St George Illawarra Dragons CEO Peter Doust was amongst representatives from all NRL clubs who attended a meeting to review a range of issues ahead of the new season in Auckland on Thursday.
Much of the agenda was devoted to a benchmarking study which provides a snapshot of where clubs excel and where they can improve compared with other NRL clubs.
Clubs were invited to provide details on a range of operational matters, including finances, revenues, sponsorships and memberships so they could be compared with other clubs.
Following collaboration by the clubs, the study found that, while clubs were able to reduce overheads by 5 per cent, the net loss averaged by each club last year was $2.7 million.
The data will be used by clubs to help them improve their financial and operating performance going forward.
Other issues discussed at the meeting included:
• ARL Commission Chairman John Grant gave an update on the progress of recruitment for a new CEO. A short list of internal and external candidates is expected to be finalised soon for interview and a new CEO announced by the end of March. The start time for the successful candidate will depend on how much notice the successful candidate needs to give
• The clubs and NRL are moving closer to reaching agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding on club funding
• The RLPA outlined its organisational plans
• The NRL and CEOs agreed on a timeline to further discuss the NRL’s football pathways blueprint for the future, including the phasing out of the NYC
• The 2016 commercial plan was presented to the CEOs outlining the media and marketing plans for the upcoming year
