is one significant increase in expenditure" since Smith’s arrival that will be revealed -- and that relates to administration costs, "which is up a whopping" A$1.9M ($1.5M) over the year. There "were reports last night that the Roosters, Bulldogs and Panthers were threatening to boycott Friday’s AGM where the details will be revealed." But "overall most bosses are happy." One long-serving club CEO said, "If you were a company boss going to your AGM with this report you’d have a right to be feeling confident" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/26).
