KooGa to kit out the Brumbies

Growling Ferret said :

The two Swans Premiership games each year generally draw crowds of over 10,000, with FTA TV live against the gate. If TV was not live against the gate and on a half hour delay as it is in EVERY other market nationwide, I would assume the crowds would grow to capacity.

The two pre-season games generally draw small crowds but this is the case with all AFL pre-season matches. Part of the ACT Govt deal also sees the participating clubs perform school camps with high profile players leading up to each match.

Back to the Brumbies – The $700k was on top of the subsidies that the ACT Govt already give them with Griffith Oval, subsidised used of Bruce Stadium and general sponsorship from Govt entities ACTEWAGL and (previously) Rhodium disguised as corporate hospitality.

I agree wtih 2604 – the imported players that now make up the Brumbies should learn to live within their means. As an aside, how many of the current best 15 are Canberra born and bred players? The days of Gregan, Roff, Harrison, Kafer as locals are long gone…

Sorry Growling,

I wasn’t aware the crowds for the actual Sydney games were so high, even still the Brumbers were hitting the 14,000+ averages over the course of this year. Maybe there has been more of a shift than I thought (the joys of un-educated rabble/guessing).

I’m still all for the Local Government supporting local sport, I can assume the need for the extra money would also stem from the higher salaries within the Super14 system? I understand the need for players to live within their means, but surely we wouldn’t want the problems the NRL is having? I mean, the overseas rugby clubs aren’t specifically targeting our well payed rugby players are they?

Yes, the squad does have more “imported” talent from other Super14 clubs than it used to, but we’ve still got one of the best junior development systems in the country. It isn’t hard to see just how popular the lower grade rugby comps are…

I suppose at the end of the day it’s each to their own? Sure, the local government is spending more money on a local team than the others. But all that extra money being spent is staying here with players and the club/it’s sponsers, not going to Sydney or anywhere else for that matter.

I’m still of the opinion that the absolute best Rugby gear is made by Canterbury. My jersey that is Cannterbury made still looks immaculate after numerous washes and is good quality hard wearing gear. All these flash in the pan suppliers come and go but the quality still remains with tried and tested manufacturers.

justbands said :

> how many of the current best 15 are Canberra born and bred players?

Giteau, Huia Edmonds, Lealiifano & Toomua are ones I know are local…I’m sure there are others.

Toomua is from Queensland.

Lealiifaano is from Victoria.

Ben Alexander is not originally from Canberra but studied at UC and played for Uni-Norths at Colt level.

Tyrone Smith went to St Edmunds.

Locals would include Giteau, Kimlin, Vanderglas, Edmonds, and Shepherdson.

There are many more in the Brumbies academy.

The Brumbies’ would’ve been fine if they hadn’t of received the $700K.

However, all of their local junior development programs would probably have been scrapped as that’s where the money was going.

> how many of the current best 15 are Canberra born and bred players?

Giteau, Huia Edmonds, Lealiifano & Toomua are ones I know are local…I’m sure there are others.

But let me get this correct – You would rather spend $500k on some out of state AFL teams that are:-
a) hardly supported by Canberra to play all of two games a year;
b) only draw small crowds as they are competing with an NRL/Super 14 dominated Canberra market – even having said this, look at how many people actually go to the Raiders’ homegames… (that are actually Canberra supporters at least).

But hey, spending 700k to bail out our local team, who have enjoyed relative success and decent crowds (although not as large as they used to be) does seem rather pointless when we compare it with your example.

The two Swans Premiership games each year generally draw crowds of over 10,000, with FTA TV live against the gate. If TV was not live against the gate and on a half hour delay as it is in EVERY other market nationwide, I would assume the crowds would grow to capacity.

The two pre-season games generally draw small crowds but this is the case with all AFL pre-season matches. Part of the ACT Govt deal also sees the participating clubs perform school camps with high profile players leading up to each match.

Back to the Brumbies – The $700k was on top of the subsidies that the ACT Govt already give them with Griffith Oval, subsidised used of Bruce Stadium and general sponsorship from Govt entities ACTEWAGL and (previously) Rhodium disguised as corporate hospitality.

I agree wtih 2604 – the imported players that now make up the Brumbies should learn to live within their means. As an aside, how many of the current best 15 are Canberra born and bred players? The days of Gregan, Roff, Harrison, Kafer as locals are long gone…

emd said :

If we didn’t have the Brumbies, there would only be the Raiders for Canberra boys to support – and I don’t fancy my son idolising rugby league players.

So what you’re saying is that the Brumbies should exist so that your son can be protected from the bad influence of league players. Isn’t that your job? I somehow doubt that every child who attends a league game will be inspired by what he/she sees on the field to turn into a Todd Carney-style wild child.

