A high-stakes brawl over money and the use of stadiums between the NRL and Venues NSW could result in next yearโs Sydney State of Origin match being moved interstate.
The drama played out all week, and only late on Friday afternoon was a further threat from interim NRL executive chair Peter Vโlandys to move all finals in this yearโs series to Campbelltown, the Central Coast and Shark Park withdrawn.
The brawl erupted over revenue-sharing between the two bodies. As a tenant, the NRL believes it receives a poor deal from its landlord, Venues NSW, to the tune of millions of dollars every year.
In a game of brinkmanship, the NRL said that going forward it would boycott Accor, Allianz and CommBank Stadiums, all operated by Venues NSW.
The squabble pitted Vโlandys against the man who ran the NRL for a decade from 2002 to 2012, David Gallop.
Gallop is chairman of Venues NSW, a state government agency.
He and Venues NSW chief executive Kerrie Mather were summoned to NRL headquarters on Tuesday, where Vโlandys issued his ultimatum: a better deal across the stadiums, or several finals this month โ and next yearโs annual Sydney State of Origin match โ will go elsewhere.
Mather has been bunkered down since that meeting, trying to sort through the list of demands, with the finals looming next week. By late Friday, a new revenue-share deal had been struck.
Vโlandys argued that the NRL should receive a better return from gate receipts, 50 per cent of food and beverage revenue and a much larger percentage of corporate boxes.
He also wanted better deals on revenue from signage inside the ground and big screen advertising.
Sources with knowledge of the situation who were not authorised to speak publicly because of the commercial-in-confidence nature of the discussions said the NRL wanted 100 per cent of the money from certain revenue sources. โThat just canโt happen,โ the source said. โItโs not how it works.โ
Vโlandys, the interim NRL executive chairman, believes that Venues NSW โ which manages the SCG, Allianz, Accor, CommBank, McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle and WIN Stadium in Wollongong โ has the game over a barrel as it operates as a monopoly.
He has told those in the NRLโs inner sanctum that it was time to take a stand and use big finals matches and the flagship Sydney State of Origin match as leverage.
Also at stake is the NRL grand final, with NSW only contracted to stage the match this year. From 2027, it is up for grabs to other states โ and even New Zealand.
In return, Venues NSW believed many of the NRLโs demands to be unreasonable, and that if all were met it would mean staging games at a crippling loss, sometimes into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Government sources said the NRL was told to air its grievances directly with Venues NSW, as it is the body that operates the grounds on behalf of the government.
Sources said the agency was shocked both by the demands โ especially considering the game is awash with money, a situation that will improve further when the $5.3 billion seven-year broadcast rights deal kicks in from season 2028 โ and the threat to move Origin.
At stake is tens of millions of dollars.
A new revenue-share deal starting with next weekโs finals was nutted out by Mather and ticked off by Gallop. It was sent to Vโlandys and accepted.
Sources said that both sides conceded ground to meet closer to the middle. As a result, the NRL now has a much better deal. Sources also confirmed that next yearโs Sydney State of Origin match had not been signed off and is likely to go to tender, meaning it could be played interstate.
Gallop and Vโlandys are known to each other but havenโt had extensive face-to-face dealings. Their styles differ greatly: Gallop is very calm whereas Vโlandys is more of a firebrand.
Mather, too, is a shrewd and calm negotiator who canโt be flustered. In her corporate career as a director of Macquarie Bank, chief executive of Sydney Airport and now of Venues NSW, she has routinely put together deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Tuesdayโs meeting was the first time Gallop had entered NRL HQ since he left the NRL job in 2012. He was the only male in the building not wearing a tie. Vโlandys insists that all male NRL staff members wear a tie.
Vโlandys, Gallop and Mather all declined to comment publicly.
Gallop has been a director at Tabcorp since 2020 and, over the past six years, the gambling giant has had a tempestuous relationship with Racing NSW.
As the 20-year chief executive of Racing NSW, Vโlandys drove a hard bargain; fallouts with executives at the TAB have been a regular occurrence.
Ironically, relations between Racing NSW and TAB have improved since former AFL boss Gillon McLachlan moved to the betting company in August 2024.
