sportsbarNRL State of the Game - the stats, figures and Initiatives
September 11th 2008 02:15
KEY FEATURES OF THE 2008 TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP
Rugby League enters its next century with more people playing the game than ever before and a launch pad to take the game to new heights in the next 100 years.
As the game prepares for the 2008 Telstra Premiership Finals Series, NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, today congratulated NRL clubs, players and fans for making the game’s Centenary a year to remember.
A season that began with an historic fan day has celebrated its history and its heroes and inspired new stars, new fans and a new competition for the next century of Rugby League.
Not only are there record numbers playing the game, but more fans than ever before are becoming part of their team as club members.
Almost three million fans attended the weekly excitement of the NRL Telstra Premiership while the Toyota Cup national youth competition exceeded all expectations, establishing a revolutionary development pathway unique in Australian sport and showcasing the game’s rising stars to a national television audience.
That same audience smashed ratings records for State of Origin, even eclipsing the Olympic Games.
“To know more people in our heartlands of Sydney and Brisbane watched a game of Rugby League than the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games is a testament to what our game means to our fans,” Mr Gallop said.
“We have all enjoyed another thrilling battle for the top eight that went down to the final game of the season, and the excitement will only build throughout the Finals Series.
“Thank you to all the clubs, the players and especially our fans for making this special year in the game’s history such a success, and enjoy the race to see who will be the Premiers of Rugby League’s Centenary season.”
Crowds
Home crowds are up on 2007 at 8 of the 16 clubs (Broncos, Titans, Knights, Dragons, Roosters, Storm, Raiders, and Sharks).
The Sharks saw the greatest increase in average home crowds in 2008 (21.3%), followed by the Knights (18.1%) and Roosters (16.9%).
2,994,297 fans attended the 26 rounds of the Telstra Premiership.
The average attendance (15,595) is on par with last year and becomes the third highest crowd average in the history of the game. It is separated from the 2007 average of 15,751 by 0.99%.
Sydney crowds were also virtually unchanged with a rain-soaked final round taking them from 1.5% ahead of last year’s average to 0.5% behind.
Highlights:
50,612 (Rd 3 Broncos v Cowboys, Suncorp Stadium) – An NRL record for a stand-alone premiership match at Suncorp, a Broncos crowd record and the largest Telstra Premiership crowd in Brisbane in 2008.
36,526 (Rd 4 Bulldogs v Roosters, ANZ Stadium) – An NRL record for a stand-alone premiership match at ANZ Stadium.
15,550 (Rd 6 Raiders v Melbourne Storm, Canberra Stadium) – An NRL record for a stand-alone 2008 premiership match at Canberra Stadium.
27,176 (Rd 6 Titans v Broncos, Skilled Park) – An NRL record for a stand-alone premiership match at the new ground.
The 5 millionth Rugby League fan went through the gates at ANZ Stadium at the Rd 24 double header.
Memberships
Club membership game-wide grew 24% in 2008 as a result of a coordinated investment strategy by the NRL and clubs.
Highlights:
3 clubs increased membership by 100% (Roosters, Titans and Rabbitohs);
5 clubs increased membership by more than 50%;
10 clubs increased membership by at least 20%, and
13 clubs increased membership by at least 10%.
The NRL will double its investment in marketing and support of club membership in 2009, including the creation of an NRL membership division with a dedicated membership manager.
A game-wide membership forum will be launched with representatives from each club invited to discuss key issues in the game with David Gallop.
Game initiatives
A new stadium was launched on the Gold Coast, with construction underway on a $280 million Melbourne stadium due for completion at the end of 2009.
Stadium re-developments were undertaken at Penrith, Cronulla, Kogarah and Newcastle. The Sea Eagles secured $10 million in funding for ground improvements at Brookvale Oval, with major work due to start in 2009.
The draw process was amended to promote local derbies and blockbuster matches.
In a first for Australian sport, the NRL launched the Reconciliation Action Plan, a formal recognition of the support that NRL clubs, players and the various arms of the game extend to Indigenous communities. It provides direct material assistance to Indigenous communities, as well as assisting the wider goal of building understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
The two strikes doping policy was extended to include representative matches, with all clubs participating in the first year of the program.
The NRL conducted the most comprehensive game-wide review of refereeing in the game’s history.
In a first for Australian football codes, the NRL introduced a referees cadetship for recently retired players. Former NRL players Luke Phillips, Paul Mellor and Henry Perenara pioneered a ground-breaking program that will fast-track them through the refereeing ranks.
The Jim Beam Cup competition was expanded to include a team from Perth and the NSW Metropolitan competition was restructured as the VB NSW Cup, which included a team from the Auckland Rugby League.
