21 April 2006

Brumbies whine. The end is nigh?

| johnboy
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The ABC has a story on the whining of the Brumbies after they lost Matt Giteau to a huge sponsorship deal in Perth. (as reported in the RiotACT Rugby Podcast)

Now we’re saying we want something like a salary cap to try and protect the Super 14 franchise with the smallest commercial base in Australia (that’d be us).

Given the spectacular non-success of salary caps (without a draft to support them), and the self-interest of the richer unions, I think our chances of getting the cap are between buckley’s and none.

So let’s look down the track shall we? With rugby’s every-growing corporate stature Brisbane, Sydney and Perth business keeps backing truckloads of cash to the Brumbies players doors. In three years time we’re back to a team of misfits and rejects, only this time talent keeps walking out the door instead of building (think the Raiders).

And then Melbourne puts it’s hand up to host some Brumbies games, with all sorts of sponsorship deals for Brumbies players in Melbourne.

I think we can see where this is going can’t we?

The problem is there aren’t very many major head-offices in Canberra. And they’re the sort of things you have to have, to do these kind of sponsorship deals. There are only four cities in Australia with a genuine head-office corporate culture. That’s Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. If it’s any consolation Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin don’t cut the mustard either.

It was fun while it lasted.

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act should swap brumbies with melbourne, then we can have the afl kangaroos here.

note they are no longer the act brumbies.

‘last’ or ‘lost’?

“By the way, who was the last Canberra born/educated star for the Brumbies?”

That would be Giteau

Absent Diane4:15 pm 21 Apr 06

or at least the kookas

Absent Diane4:13 pm 21 Apr 06

didn’t he have a brother that played for brumbies as well…..

Growling Ferret4:11 pm 21 Apr 06

From his Biography at Ulster

A latecomer to the game, he did not start playing rugby until after he left school and in 1994 he made the ACT U21s and then the Australian Universities team. The following year he went on to play in the Australian U21s team and made his debut for the ACT against NSW B and he made his Super 12 debut with the Brumbies in 1997

Sounds like a Canberra boy to me!

Growling Ferret4:08 pm 21 Apr 06

I was under the impression that Justin Harrison went to Hawker College – or my normally reliable friend was full of crap…

harrison was originally from the Nth coast. he was picked up by the brumbies after he starred in Aussie Uni games team.

Sam Norton Knight?
Fai’ainga(sp) brothers, currently in Aussie u/19’s are just a few off the top pf my head.

Growling Ferret3:21 pm 21 Apr 06

Since day dot the Brumbies were competitive with the unusual mix of half a dozen locals, with the rest of the team made up of others deemed ‘too old/too slow/unwanted’ by their home states, and a bunch of kids taking their chances.

Now the Force has come along, the player pool is again diluted – and the $$, contra and weather on offer elsewhere are all against the Brumbies.

I agree with JB – the Brumbies will be basket cases like the Raiders within a couple of years.

By the way, who was the last Canberra born/educated star for the Brumbies? Its a long time since the kids of Canberra became Wallabies at about the same time – think Gregan/Larkham/Roff/Kafer/Harrison…

Happy to be corrected if the next batch are coming through and I’m oblivious to it all…

Jb, I suspect its more of trend to get into dynamic advertising. Rather than have a few mugshots on the telly, there is an increasing trend to vlaue add to the dollars that are being spent on branding and advertising. A jersey with your corporate logo will hang around a fair bit longer than an add with limited topical appeal.

because the corporate dollars are a lot more interested in rugby than they were a decade ago.

Why is it more of a problem now, though? The Brumbies have been around – and more than that, they’ve been a power – for 10 years, and Canberra hasn’t had the corporate headquarters that whole time. Is it really the end?

they’ve been able to keep Bernie who is the highest paid player on $900k+ for the last 10 years, but I think that has more to do with his desire to stay in Canberra as he doesn’t even bother talking to other clubs anymore

If you arn’t winning Canberrans are not interested..

for those that missed the comment I added to the podcast story

Well heres another scoop, the Git is set to be the first million dollar player, along with his 5 bedroom penthouse suite in Cottesloe at $500 a week, and guess who his neighbour is? Thats right Matt Henjak.

Totally agree JB, and as I have just finished saying on the topic of AFL:

Cannons, Cosmos, Bushrangers… anyone see a theme?

well bugger me.

our exclusive from the podcast is that the ink is dry on the contract.

The ABC article says ‘may have’, yet you have written gits off as leaving. Which one is it?

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