Vโlandys and McLachlan spent years sparring after Vโlandys became chairman of the ARL Commission as the codes continued their decades-long battle, sparked by the AFLโs aggressive entry into NSW and Queensland in the 1980s.
In racing, the pair found common ground and are happy to tell acquaintances that they like each other.
Smith case back on
Rabbitohs hooker Brandon Smithโs case in Southport Magistrateโs Court, where the South Sydney hooker still faces a drug supply charge, will next bob up in the middle of the finals series.
Luckily for the Rabbitohs, the September 18 listing is for a mention only, meaning he wonโt have to attend if Souths win in week one of the finals and are still alive.
However, if it goes all the way to a hearing, he will have to front up โ and he wonโt be in court alone.
Also appearing will be the Roostersโ Victor Radley, the man police listed on the charge sheet as the recipient of the cocaine.
As Smith has pleaded not guilty and intends to fight the charge, witnesses will be called by the prosecution, and police intend one of them to be Radley.
The NSW Origin representative will then also be cross-examined by Smithโs defence lawyers.
The duo were last year caught up in a Queensland police operation targeting organised crime and, in particular, cocaine supply in the stateโs south-east.
During the investigation, police came across text messages from Smith on a phone belonging to a target of the operation in which, police allege, Smith was trying to source a small amount of cocaine for Radley, who was travelling to the Sunshine Coast for a golf weekend with teammates on a bye weekend.
Smith was charged for โorganisingโ supply of the drugs, even though he did not supply them himself. Texts from Radley arranging the payment and a meeting place to receive the drugs were also uncovered. Radley was never charged with any offence.
Smithโs lawyer, criminal specialist Paul McGirr, was successful in having a charge against Smith of disclosing inside information for betting purposes dropped in August, with police ordered to pay legal costs.
That charge emanated from the same text exchange and was borderline ridiculous.
In the messages, Smith revealed that he was making a comeback from injury and his acquaintance should back him at $91 for first try scorer, complete with laughing emojis.
Imagine wasting police resources and court time because a bloke told another bloke he was going to play, and therefore he should have a novelty bet for fun.
Whether McGirr can keep Smith and Radley away from embarrassing appearances in court hinges on whether he can convince police to drop the supply charge on the grounds that all his client did was give a mate a phone number.
Luaiโs bizarre situation
Donโt expect Jarome Luaiโs private jet trips to Papua New Guinea to promote Pepsi or hang with the countryโs prime minister, James Marape, to end anytime soon.
With his Wests Tigers commitments finishing on Sunday against the Panthers at CommBank, heโs got a season with Parramatta in 2027 before officially joining the PNG Chiefs ahead of season 2028.
Many at the Tigers were blindsided by his trip to Port Moresby last Sunday, the morning after leaving the field injured in Townsville in a loss to the Cowboys.
Itโs a bizarre situation that heโs allowed to promote a new team, and service third-party sponsors he picked up because he signed for that new team, while still playing for the Tigers.
Plus, he has yet another new team to play for in 2027 โ the Eels.
Parramatta is surprisingly relaxed โ at this stage โ about Luaiโs PNG links. The clubโs position is that he is allowed to promote third-party sponsors in his own time.
โHe would have to do such promotions in a block where it doesnโt affect training, playing or a club function or commitment he is required to attend,โ an Eels insider said on the condition of anonymity.
โHis spare time is his spare time. One thing he canโt do is promote the Chiefs or attend Chiefsโ functions or the like.โ
Luaiโs signing on about $1.1 million for next year left Parramatta in a difficult position, with vastly improved five-eighth Ronald Volkman striking form just at the time the club signed Luai.
Parramatta expected to lose Volkman, 24, who was unsigned. He was keen to stay rather than end up in Perth or possibly Britain.
Initially, the Eels had only โback-up five-eighthโ money to offer him. The club needed to scrape together more and got a deal done midweek in the vicinity of $500,000 for two seasons.
Off-field, the Eels begin work on their $350 million โParramatta Liveโ precinct adjacent to CommBank that will feature a new leagueโs club, restaurants, bars including a rooftop one, an eight-storey 249-room hotel, a conference facility, family entertainment areas and a 450-square-metre โyouth hubโ.
