League playing on behind closed doors but has warned "game is in jeopardy"
Tuesday 17 March 2020 17:27, UK
The NRL is facing questions after making a plea for Australian government funding, having decided to play on behind closed doors.
The league said on Sunday it faced "catastrophic" losses after being forced to ban fans from attending games following the first round of matches over the weekend.
Super League and the RFL have already suspended the season in the UK at all levels, but the NRL has decided to play on behind closed doors and Australia's Rugby League Commission chief Peter V'landys called on the government to provide financial assistance.
"The government has to assist us in this crisis because it is not of our doing," V'landys said. "The game, as we know it, is in jeopardy."
Although an avid NRL fan, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave short shrift to V'landys' demand, which came just over two weeks after the league reported an AU $30.1m (£14.8m) surplus for the 2018/19 financial year.
"The NRL is not high on the list at the moment," Morrison told local radio station 2GB on Monday, listing hospitals, health workers and small business support as the government's top priorities.
The coronavirus has infected over 160,000 people globally and killed more than 6,000. Australia has recorded nearly 300 cases of coronavirus and authorities fear a rapid rise in infections.
Former New South Wales coach Phil Gould questioned how the NRL lacked reserves to weather the crisis after a decade marked by rising revenues and record broadcasting deals.
"We've got to learn from what we've done in the past and ask ourselves why we are so vulnerable as a code right at the moment," Gould, now a prominent rugby league broadcaster, said on Channel Nine's 'Today Show'.
The Australian Rugby League Commission set up a sustainability fund in 2014 under former chief executive Dave Smith and planned to have AU $80m (£39.4m) invested by the end of 2017.
But the fund was liquidated in 2017, in part to help the NRL finance a costly digital strategy under current CEO Todd Greenberg, who was asked at a press conference on Monday why the NRL now finds itself vulnerable.
"Of course, it's going to be a catastrophic situation if 65 percent of your revenues aren't paid," Greenberg said. "In any industry... if the revenues don't come into a business where your costs are fixed, you're going to have a problem."