Also, have you actually met, or can you even name any current Raiders players? Here’s a hint – Todd Carney and Mal Meninga aren’t among them. Alan Tongue, Dave Shillington, Bronson Harrison and Josh Miller, for example, are all true gentlemen and people that I’d be happy for my kids to look up to.

I also love how any criticism of the ACT Government’s decision to bail out the Brumbies somehow turns into a discussion about how the Raiders put fewer bums on seats than the Brumbies. All those extra ticket sales obviously didn’t stop the Brumbies from going broke, did they? I’d be livid if I paid $245 for seven games of footy and then still had to have my tax $$$ bailing out the same team. Somehow the Raiders can offer their members 12 games for $30 less and still survive on a much smaller subsidy from the gov’t. The Brumbies should learn to live within their means.

I have nothing new to add to this particular topic but I did snort coffee through my nose when mred was embarassed by quoting The Age but didn’t bat an eyelid about the fact that it came via the IPA.

Then why drop the ACT from the name?

H1NG0 said :

The CA Brumbies are such a great icon for Canberra. So much that they dropped this region from their name. At least the Canberra Raiders recognise their home.

Thry’ve got the ACT coat of arms on their jersey.

No other Australian team in the Super 14 feature their state emblem on their uniform.

The CA Brumbies are such a great icon for Canberra. So much that they dropped this region from their name. At least the Canberra Raiders recognise their home.

Growling Ferret said :

MRed

I didn’t and still don’t believe the ACT Govt should have used $700k of ACT taxpayers dollars to bail out a professional sporting organisation who failed to receive promised sponsorship dollars.

I am into assistance for sporting events – I supported the Canberra 400 even though it was the wrong event in the wrong location at the wrong time of the year. I support the ACT Government paying $500k per annum to bring AFL to Canberra, accepting it is the going rate for AFL matches these days.

I support the subsidising of professional sport at Bruce – league, union, soccer. But paying out $20 for every man woman and child of the ACT to bail out a sporting team because the club failed to do the required checks on the sponsoring business to see if they were a viable entity – no thanks.

Agreed in the fact that the Brumbies should have gone through the check/balance process with ISC…

But let me get this correct – You would rather spend $500k on some out of state AFL teams that are:-
a) hardly supported by Canberra to play all of two games a year;
b) only draw small crowds as they are competing with an NRL/Super 14 dominated Canberra market – even having said this, look at how many people actually go to the Raiders’ homegames… (that are actually Canberra supporters at least).

But hey, spending 700k to bail out our local team, who have enjoyed relative success and decent crowds (although not as large as they used to be) does seem rather pointless when we compare it with your example.

Oh, by the way… Kooga kitting out the Brumbies in 2010 has been public since late April 2009.
And I’m wondering what conditions their gear is made under – it’s made in China – as it would be good to see sports teams supporting fair manufacturing ethics.

If we didn’t have the Brumbies, there would only be the Raiders for Canberra boys to support – and I don’t fancy my son idolising rugby league players. Having top-level sports teams promotes good things to our kids – physical fitness, good sportsmanship, being famous for DOING something.

Growling Ferret said :

I didn’t and still don’t believe the ACT Govt should have used $700k of ACT taxpayers dollars to bail out a professional sporting organisation who failed to receive promised sponsorship dollars.[/quote[

Id also like to point out, that $700k was on top of the $1mil the govt had already given them.

Growling Ferret said :

I am into assistance for sporting events – I supported the Canberra 400 even though it was the wrong event in the wrong location at the wrong time of the year. I support the ACT Government paying $500k per annum to bring AFL to Canberra, accepting it is the going rate for AFL matches these days.

Its one thing to be giving start-up money for a new sport such as GMC 400 or baseball or whatever, in order to get the team/sport started, but its different to be subsidising teams that have fully paying members, who can almost fill a stadium every game, yet somehow seem to be millions out of budget.

Id also like to note that on top of the $500k the govt is giving to AFL, theyre also making plenty from ticket sales, so theyre basically taking money from the ACT twice, once from those who go to watch the games, and once from the taxpayers who may or may not care about the game at all. If they want the govt to pay half a mil for a second rate game, the least they could do is drop the price of the tickets. Im sure the Victorian govt doesnt have to pump millions into the AFL to keep the games and teams from going broke.

Infantile? perhaps, but still better then yours.

Here’s the top Google hit on ‘Causes of the NSW downturn’ (and yes I’m a little embarrassed to link to an Age article):
http://www.ipa.org.au/news/1752/victoria-must-position-itself-to-dodge-nsw-fallout

No mention of the Olympics what so ever.