The club studied several models in the United States, including the LA Live precinct that centres around the LA Lakers home at Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Centre) in Downtown Los Angeles.
The project is being funded by Parramatta Leagues Club and is expected to open in 2028, with the hotel to follow by taking guests from 2030.
NRL top brass on the move
The exodus of executives continues at the NRL.
The latest out the door is John Wilson, executive general manager of participation and social impact, a role that put him in charge of rugby league development programs in schools, among other responsibilities.
A former centre with Parramatta and Wests Tigers during their premiership winning year in 2005, Wilson also played three Tests for France before a 17-year career in administration at the NRL.
He has taken on another role in sport that had been in the works for a while. Wilsonโs departure leaves another hole for interim NRL chief executive Peter Vโlandys to fill.
Corporate affairs chief Misha Zelinsky and strategy boss Ben Shepherd (whose contract ran out) also exited when chief executive Andrew Abdo quit to take the top job at Tennis Australia.
Incomings include trusted Vโlandys associate and Perth Bears board member Jacqueline Johnstone as acting chief operating officer and podcast guru Rob Loewenthal, whose platform Whooshkaa was sold to Spotify in 2021.
Blues brush awards
On face value, only five Blues players turning up for Brad Fittler Medal night to crown NSWโs best player in this yearโs series is a bad look.
After all, it was one of the most famous Origin series victories of all time. Backs-to-the-wall stuff, Laurie Daleyโs finest post-playing career moment, Nathan Cleary stamping himself as a future immortal, the Blues winning the series on enemy soil โฆ it had it all.
Surely, the celebrations should never end.
Cleary was at the Star Event Centre during the week to be handed the Fittler gong, skipper Isaah Yeo was, too, as were True Blue award winner Hudson Young, Blayke Brailey and Reece Robson.
But that was it.
A majority of the womenโs team were there to see Yasmin Meakes win the Bluesโ Womenโs Player of the Year.
Fittler himself was absent, instead sending a video message. He was in Parkes on Royce Simmonsโ walk to raise funds for dementia research.
Being staged on a Monday night as the finals draw close makes it hard for players to attend.
Itโs not just a night for the Origin team โ there are 20 awards across categories that come under the NSWRL banner, such as the NSW Cup, Jersey Flegg and Sydney Shield players of the year.
This is not a criticism of the NSWRL. It rightly wants to stage an awards night, and it has to wait until late in the regular season so that those awards can be properly done, creating the lag time between Daleyโs boysโ famous win and now.
For many players, Origin is in the rearview mirror. Their focus is on the finals, and theyโre not buying into the awards. Thatโs obvious.
Maybe these types of awards nights have had their day.
Cricketโs Allan Border Medal night was an embarrassment, with winner Travis Head receiving the medal at a low-key team dinner in Brisbane while they were in camp ahead of the Bangladesh series last month. It wasnโt broadcast on any platform.
Head was wearing a zip-up top over a T-shirt when he was handed the medal.
Round zero banned
The AFL made its best decision of the year this week when it scrapped the ridiculous โRound Zeroโ to start the season.
In reaction to the NRLโs wildly successful Las Vegas season openers, which dominated attention in the lead-up to the AFL and NRL seasons, the Victorians thought they had a smart idea in Round Zero.
It pitted big Melbourne clubs such as Collingwood, Richmond, Melbourne and Carlton up against the Swans, GWS, Suns and the Lions in Sydney and Queensland to capitalise on the NRL being away in Vegas, the idea being that they could steal attention on the ground in rugby league heartland.
It did not work and has been put out of its misery.
No one cared, and AFL fans sat around in the southern states waiting for the โrealโ start, which was round one the following week.
In fact, that wasnโt the real start, though, because it actually began a week earlier up north in a round that wasnโt a round. Stupid.
The 2027 season will start with a traditional nine-match round one on Thursday, March 18, a few days after the completion of the one-off 150th anniversary day-night cricket Test match between Australia and England, which starts at the MCG on March 11.
Neil Breen is the national sports editor and a Walkley Award-winning journalist.Connect via X.From our partners
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