General Dave Smith NRL CEO Thread

[mt.wellington]

Banker David Smith new NRL CEO - reports
Last updated 11:42 23/11/2012

ANNOUNCEMENT: ARL Commission chairman John Grant (pictured) is expected to announce David Smith as the new CEO.


LATEST: The NRL's new chief executive is reportedly senior banker David Smith.

The ARL Commission will officially unveil their new CEO this afternoon (NZT) at Rugby League Central, but News Limited says Smith - the chief executive of Lloyds International based in Sydney - has been appointed.

He takes over from David Gallop, who was sacked by the NRL in June.

Smith is said to have no previous experience in rugby league.

The announcement will be made in conjunction with the draw for first 20 rounds of the 2013 season at media conference at 1pm (NZT).

It will round off a momentous week for the code, with the commission making the controversial decision to outlaw the shoulder charge on Wednesday.

- AAP and Sydney Morning Herald

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/7988425/Banker-David-Smith-new-NRL-CEO-reports

 

[mt.wellington]

Interview with new NRL CEO David Smith...

https://www.news.com.au/top-stories...ing-rugby-league/story-e6frfkp9-1226562742261[DOUBLEPOST=1366556872,1359254722][/DOUBLEPOST]Broadcaster Ray Hadley launches stunning attack on NRL CEO Dave Smith

• Paul Crawley
• The Daily Telegraph
• April 22, 2013 12:00AM

There were plenty of empty seats when a record-low crowd of 4635 turned up yesterday to watch the annual City-Country clash in Coffs Harbour. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Daily Telegraph

RAY Hadley has launched a stunning attack on NRL boss Dave Smith, labelling the former banker a "dunce" and suggesting Smith goes "back to banking and do it sometime sooner rather than later".

The top-rating broadcaster last night called through to Radio 2GB's Continuous Call Team on his day off to vent his outrage in the wake of yesterday's record-low City-Country crowd of 4635.

Hadley was ropeable the disastrous crowd came on the same day Smith spoke about his grand vision in an interview in The Sunday Telegraph - in which Smith said he wanted the atmosphere at every game to be like a grand final, with rock bands and jumping castles among his ideas to bring back crowds.

Yesterday's pitiful turnout in Coffs Harbour was another nail in the coffin of City-Country, which was already struggling to keep its place on the annual calendar.

According to Fox Sports Stats, yesterday's crowd was the lowest for the representative fixture on records dating to 1987 - and there hasn't been a smaller NRL crowd since 2007.


After reading through some of Smith's quotes on air last night, Hadley fired: "The poor bastards can't afford to go David. I mean, for goodness sake Mr Smith, (you) have had adequate time now.

"If you can't understand that you have to reduce the pricing to make it more affordable for people, God help us and go back to banking and do it sometime sooner rather than later.

"This is the bloke in charge of the NRL on a day when you get under 5000 to a representative game in rugby league heartland. He doesn't quite get the fact that people in 2013 are struggling financially."

Dave Smith

NRL boss Dave Smith at the City-Country match in Coffs Harbour. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Daily Telegraph

High ticket prices were being blamed for the terrible turnout in Coffs Harbour.

Locals had to pay $50 for an open stand seat or $30 for general admission. An NRL spokesman said there were some $60 seats for members that were not for public sale.

The City-Country concept is built on giving back to bush football and fans, but the cost of going to a game has been a sore point for many years.

Ticket prices combined with food and travel costs make it unaffordable for many families."Things have to be made affordable to people," Hadley said. "He's a dunce. I thought he was a good bloke but I think he's a dunce based on this article by Jennifer Sexton in The Sunday Telegraph.

"I will say it to this bloke: is it better to have 10,000 people paying 20 bucks a head or do you want 4000 paying 50 bucks a head?

"I will tell you what you want to do Dave; pull your head out of your bum and build closer links with the grassroots of the game, the people who will pay your wages for the next two decades."

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/b...l-ceo-dave-smith/story-fndujljl-1226625436437

Link to article that Ray was ranting about...

https://www.news.com.au/national-ne...ion-for-the-game/story-fncynjr2-1226625109828

 

[Sup42]

Who's the dunce here , the super successful administrator who is out of touch in his new job or the whinging comments man who may find himself out of a job for taking a cheap shot.

Good on you Ray none of us in Warrior land will miss you.