A Volunteer Recognition program was initiated, which resulted in all Rugby League volunteers being provided with the opportunity to receive a certificate of appreciation from the game, with support from the Prime Minister, and opportunities to receive World Cup tickets in recognition of their efforts this year.
The NRL, ANZ Stadium and five clubs worked together to promote a $25 Super Pass, which enabled supporters of one team to attend two matches (home or away) of a particular club at ANZ Stadium.
Free to air television
In Sydney and Brisbane, the 2008 Harvey Norman State of Origin Series occupies the top three rating free to air programs of the year, out-rating all Olympics events, from the Opening Ceremony to Stephanie Rice’s gold medal wins.
Nationally, the series occupies the top three rating positions when Olympics events are excluded. When Olympics are included, Origin 3 ranks 4th, behind only the Opening Ceremony, Day 1 events and Grant Hackett’s 1500m swimming final.
The 2008 Harvey Norman State of Origin Series was the highest rating series in history with Games 1 and 2 breaking all previous benchmarks before Origin 3 set yet another new figure for the largest Origin television audience in OzTam history.
A record average of 2.144 million fans across the five capital cities watched Origin 3.
The three matches reached a total of more than 6 million viewers.
NRL matches across metropolitan and regional free to air television attracted more than 64 million viewers this season.
Nine attracted combined weekly average audiences of 786,927 in Sydney and 526,879 in Brisbane across three games each weekend. Regional television attracted a further 1.023 million each round.
Weekly ratings are up in Brisbane for both Friday matches and Sunday and down slightly in Sydney.
The Round 4 Bulldogs v Roosters clash was the highest rating game on Channel 9 in Sydney this season, attracting an average audience of 470,000.
In Brisbane, the Titans v Cowboys Round 1 match was the highest rating game on Channel 9 with an average audience of 368,000.
Pay television
NRL matches on Fox Sports reached an audience of more than 29 million this season.
Round 12 saw the highest rating NRL match ever on Fox Sports when a record average audience of 338,000 watched the Cowboys v Panthers.
There were 10 games with an average audience in excess of 300,000 this year.
The 300,000 average games were spread around with:
Three on Mondays;
Six in the Saturday 7.30pm slot, and
One in the Saturday 5.30pm slot.
Super Saturday on Fox Sports attracted an average of 232,945 per game.
Monday Night Football on Fox Sports attracted an average of 259,634 each weekend.
Sunday on Fox Sports attracted an average of 195,707 per game.
Toyota Cup
Launched this season, the Toyota Cup is the first national youth competition of any of the major Australian sporting competitions.
It provided development opportunities for 500 youth players and 50 match officials.
Mandated non-training hours saw 98% of all Toyota Cup players either working or studying – 28% of players in full-time study, 19% in apprenticeships, 16% in traineeships and 34% in general employment.
The competition was used to trial dual referees and other experimental rule changes including two 11-a-side games and a restart rule in relation to in-goal kicks.
52 players competed in both the Toyota Cup and Telstra Premiership in 2008, including 23 forwards.
The salary cap for the Toyota Cup national youth competition was introduced at $250,000, with further allowances available up to $430,000 for welfare and education (accommodation, apprenticeships, traineeships and tertiary education allowances).
Two games were broadcast live each week on Fox Sports and attracted more than 2.8 million viewers this season.
The highest rating match attracted 114,450 average viewers and out-rated matches in senior competitions in other codes.
The Saturday game attracted an average of 68,954 viewers.
The Sunday game attracted an average of 39,087 viewers.
Participation
More people played Rugby League in the game’s Centenary year than in any of the 100 previous seasons.
There were a record 445,000 participants in juniors, seniors, schools and masters competitions around the nation this season.
More than 5000 new junior players (6-18 years) joined clubs in 2008 taking total Junior League Club registrations to 120,000 (up 3% on 2007).
Junior numbers in non-traditional Rugby League states increased with Victoria adding an extra 24 junior teams and Western Australia juniors up 30% on last season.
When senior players (19 years) are included there are more than 155,000 club players registered nationally.
An extra 10,000 primary and secondary school students participated in regular school competitions (with a minimum of five rounds) taking the total number of students in regular school competitions to 141,000 (up 9% on 2007).
ARL Development’s 66 Development Staff visited more than 3000 schools to August 31 this year and provided ‘ball in hand’ clinics to more than 260,000 students.
The game’s National Development Officers involved more than one million school students in ARL Development programs during 2008.
Centenary celebrations
25% of people surveyed by Enhance Research on behalf of the NRL said the Centenary celebrations increased their enjoyment of the NRL in 2008.
More than 50,000 people in regional Australia attended 10 Harvey Norman Regional Celebration events over a six-month period.
