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  1. #1
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Default NRL finally shows support for Broughton's plan to develop in China

    NRL finally shows support for Paul Broughton's plan to develop rugby league in China
    http://www.watoday.com.au/

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    The NRL has finally made contact with Paul "Shanghai" Broughton, chief executive Todd Greenberg giving the code's approval for the veteran official to approach the federal government about his project to bring Chinese athletes to play in the NRL.

    The 85-year-old Broughton has spent the last of his retirement savings securing a 10-year agreement with Shanghai sports authorities to develop rugby league in the city of 27 million people, but had spent 12 months waiting for someone at the NRL to answer his phone calls.

    Greenberg finally sent an email to Broughton on Friday inviting him to contact the NRL's general manager of game development, Andrew Hill, who is also the secretary of the Rugby League International Federation.

    The RLIF had asked Broughton to invite a Chinese team to compete at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup for Universities, to be held in conjunction with the World Cup in Australia.

    However, no funds were advanced and it appeared the project, along with identifying Chinese athletes to play for the NRL clubs that had embraced Broughton's dream – the Panthers, Broncos and Sea Eagles – was finished.

    Adding to the chagrin of the man after whom the Titans' annual best and fairest player award is named, was Broughton's gazumping by the AFL last week.

    The AFL, in conjunction with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, announced a project to introduce a modified game of Australian rules to Shanghai schools as well as Port Adelaide playing an AFL competition match in the city next year.

    Should Broughton's plan finally come to fruition, he will be only the second former player or coach to seek to develop rugby league in the world's biggest nation.

    The captain of the 1921 Kangaroos, Les "Boxhead" Cubitt, a flashy centre from the Eastern Suburbs club, went to China hoping to bring a team to play in Australia in 1923, a vacant year in the international league calendar. Cubitt only played in four games on tour after injuring his knee. Forced to retire aged 28, he walked with a limp and the aid of a cane. But his travelling companion, Harry Millard, had commanded a Chinese Labour Battalion in France during World War I and, like Broughton, was impressed with the endurance and athleticism of the Chinese.

    Despite being repeatedly told by Chinese consular officials in Melbourne and Wellington that rugby league was big in the Asian country, the pair soon discovered it was unknown, with the round-ball game being popular instead.

    Still, Cubitt did presumably import something from China – opium. Twelve months after arriving back in Australia, Cubitt was arrested in Townsville with the Queensland Times reporting on July 24, 1924: "Two young men, James Burns and Leslie Cubitt (the latter said to be the international footballer), were arrested in Townsville on Wednesday afternoon and charged with having a large quantity of cocaine, morphine, and other drugs in their possession, reasonably suspected to be stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained."

    When the pair couldn't raise £100 bail, they were remanded for eight days in custody while the police arranged the brief of evidence against the not guilty pleas.

    On August 1, 1924, a magistrate, Mr Curtis, rejected a motion by police for a short adjournment to finish the brief, leading to the charges against Cubitt and Burns being dismissed.

    Cubitt returned to Sydney where he told the media, Chinese athletes were "better than Australians imagine". But rather than giving rugby league a shot, he settled on grass, taking up lawn bowls and becoming state champion and captain.

    If this is one of the quirks of history, consider the way in which Melbourne rejoiced last week at the news the MCG could host the NRL grand final for three years, while ANZ Stadium at Homebush is rebuilt.

    '"Sydneysiders will be squirming," one breathless Melbourne radio host declared.

    The former chief executive of the NSWRL, John Quayle, spent years trying to get rugby league on the famous ground.

    "I'd repeatedly approach Dr John Lill, the chief executive of the MCC, to hire the MCG for a State of Origin match and each time he would give a polite, no," Quayle said. "I don't know what the problem was, whether the AFL was blocking it or not, but in desperation I contacted the Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett. He called Dr Lill to a meeting and basically instructed him to let us play a State of Origin match on the ground. It drew a then Australian record crowd of 90,000.

    "Twenty five years ago, we couldn't get rugby league on the MCG. Now, they can't get enough of us. It's wonderful."
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  2. #2
    Immortal Titanic's Avatar
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    Ah ha ... hilarious ... Shanghai plays hosts to the largest Touch tournament in S-E Asia in June with 50 clubs and 100+ teams competing including refs and teams from Oz and Kiwi. Last weekend my son debuted representing Nanjing in U12's in Suzhou in a 16 team comp. Footy has a claw hold here but until television shows the NRL good souls like Broughton will be frustrated. The NRL's lip-service to International development is just a manifestation of the negative efforts of the NSWRL and ARL before them.

    As Diehard knows, while AFL is on the Australian government's very own Australia Network, the NRL through the now defunct Setanta isn't even on satellite as of 4 weeks ago. There is no, none, nada and zip league on any channel free-to-air or satellite in China. We now rely on streaming, via a vpn ... pretty pathetic.

    I can go on for days about this. The Super League days (as much as I stood with the ARL, don't ever believe that Quayle did any more than use the Pacific Islands for his own devices), the AFL in Shanghai promotional matches (they shirt-tailed broken down negotiations the QRL), to the cash grab they tried with the reported games of Manly and Canberra recently ... the NRL is an insatiable machine.

    A serious attack on the China market would start with access to viewing the game's showpiece competition for that very market. Schools won't work if there is nothing to aspire to. Chinese parents are hellbent on academic outcomes and contact sport doesn't factor in at any level.

    To put the whole China sports thing into perspective, forget the NRL, NFL or even the NBA (both NFL and NBA have poured billions into China with only the NBA having some success), here is the big one ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36015657
    Last edited by Titanic; 18-04-16 at 11:17 PM.
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  3. #3
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    How about the viability of an good old fashioned, grass roots league for China?
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER

  4. #4
    Immortal Titanic's Avatar
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    Yes mate, we have tried to attract Chinese into expatriate NRL groups with mixed success. They don't like to play it, Touch yes but contact no, however, they do like to watch it. They are loyal club supporters once you get your hooks into them. If I was a marketing person at the Titans, I would learn how the Chinese community communicates and then offer them incentives to get involved. They have time and money plus they are generally little trouble. Here we have the Chitans (a bit cliched but it what it is), Titanic's bbq and Jimmy's sports bar which is well branded as Titans Territory.
    Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.

  5. #5
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanic View Post
    Yes mate, we have tried to attract Chinese into expatriate NRL groups with mixed success. They don't like to play it, Touch yes but contact no, however, they do like to watch it. They are loyal club supporters once you get your hooks into them. If I was a marketing person at the Titans, I would learn how the Chinese community communicates and then offer them incentives to get involved. They have time and money plus they are generally little trouble. Here we have the Chitans (a bit cliched but it what it is), Titanic's bbq and Jimmy's sports bar which is well branded as Titans Territory.
    This is amazing. Id love to here more about it. Should organise a video of it all.
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER


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