Industry News – Thursday, June 1st, 2017

Rugby League

• State of Origin 1, 2017 – Crowd: 50,390 at Suncorp Stadium (capacity 52,500)
• Wed TV #Origin Nine 3,527,000: Metro 2,348,000 (Syd 989k Mel 319k Bri 808k Ade 95k Per 138k) Regional 1,179,000
• Preliminary ratings for Origin 1: 2,348m metro, 1,179m reg, 3.527m total. Metro down 13%, Regions down 5%, Total down 11% on Origin 1 2016.
• Origin 1, 2017, had the 15th highest Origin viewing audience of all origin clashes since 2003.
• Cronulla have announced that Dino Mezzatesta was last night appointed Chairman at the Club’s regular monthly board meeting.
• Steve Mascord writes that “the idea that members of the Rugby League Players Association would boycott the 2017 World Cup in order to prove a point in their dispute with the NRL is so completely brain dead, so utterly devoid of logic or the ability to see beyond the end of one’s nose, that it could only happen in our glorious sport.”
• NRL clubs and the state leagues could have representatives on an expanded ARL Commission by the end of the month, with one of the club representatives expected to be Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’Landys.
• The players’ risk-and-reward strategy for the future of rugby league includes an “act of God” clause that proposes any agreement should be renegotiated should there be a “catastrophic” forecast decrease in the game’s broadcast funding during the life of the next collective bargaining agreement.

Australian Football

• Simon Black’s US college-style coaching academies have been plunged into crisis following the collapse of Careers Australia, the registered training organisation linked with Carlton’s sponsorship black hole of more than $1million.

Association Football

• Brisbane Roar will appeal a hefty fine from the Asian Football Confederation for not providing “international buffet style” meals for a group of travelling Champions League match officials.