More than 200 Rugby League legends from regional NSW and QLD returned home to celebrate the game’s Centenary.
30,000 fans visited the regional exhibitions, which showcased the local Rugby League history of each town.
100,000 children from regional NSW and QLD participated in regional celebration skill clinics.
More than 130,000 people in Canberra and Queensland visited a National Museum of Australia travelling exhibition that explored the history of Rugby League in Australia. The exhibition is now open in Sydney and will move to North Queensland before concluding in Melbourne in July 2009.
177 regional sites of significance to the game received Centenary plaques.
The Toyota Centenary Trophy was established to find the best regional football team. More than 30 Group and regional teams from NSW and Queensland took part with Illawarra defeating Townsville in the final played as a curtain raiser to Origin 3.
Rugby League announced its 100 Greatest Players of all time.
More than 10,000 fans attended the game’s biggest ever organised fan day, which featured the largest gathering of Rugby League players in the game’s history.
The 2008 NRL Season launch was held at historic Birchgrove Oval – site of the first competition games in 1908.
A Centenary Ball was held to commemorate the anniversary of the first premiership games and announce the Team of the Century.
A Heritage Round played across Australia in heritage jerseys celebrated great club rivalries and raised funds for charity.
A Centenary Test between Australia and New Zealand was played at the SCG to mark 100 years to the day of the first international match.
Radio
2GB
· Rugby League coverage on 2GB was number one in Sydney again with more than 220,000 different listeners tuning in every weekend in 2008.
· Friday night football on 2GB was again a success this season with the Continuous Call team rating number one in Sydney with 11.9% of the total audience.
· The 2GB NRL network remained strong and widespread, broadcasting regularly into Perth and more than 55 stations across the country.
· 2GB again delivered for NRL sponsors, providing the number one share of key Male and 25 to 54-year-old markets.
Triple M
Monday Night Football on Triple M was the highest rating program on 2MMM Sydney (source: Neilsen ratings survey #5).
Each edition of Monday Night Football on Triple M was broadcast live into 2MMM Sydney, 4MMM Brisbane, along with 21 regional stations in NSW and Queensland on the Macquarie Radio network.
In addition to the above, eight Melbourne Storm games were broadcast live into 3MMM Melbourne. Five Gold Coast Titans matches were broadcast live into GOLDFM (Gold Coast).
Next season will see Monday Night Football on Triple M continue to broadcast live into Sydney, Brisbane and regional NSW and Qld, while Melbourne Storm matches will continue to be broadcast live on 3MMM Melbourne.
ABC
Approximately 300,000 listeners heard ABC Local Radio coverage throughout NSW, Queensland and the ACT as well as Radio Australia through the Pacific and parts of Asia and Europe.
Listeners in Brisbane, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, Gold Coast and North Queensland heard coverage of every match their local teams played.
Between six and eight matches from the ABC Radio coverage were streamed live every weekend on nrl.com and were available to Australian and international fans.
Website
The number of unique visitors to nrl.com broke previous benchmarks three times in 2008 (April, May and June) before going on to set the highest month on record in August, when almost 1.1 million unique visitors logged on.
The number of unique visitors is up 31.19% for the season on 2007.
Fans now spend a record average of 8.3 minutes on the site per visit.
Page impression numbers are up 30.99%, meaning people are reading more on NRL.com than ever before.
Telstra Bigpond introduced the League TV Channel, providing constant replays of NRL matches and QLD Cup, as well as highlight shows covering NRL, VB NSW Cup and Jim Beam Cup.
The playrugbyleague website designed as the major portal for all recruitment information grew from 372,000 page impressions in 2005 to 9.3 million over a three-year period.
Leaguenet, which contains information relating to all development, including the game’s 1200 clubs, grew from 17 million page impressions to 28.5 million since 2005.
Licensing
At the end of the 2nd quarter, the NRL’s licensing program (including Centenary of Rugby League royalties) was up 22% on the same period last year.
This represents more than $65M worth of retail sales for NRL, Kangaroos and Centenary of Rugby League sales for quarters 1 and 2.
The top three merchandise teams at the end of the 2nd quarter were Broncos (1), Titans (2) and Cowboys (3) followed by Wests Tigers (4).
The biggest mover during this period was the Melbourne Storm, placed 5th in total merchandise royalties (compared to 12th at this time last year), showing the increasing reach and growth of this team’s support.
Highlights of the Centenary of Rugby League merchandise program at the end of the 2nd quarter included the successful Team of the Century memorabilia program, release of the official Centenary of Rugby League Book by Pan MacMillian and Canterbury apparel ranges.
