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For all my criticisms of him, this is exactly the type of thing he should be doing in his role...
NICK POLITIS, for a long time one of rugby league's heaviest hitters, says the establishment of an independent commission to run the game would be the most important thing he has seen happen to the code.
Politis is one of three ARL nominees on the NRL partnership board, which also includes three News Limited representatives and is charged with the responsibility of running the game's finances.
The powerful Sydney Roosters chairman is also a key figure in negotiations for News Ltd and the ARL to hand control of the game to an AFL-style independent commission which would be appointed by the 16 premiership clubs.
Until now, those involved have been loath to discuss the issue publicly but Politis yesterday told the Herald how important he felt it was for the desired result to be achieved.
''It would be the biggest thing, the most important thing, to happen to rugby league that I could remember,'' said 67-year-old Politis, who began sponsoring the Roosters through his City Ford car dealership in 1976 and has been chairman of that club since 1993.
''It makes sense that it should happen. The AFL and NFL are two competitions that are built on a similar model, and look how successful those organisations are.''
Asked if he could put a time frame on when it might happen, Politis replied: ''Hopefully, sooner rather than later. That's not to say that if it's going to take a little longer to get it right that you shouldn't take that time - I mean, you don't want to work on building bridges that end up going nowhere - but it has reached the stage where both parties want to make it happen. People have been talking about this for 18 months now - they'll get brain damage if they have to keep going on for too long.''
ARL chairman Colin Love, who will be the chairman of the first eight-person commission, also spoke to the Herald yesterday. Like Politis, he refused to go into the specifics of the negotiations, but stressed the importance of getting the correct model in place.
''Everyone involved seems to agree that an independent commission would be a positive thing for rugby league,'' Love said. ''But we have to make sure we get it right. We've just celebrated the centenary of the game, and now we've got a duty to get it right for the next 100 years.''
The move to form an independent commission received unanimous support from all 16 clubs at the NRL's annual conference in Coogee yesterday. Titans chief executive Michael Searle, who has been one of the driving forces for the establishment of an independent commission, told his counterparts from the other clubs that negotiations between News Ltd and the ARL were progressing well.
''I think it's going to be one of those matters that is decided in the board room between the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd,'' Searle said. ''The 16 clubs are certainly very committed to it and we will just allow the two partners to decide which path.
''It is a decision between News Ltd and the Australian Rugby League at the end of the day and if they come up with a solution for an independent commission I think the fans of rugby league will be very pleased and so will the 16 clubs. It's an opportunity for independent people to get involved and drive the game, hopefully, to another level.''
Searle also refused to put a time frame on when negotiations would be completed, saying: ''As long as it happens in the near future that would be great.''
Meanwhile, club bosses agreed that there should be no expansion of the number of teams in the competition for the foreseeable future.
''There was unanimous support that the game needs to be able to grow the existing 'pie' so that we can increase revenue for the existing clubs, increase payments for players and increase the amount we can invest in junior development,'' NRL chief executive David Gallop said.
''Until there is a strong business case for expansion contributing to the growth of the competition it will not be part of our immediate plans''.
NICK POLITIS, for a long time one of rugby league's heaviest hitters, says the establishment of an independent commission to run the game would be the most important thing he has seen happen to the code.
Politis is one of three ARL nominees on the NRL partnership board, which also includes three News Limited representatives and is charged with the responsibility of running the game's finances.
The powerful Sydney Roosters chairman is also a key figure in negotiations for News Ltd and the ARL to hand control of the game to an AFL-style independent commission which would be appointed by the 16 premiership clubs.
Until now, those involved have been loath to discuss the issue publicly but Politis yesterday told the Herald how important he felt it was for the desired result to be achieved.
''It would be the biggest thing, the most important thing, to happen to rugby league that I could remember,'' said 67-year-old Politis, who began sponsoring the Roosters through his City Ford car dealership in 1976 and has been chairman of that club since 1993.
''It makes sense that it should happen. The AFL and NFL are two competitions that are built on a similar model, and look how successful those organisations are.''
Asked if he could put a time frame on when it might happen, Politis replied: ''Hopefully, sooner rather than later. That's not to say that if it's going to take a little longer to get it right that you shouldn't take that time - I mean, you don't want to work on building bridges that end up going nowhere - but it has reached the stage where both parties want to make it happen. People have been talking about this for 18 months now - they'll get brain damage if they have to keep going on for too long.''
ARL chairman Colin Love, who will be the chairman of the first eight-person commission, also spoke to the Herald yesterday. Like Politis, he refused to go into the specifics of the negotiations, but stressed the importance of getting the correct model in place.
''Everyone involved seems to agree that an independent commission would be a positive thing for rugby league,'' Love said. ''But we have to make sure we get it right. We've just celebrated the centenary of the game, and now we've got a duty to get it right for the next 100 years.''
The move to form an independent commission received unanimous support from all 16 clubs at the NRL's annual conference in Coogee yesterday. Titans chief executive Michael Searle, who has been one of the driving forces for the establishment of an independent commission, told his counterparts from the other clubs that negotiations between News Ltd and the ARL were progressing well.
''I think it's going to be one of those matters that is decided in the board room between the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd,'' Searle said. ''The 16 clubs are certainly very committed to it and we will just allow the two partners to decide which path.
''It is a decision between News Ltd and the Australian Rugby League at the end of the day and if they come up with a solution for an independent commission I think the fans of rugby league will be very pleased and so will the 16 clubs. It's an opportunity for independent people to get involved and drive the game, hopefully, to another level.''
Searle also refused to put a time frame on when negotiations would be completed, saying: ''As long as it happens in the near future that would be great.''
Meanwhile, club bosses agreed that there should be no expansion of the number of teams in the competition for the foreseeable future.
''There was unanimous support that the game needs to be able to grow the existing 'pie' so that we can increase revenue for the existing clubs, increase payments for players and increase the amount we can invest in junior development,'' NRL chief executive David Gallop said.
''Until there is a strong business case for expansion contributing to the growth of the competition it will not be part of our immediate plans''.
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