The State of the game Post Gallop

[Allan]

I hope this is a new and interesting thread. In the Tele this morning (can't find it online) there was an article with graphs comparing memberships and crowd figures for AFL and NRL in 2002 and 2011. On both counts AFL was massively ahead but the growth rates for NRL over the period were nearly double for NRL over AFL. Of course NRL started with a lower base.

It got me to thinking, how well did Gallop do?

Wins:

1. Crowds up 40%
2. Memberships up
3. TV viewership up
4. New clubs
5. New image of players as responsible community workers


Losses:

1. AFL substantially higher tv revenue with lower tv viewer numbers
2. No national competition
3. Several clubs at or near financial disaster
4. Top club stripped of premierships
5. "Wrestling" and Storm tactics generally have slowed game to a walk


On the whole I would have to say he has done a 6.5/10 job. There is so much room for improvement.

 

[Paint.]

Not sure if 4 is a loss, it was a punishment dealt by the NRL to a team who cheated.
Also 5 isnt really Gallop's fault, he's not the one enforcing the on-field rules or coaching the teams.

 

[Allan]

4. Happened on his watch. Cheating the cap for one season is bad but cheating it to the extent they did for so many seasons is evident of a flaw in the stewardship of the game.

5 No he isn't a referee but he was the man at the top who watched a trend develop that damaged the product. He had options to stop it but let it go.

 

[Bob dog]

Glad to see the back of the 'Goggle head' really, didn't handle every issue properly, League sells itself anyway, just like it did a hundred years ago.

 

[OITENTA-E-NOVE]

plus: brought in toyota cup

 

[Pom_81]

Gallop for me gets a solid 7.5/10.

He has had to deal with the Super League war as well as the Storm cheating. He has been through a lot, and I think he was a good CEO.

That's about fair. He was not great for the game, but he wasn't awful either. About par for the course.

The criticism he got over the Melbourne scandal was amazing. I thought he handled that superbly. I hated how the club were so indignant as if they were victims and Gus Gould led a crusade to portray them as martyrs because they were good to watch. Gallop deserved none of the stick he got for that.

 

[TJ]

To me Gallop's time was not good when you look back on everything that has happened. To me all the positives that have happened have been a windfall of somebody elses success. Eg. memberships and crowds are as a result of clubs putting in the initiative, the tv viewers are because the NRL has a great product and commercially it grew by default, it hasnt been helped by any strategy.

Almost every year there is a pull back in marketing strategy and some event that happens which brings the game into disrepute, everyone is always breaching salary cap and rule changes bring about more 'grey areas' which seems to be the growing catch phrase for referees wanting to put the blame somewhere else.

Alot of people are quick to defend him saying that the bad things arent fully his fault, i question whether they would have happened under a good well respected leader of the game.

Then at the same time how can you say the growth of the game has been due to him? to me its by default that this game has grown and you can see that because of the numbers AFL has compared to us, they had a proper strategy which moved the game further, whereas ours is treading water.

Just think if Todd Greenburg had 10 years as NRL CEO what sort of legacy he would have left, then you have your answer.

David Gallop's time in the job was poor and he should have been shown the door a long time ago.

 

[Moe]

plus: brought in toyota cup

which is a negative imo.


Gallop was just good at cleaning up sh*t. He is a lawyer who is good at wording things.

My main critism of him is that he was reactive rather than proactive. I won't say anything else.

 

[Dex]

4. Happened on his watch. Cheating the cap for one season is bad but cheating it to the extent they did for so many seasons is evident of a flaw in the stewardship of the game.

I disagree. Having a second set of books is hard to come by. At the end of the day, they found out about it, and i 100% support their decision.

 

[PantherPower83]

Gallop was a great manager of the code, however not such a great leader.

During Gallops reign, I as a supporter of rugby league fail to see what his vision, direction and aspirations for the game are/were.

Comments about the reactive nature of his tenure doesnt surprise me.

 

[bLaQDoG..]

When did the Kennel become a bunch of Corporate Job Analysts?

I don't know how any of you can come to the conclusion that he did his job well, or very poorly for that matter. The job description of a CEO is too much for most on here to fathom, let alone carry it all out. Personally, I can't stand him purely for his say on a lot of matters. Not on his position as a CEO.

 

[Fully Sik Drop kick]

i still remember his smug arrogant face when he came out with the bulldogs salary cap breaches in 2002, it's like he wanted to make a name for himself as a big shot CEO