 

[mt.wellington]

Who's the dunce here , the super successful administrator who is out of touch in his new job or the whinging comments man who may find himself out of a job for taking a cheap shot.

Good on you Ray none of us in Warrior land will miss you.

Getting a bit senile I reckon. He may have a point but he's gone about it in the most undiplomatic and unprofessional way. If Ray wants someone to blame then he need not look further then the players and clubs who made their star players unavailable. Exact same thing is happening with the All Stars.

And anyway, is City/Country Origin run by the NRL or NSWRL???

 

[mt.wellington]

Not wanting to start a new thread but...

NRL on track for record surplus
PUBLISHED: 10 hours 48 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 7 hours 59 MINUTES AGO
John Stensholt

Australian Rugby League Commission chief executive Dave Smith says the sport will record a surplus of more than $40 million this year, the biggest ever in the history of the sport.

The National Rugby League competition is in the first year of a five-year $1.2 billion broadcast deal with Nine Entertainment Co, Fox Sports Australia and Telstra, which has boosted the coffers of the sport considerably.

Smith told Financial Review Sunday he was pleased with the financial result, with much of the money of which will be put towards a future fund to invest in rugby league.

“The game will deliver the biggest surplus in its history at the end of the year. But I think there’s a lot of potential and upside still to come. You can invest in things that create a return in one form or another to invest back in the game. That’s the point in having a surplus, investing back into the game.”

Smith said the NRL would achieve a “substantial” profit on its finals series, which moves to the preliminary final stage next weekend.

“We have the top two teams in the competition and both teams have had good crowds. The quality of the football has been very good both in the home and away season and the first weeks of the finals. The way we have planned and marketed the matches and our ticketing strategy all means we will substantially beat our budget.”

Smith’s first year in the job has been punctuated by several off-field issues, particularly an investigation into the potential administering of performance enhancing or banned drugs to Cronulla players that is yet to be finalised, allowing the team to play in the finals series.

https://www.afr.com/p/business/sunday/arl_on_track_for_record_surplus_qvo2vkrLp44Z6Lw7xn9q1O

 

[ToiletDuck]

I've seen a fair bit of Dave Smith since his appointment, and despite his lack of history with the game, he seems to be doing a good job. He has some very long-term goals in mind, which is important, and he's surrounding himself with people that have proven success in the game - rather than creating an old boys club. Scurrah can expect a call up any time now

 

[mt.wellington]

https://twitter.com/DaveSmithNRL

 

[snake77]

I've been quite impressed with him; he's here to restructure and get things organised but of course with rugby league history of in fighting he has to have lunch with Ray Hadley cause he needs his little whine session, needs to have a coffee with Phil Rothfield from the Daily telegraph cause he complains because he can't just call up the CEO to get a story.

The Telegraph are complaining about the size of the admin staff now employed by the NRL even though the size of the organisation is growing requiring more resources. Their other point of attacking Smith is "the club CEO and chairman are upset with the NRL chief because......" even though it is widely know and complained about that most of the CEO's would not get that type of role in a normal business.

Look at the ASADA investigation the reporters who are use to club board members breaking non disclosure agreements were all getting made because the CEO would not name players or clubs. This is the way things should be done.

Smith also has to sit in on board meetings full of infighting about who stole all of the club pencils and who has a grudge with whom from the 1980s (little creative license there but some clubs are like that ).

The amount he has to take on; restructuring the NRL and league in Australia, the ASADA investigation, individual clubs boardroom issues, day to day bad publicity, media attacks. It is a huge job and a lot more then what he probably initially signed up for.

From a Warriors point of view hopefully some of the initiatives come off like you have a could structure with all management positions covered, projects to grow the game and the club so you can get more $$$ from the NRL.

 

[mt.wellington]

Might start a new thread if this gets bigger. Pretty interesting. Not sure how serious it is and whether the Warriors really are a part of this...

NRL rebellion: Rugby league clubs want CEO Dave Smith gone or threaten to leave competition
AUGUST 23, 2015 12:00AM

Clubs are threatening to leave the NRL competition unless CEO Dave Smith is ousted. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source:News Corp Australia

SOME of the most powerful figures in rugby league have floated the idea of a breakaway 12-team competition in a bid to oust NRL CEO Dave Smith.

Last week’s TV negotiations, which saw Fox Sports and Telstra cut out of the deal, is the latest in a growing list of frustrations they have with Mr Smith and Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman John Grant.