Sponsorship
The sponsorship program had its biggest year ever with revenue of more than $23 million for the combined rights of the NRL Partnership, World Cup and Centenary.
Rugby League achieved a 100% renewal rate of existing partnership agreements in 2008. Renewals included:
o Harvey Norman’s renewal of their naming rights position for the Harvey Norman State of Origin Series and their naming rights position to the video referee board across all matches, and
o Bundaberg Rum reaffirmed their support of Bundaberg Rum Monday Night Football, securing their naming rights to the property for a further four years.
The game (including the World Cup) also secured more than $2.5 million in additional investment. New sponsors include Jetstar (World Cup) and John Deere (Finals Series and Grand Final).
An integrated partnership management strategy was implemented to provide world-class service and support to the sport’s partnership group.
Salary cap
In 2008, the NRL increased the salary cap by $100,000 over and above the Collective Bargaining Agreement, taking the salary cap to $4 million per club with a further $100,000 to the player retirement fund. This is up from $3.9 million in 2007 and $3.66 million in 2006.
These figures do not include the $150,000 marquee player club sponsors’ allowance (extended in 2008 to take in 10 players).
The salary cap will rise by another $100,000 in 2009.
Minimum wages for players 18-25 will increase from $50,000 to $52,500 in 2009.
Judiciary (figures current to Rd 25)
80 charges were made up to Rd 25. This is down 14% on 2007 (93 charges).
76% of players entered early guilty pleas (2007 – 82%).
91 total weeks were served in suspension. This is up 8% on 2007 (84 weeks).
12 players were found guilty at Panel (2007 – 7).
6 players were found not guilty at Panel (2007 – 6).
1 successful grading challenge was made (2007 – 4).
Community relations
In its second year, the One Community program raised almost $340,000 for its four charity partners – Lifeline Australia, Children’s Hospital Foundations Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation and Youngcare – and Men of League.
NRL players spent approximately 15,500 hours in the community in a variety of activities including: reading sessions in schools; coaching clinics at junior clubs; hospital visits, and One Community events.
115 charity donations were made through the One Community charity requests program, with NRL-donated items raising a total of $62,815 to date.
The Harvey Norman Women in League program grew from two lunches in 2007 to four events this season, with more than 600 women recognised for their work at the grassroots of the game.
One Community became Principal Sponsor of the NSW Premier’s Sporting Challenge and a partner in the QLD Year of Physical Activity, which encourage children to become more active. One Community provided competition prizes, resources and ambassadors to both programs, as well as funding to the NSW Premier’s Sporting Challenge.
One Community launched Learning with League, the first sports-based resource of its kind to be written by the NSW Department of Education. An optional resource, it uses children’s love of Rugby League to inspire them to succeed in the classroom. More than 550 schools across the nation requested copies of the resource.
The 2008 Monster Raffle was launched to raise money for grassroots Rugby League with the potential to inject $500,000 into the game.
One Community’s Indigenous Health Program was launched in partnership with Menzies School of Health Research, to encourage Indigenous children and families to adopt healthy lifestyles and have regular health checks.
In November, the One Community Awards will again acknowledge members of the grassroots Rugby League family for their service to the game.
Welfare and education
In 2008, more players than ever took up funding to undertake career-based education courses.
83% of NRL players have post-secondary school qualifications, which is double the amount since the introduction of grants in 2004.
19% of players (or 94 players) are completing a trade.
13% of players (or 65 players) are doing tertiary studies at university.
Professional sport’s most comprehensive induction program was introduced for the Toyota Cup with 350 players completing a two-day program addressing: establishing a personal brand; media training; alcohol and drugs; attitudes to women and cultural awareness.
A further 60 players completed the annual Rookie Camp, a comprehensive training program in media, marketing, drug and alcohol education and cultural and social issues.
A partnership with the Australian Federal Police was developed to deliver a workshop on illicit drugs.
The Retiring Players Program was introduced to provide transition advice and counselling services to players and their immediate family, as well as continued funding for education courses commenced while playing.
Rugby League Films
The first major game-wide film archive was created, containing more than 7000 items from as early as 1922.
Rugby League Films Productions was launched which, along with the Nine Network, Telstra and Visual Entertainment Group, has produced ‘A Century of Rugby League – the official documentary series of the Centenary of Rugby League’ aired on Channel 9, as well as a number of other titles.
Centenary-based Videos on Demand were produced focusing on the 100 Greatest Players, the 100 Greatest Tries, the History of the Premiership, histories of each club and the great moments of the Centenary. This content can be exclusively found on Really Long Link
A stock footage licensing agreement was made with American company Thought Equity Motion to allow the Rugby League Films collection to be commercialised by documentary makers, advertisers and other corporates.
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