The lack of money in the NSW budget is an effect of the downturn (less taxes), not a result of Olympic spending.

KooGa don’t need to produce the cash owed by ISC – ISC does. According to press reports last week ISC were working around the clock to produce Parra jerseys in the lead up to the GF. Surely they would now have enough cash in thier coffers to pay up to the Brumbies what their contract bound them to – and the ACT Gov can be refunded accordingly.

But that would be wishful thinking wouldn’t it?

Well then Mred, your understanding in infantile.

You might have noticed the electricity privatisation debate, essentially an effort to finally pay off the howling black hole of the olympics, has been running rather longer than the GFC.

JB – “. . .the Olympics converted NSW from the economic powerhouse of the nation to a ruined basket case “.

Did you pull that out of a cereal box? My understanding is that NSW is currently flagging due to it’s enormous financial services industry meltdown (There haven’t been too many people throwing money into the share market / super over the last 18 months) and a massive housing bubble halt (soon to be bust).

Haven’t we already been over this discussion?

The money that the ACT Government loaned out to the Brumbies was for the local junior development programs that would’ve suffered from the collapse of ISC.

“Are you also against the many millions in tourist dollars (and the multiplier effect of those dollars on our local economy) that the sport brings to Canberra every year? Maybe, based on the same argument, we should also never host events like the Olympics in Australia again?”

MRed

I didn’t and still don’t believe the ACT Govt should have used $700k of ACT taxpayers dollars to bail out a professional sporting organisation who failed to receive promised sponsorship dollars.

I am into assistance for sporting events – I supported the Canberra 400 even though it was the wrong event in the wrong location at the wrong time of the year. I support the ACT Government paying $500k per annum to bring AFL to Canberra, accepting it is the going rate for AFL matches these days.

I support the subsidising of professional sport at Bruce – league, union, soccer. But paying out $20 for every man woman and child of the ACT to bail out a sporting team because the club failed to do the required checks on the sponsoring business to see if they were a viable entity – no thanks.

ps – Kooga make nice looking kits. I assume there will be a slight change in design again this year to promote new kit sales?

Considering the Olympics converted NSW from the economic powerhouse of the nation to a ruined basket case you might want to choose your examples more carefully.

The economic case for subsidy of professional sport is pretty unconvincing.

dvaey said – ‘Im an anti ‘lets spend tax money propping up a business running at a loss’ type.’

Are you also against the many millions in tourist dollars (and the multiplier effect of those dollars on our local economy) that the sport brings to Canberra every year? Maybe, based on the same argument, we should also never host events like the Olympics in Australia again?

The Brumbies bring a bit of life to Canberra, as well as a lot of economic sense.

You can’t quantify what having a sporting team like the Brumbies associated with Canberra, does for the town. Why just having ACT Brumbies as the name … oh wait.

well, if we didn’t give them money, they’d never be able to afford quality staff, players, playing arenas, accountants … oh wait.

Its not the sponsors shortfalls, its the club that need to be accountable for shortfalls

vg said :

But I’m gathering you’re one of those anti-sport types

Im an anti ‘lets spend tax money propping up a business running at a loss’ type. Not anti sport, just anti commercialised sport that always seems to need handouts, but the brumbies arent alone in that category.

bd84 said :

The Storm’s kit is produced by Kooga, perhaps some good luck will rub off on the Brumbies?

That would be a distinct possibility – if the Brumbies could also attract players as skillful as Billy Slater and Greg Inglis.

KooGa are quite big in the UK but only do a couple of NRL teams – from memory, the Storm and Newcastle. The main distinguishing feature of their jerseys is that, rather than printing the design onto the jersey, KooGa sews the design on – ie each colour on the jersey is a separate, sewn-in panel. Looks classy.

The Storm’s kit is produced by Kooga, perhaps some good luck will rub off on the Brumbies?

jackal said :

KooGa? Maybe cougar Charmyne Palavi could be the face of the company, given she has (had) ties to the Brumbies.

Boom, boom.

Well played that man

If you knew what you were talking about you’d know that the new sponsors won’t make up the old sponsors shortfalls.

But I’m gathering you’re one of those anti-sport types

KooGa? Maybe cougar Charmyne Palavi could be the face of the company, given she has (had) ties to the Brumbies.

So does this mean they’ll be refunding the $700k they grabbed from the ACT government (and their fans) after International Sporting Clothing stopped supplying them? Something tells me, I dont think we should hold our breath.

There’s already pictures on the site with some players in the new kit.

The Wallabies and the Reds are also going with Kooga.