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NRL club bosses are fuming over reigning wooden spooners the Roosters being given free-to-air coverage for each one of their opening five matches.
Bitter rivals South Sydney yesterday led a chorus of complaint from outside Bondi, with Rabbitohs CEO Shane Richardson labelling the tricolour-heavy programming "ridiculous and totally unfair".
Along with fellow supremos, Richardson suspects the Roosters' boardroom links to the network - Channel 9 boss David Gyngell is a football club director - has delivered his neighbours a favourable deal.
"This is something a lot of people have been talking about, but it really irks me because when I first came to South Sydney [in 2005] we'd finished last the year before and only received one Channel 9 game all year.
"Now the Roosters get their first five. How's that fair?
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"And you've only got to look at their board to wonder why it's happening."
Richardson's spray is sure to inflame deep tensions before the opening round derby between the NRL's last-surviving foundation clubs. The game is one of four 3pm Sunday timeslots granted to the Roosters over the first five weeks, with their remaining free-to-air appearance being the traditional Good Friday clash against Brisbane. The Roosters' other opponents are Wests Tigers (round 2), Bulldogs (round 3) and Panthers (round 5).
"Every club wants free-to-air coverage and every club wants to play on Sunday afternoon," Richardson added. "The Roosters finish last and they get that reward four times in the first five weeks."
Officials at the Bulldogs and Eels are also miffed, given the team-by-team ratings for 2009 show Parramatta and Canterbury are in the top five clubs across all four football codes.
But Nine head of sport Steve Crawley last night defended the network's choices - and dismissed suggestions that Gyngell was directing its NRL programming.
"When you look at their opponents, I'm comfortable with what we've come up with over the first five rounds," Crawley said. "As far as David Gyngell goes, he never approaches either myself or Matt Callander [Nine executive producer] about what games we pick. I'm not even sure David knows who's playing who in the first five rounds."
Crawley is confident fans will be intrigued by how the Roosters will overcome a dreadful past 12 months with a new coach (Brian Smith) and playmaker (Todd Carney) at the helm.
"The bottom line is that everything television does is directed by ratings," Crawley said. "We wouldn't pick them if we didn't think they'd rate."
Richardson, however, said the situation was further evidence of the game's need to urgently install an independent commission.
"There are too many conflicts in rugby league at the moment," he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225819411638
Bitter rivals South Sydney yesterday led a chorus of complaint from outside Bondi, with Rabbitohs CEO Shane Richardson labelling the tricolour-heavy programming "ridiculous and totally unfair".
Along with fellow supremos, Richardson suspects the Roosters' boardroom links to the network - Channel 9 boss David Gyngell is a football club director - has delivered his neighbours a favourable deal.
"This is something a lot of people have been talking about, but it really irks me because when I first came to South Sydney [in 2005] we'd finished last the year before and only received one Channel 9 game all year.
"Now the Roosters get their first five. How's that fair?
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
"And you've only got to look at their board to wonder why it's happening."
Richardson's spray is sure to inflame deep tensions before the opening round derby between the NRL's last-surviving foundation clubs. The game is one of four 3pm Sunday timeslots granted to the Roosters over the first five weeks, with their remaining free-to-air appearance being the traditional Good Friday clash against Brisbane. The Roosters' other opponents are Wests Tigers (round 2), Bulldogs (round 3) and Panthers (round 5).
"Every club wants free-to-air coverage and every club wants to play on Sunday afternoon," Richardson added. "The Roosters finish last and they get that reward four times in the first five weeks."
Officials at the Bulldogs and Eels are also miffed, given the team-by-team ratings for 2009 show Parramatta and Canterbury are in the top five clubs across all four football codes.
But Nine head of sport Steve Crawley last night defended the network's choices - and dismissed suggestions that Gyngell was directing its NRL programming.
"When you look at their opponents, I'm comfortable with what we've come up with over the first five rounds," Crawley said. "As far as David Gyngell goes, he never approaches either myself or Matt Callander [Nine executive producer] about what games we pick. I'm not even sure David knows who's playing who in the first five rounds."
Crawley is confident fans will be intrigued by how the Roosters will overcome a dreadful past 12 months with a new coach (Brian Smith) and playmaker (Todd Carney) at the helm.
"The bottom line is that everything television does is directed by ratings," Crawley said. "We wouldn't pick them if we didn't think they'd rate."
Richardson, however, said the situation was further evidence of the game's need to urgently install an independent commission.
"There are too many conflicts in rugby league at the moment," he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225819411638
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