The new competition would be made up by the 12 clubs, whose NRL participation agreements end at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Of those 12, four are leading the rebel league discussions with the goal of getting Mr Smith and Mr Grant torpedoed out of office.

Under the radical proposal the four clubs currently being propped up by the NRL – Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra, Newcastle and Gold Coast – would be left out of the new competition.

The push has been discussed among some of the most influential figures in rugby league who remain furious at a range of NRL decisions, including cutting key stakeholders Fox Sports and Telstra out of the TV negotiations.

Their anger was intensified after News Corp and the Seven Network partnered to give the AFL a record $2.5 billion television deal.

The inconsistencies from the NRL match review committee and the judiciary in relation to the shoulder charges are also a key concern of the powerbrokers, as well as the multi-million dollar blow-out of executive salaries and the number of staff employed since Smith was appointed at the start of 2013.

An email sent last week detailing how the 12-team breakaway competition would be structured, with the prospect of additional teams being added in Brisbane and Perth to make a 14-team competition.

In order for the NRL clubs to pass a vote of no-confidence in the ARL Commission they need a 75 per cent vote from the 16 existing clubs. The breakaway scenario remains highly unlikely but illustrates the current level of discontent with the NRL head office

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl-r...eave-competition/story-fnaqgujp-1227494555625

 

[Jordan G]

Nothing to this.

Just look at the author of the article and who pays his wages. Same with Paul Kent on NRL 360.

- NRL sign tv deal with Nine, keeping it hidden from Foxtel

- Foxtel throws the baby out with the bath water and overpays for AFL.

- Newscorp tabloid reporters begin smear campaign against league.

The war is on.

 

[BeastMode]

Office politics is never good for the game.

 

[matiunz]

Not sure how much credibility this has when it mistook the Warriors for the Waratahs with their graphic...

 

[matiunz]

Plus apparently the Warriors Souths and panthers have come out saying their involvement is bullshit

 

[Evil_Mush]

Yeah everything reported by any News Corp media branch at the moment is so full of whinge, contradiction and no actual sources quoted (aside from the usual "sources say...") that it should probably just be ignored by any sane individual.

Comical really.

 

[Play The Ball]

Nothing to this.

Just look at the author of the article and who pays his wages. Same with Paul Kent on NRL 360.

- NRL sign tv deal with Nine, keeping it hidden from Foxtel

- Foxtel throws the baby out with the bath water and overpays for AFL.

- Newscorp tabloid reporters begin smear campaign against league.

The war is on.

There is a problem here. The NRL needs Fox to give them $700-$800m in tv rights otherwise the next television deal is a major failure. The fact Fox are so pissed off is quite the concern. Add to the mix teams being off contract so to speak and the danger of another Super League war is very real. Those clubs aren't threatening to leave but if Fox create their own Super League comp and the deals for the clubs are attractive, there is a problem.

 

[snake77]

There is probably something too this as this Super League 2.0 has been coming up every so often for a few months now. Albeit mainly from the News Limited publications. I doubt it will lead too a breakaway even now that the NRL has pissed off News Limited with the broadcast deal as Murdoch said during the AFL deal. They will talk with the NRL in due time.

They keep quoting 12 clubs being dissatisfied. Well having a number like that means they can write there is potential for a breakaway competition. Nick Pappas from Souths said a few weeks ago said 3 clubs equals 12 does it? and Doyle explained it well. The 4 clubs who have had financial aid from the NRL have signed up. This is just the NRL making sure those clubs around to pay off their debt; that's good business. Listening to Doyle it doesn't sound like the Warriors are going to join any rebellion.

Too me this is coming from the chairman from the Roosters and the Bulldogs with them dragging Gould along with them. These clubs are financially going pretty well and are annoyed with the NRL controlling the money and whats dished out too them. Gould has taken a few little digs at how the NRL has been run. I take this with a bit of a grain of salt as he's gone from:

The NRL is run by a media company and has no control over it's destiny. The NRL has no money in the bank compared to other sports and is dependent on a media company to survive. Now he is. The NRL is not letting good rugby league run their clubs; these guys know what they are doing and questioning why the NRL is saving money and accumulating strategic funds etc. He has also peddled the too many people in administrative jobs at the NRL. This is after interviewing Dave Smith saying he isn't hear to make league decisions but get "our business right". Well league in Australia is a billion dollar business it makes sense that the head office is staffed correctly.

