‘Barnacles’ is a term that has been tossed up in Australian politics of late. Rugby league in Australia still has barnacles.

When the Independent Commission was first mooted, it was supposed to run everything. The NSW and Queensland rugby leagues were to cease to exist.

But influential figures dug their heels in. The process dragged on and on and somehow, the state leagues and the Country Rugby League survived.

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In more recent times, the commission has attempted to introduce benchmarked funding for clubs. That is, they don’t just give the clubs a wad of cash – they dictate what it must be spent on.

If you need another digital person, the NRL will pay for his or her wages. You can’t spend that money on another weights machine, or put it into the coach’s pocket.

But once more, recalcitrant figures are digging their heels in. They are portraying the NRL as miserly because it had an operating surplus if just under $50 million. They reckon they should get that money – with no conditions on how it’s spent.

My colleague Brad Walter reported that clubs last year received and extra $13.8 million, across the board, on top of the $7.2 million they each get from League Central anyway.

He also reports that clubs can have an extra $250,000 this year if they meet certain growth targets but the money cannot be spent on the football department.

A group of Sydney teams is growing more and more agitated by the administration.



And people like Penrith general manager Phil Gould oppose an external draft, which would mean players coming into the league from outside would be doled out to clubs with the lowest finishing getting the first pick.

It’s hard to seen these rebellious clubs having the numbers to topple the new administration at League Central, because the balance of the clubs can see how far the game has come and how the changes taking place benefit the sport as whole.

The fact that we still have a number of bodies – clubs, state leagues and the NRL – performing junior development roles is another barnacle.

Some teams attract more television viewers than others. We don’t give them a bigger share of the television rights. Some clubs sell more jerseys than others.

Licensing fees are still split 16 ways. If you want to make more money from your merchandise, you have to sell it yourself.

Eventually, juniors will go the same way. They’ll be split evenly. It makes sense. The existing structures are an anachronism.

The other state leagues were absorbed by the NRL over summer. The Victorian rugby league is now NRL Victoria – a wholly owned subsidiary of League Central.

The NRL now wants to take over all junior development in its two most important states.



Clubs should really just be shells, not leagues unto themselves. They should be focused on attracting fans and sponsors, and winning games – nothing else.

I’ve got no problem with there being concessions that encourage players to stay in their local area but as a sport rugby league needs to be inwardly socialist and outwardly capitalist.

Clubs have different advantages and different disadvantages. Penrith has juniors, Melbourne has a wealthy marketplace, Sydney Roosters have a fair bit of cash. As with the jerseys and the TV money, these factors need to be absorbed and redistributed equally.

Soon, we’ll have NRL NSW and NRL Queensland. League Central has enough money now to just buy the recalcitrants out. Enough money to compensate clubs for taking over the running of their junior leagues.

Enough money to scrape off the barnacles.