Gould works for Channel 9 and I believe Politis has friends with people high up at Channel 9. I doubt they'd go off and form a breakway competition.

A week or so the TV deal was great for rugby league. Now it's crap because they pissed off News Limited and gifted the AFL an extra $500 million without them really needing to negotiate for it, The NRL going early might have been a mistake we'll have to wait and see until the rest of the games are sold off to another broadcaster. We still have a few years for that to get worked out and in that time the world is changing with streaming services etc. If Foxtel want to keep their point of diference they will need live sporting content.

We shouldn't just be looking at the dollar value compared to the AFL. They have more games a week, a sport better suited for ads (I stand to be corrected on this) and a 6 year deal. The NRL deal for four games on free to air gives the game exposure we don't get on Foxtel. News Limited will talk with the NRL in time and Foxtel need to keep their subscribers happy.

 

[Play The Ball]

The issue is exactly what you said about the Foxtel model. They need content and have been prepared to create their own competition in the past. Money talks and while those 12 clubs aren't talking breakaway comp at the moment - if Murdoch tried to do Super League 2.0 those clubs would be tempted to take his offers. It happened before and it could certainly happen again if the NRL doesn't negotiate or consult better with clubs and other stakeholders. They absolutely have to expand in time for 2018 otherwise the AFL is going to start eating into rugby league heartland. Put some pressure back on them by going to Perth and securing Queensland with another team in Brisbane. I'd seriously entertain the idea of dropping one or two of those struggling four clubs (Tigers, Sharks, Dragons and Titans) and get to Central Queensland and possibly a second NZ team within the next few years too.

 

[Jordan G]

There is a problem here. The NRL needs Fox to give them $700-$800m in tv rights otherwise the next television deal is a major failure. The fact Fox are so pissed off is quite the concern. Add to the mix teams being off contract so to speak and the danger of another Super League war is very real. Those clubs aren't threatening to leave but if Fox create their own Super League comp and the deals for the clubs are attractive, there is a problem.

Fox needs NRL more than the NRL needs Fox. If Fox were in the box seat here they wouldn't be reacting the way they are.

Murdoch tried to own league once and failed, he then made sure he was in a position to control league through broadcasting until they lost those rights in the last negotiations. This is the first time the NRL is free to negotiate independently without a news lackey working "on behalf" of rugby league.

Murdoch is pissed because he wanted to stall on negotiations until the part purchase of channel 10 was approved and finalised. Then he could go to the NRL and say that Fox won't be joining with any free to air partner other than 10 and try to lowball us yet again.

News will pay what their top rating product is worth or face serious backlash from NSW/QLD. The pressure is on them and they're trying to spin it hard, but are looking even more desperate in the process.

Super League 2.0? Not going to happen.

 

[Play The Ball]

Whether Murdoch is in a good position or not is irrelevant - bottom line is that he needs content and he's also got a massive ego. Whether Super League 2.0 works or not makes little difference - the question is would he try it on? My guess is yes he would if he became desperate. That is bad news for the sport. Last time he didn't have 12 frustrated clubs essentially off contract for want of a better term. He also has a rugby league public unimpressed with the establishment as a whole. And most of all, he has A LOT of $$$. All of those factors worry me.
While Fox does need rugby league - the NRL cannot afford to have the power of News Ltd trying to belittle their competition moving forward. It is clear that would happen if Fox didn't pick up the rights.
TV rules the pro sporting world and Fox has more money then anyone else by some distance. A pissing contest will only hurt rugby league.
Where does the NRL get the rest of its rights money from if Fox aren't in the discussion? Free to air companies are out. Fox is out, Telstra is pissed at Smith and co too. This is not looking good at all.

 

[Jordan G]

fox aren't in discussions because they're having their little tantrum. Like any petulant child once people get bored of the routine they'll calm down.

Also, I don't buy the "unimpressed public". News is coping an absolute hammering over here for their not so subtle agenda and rightfully so.

Murdoch lost a shit load of money trying to take control of the game before. He's not going to go there again. He wants control without paying rough the nose for it. This campaign is an attempt to devalue the rights, but we have two years. Fox can't afford to sit on their hands for that long. They lose as many subscribers as they gain these days but if they were to lose league they would bleed a shitload. They won't risk that.

Like I said, I have zero concern about this little hissy fit that News is throwing. Better to get it over and done with early.