Knights Strip $3 million from Operting Budget

[Newtown]

Newcastle Knights streamline budget as club plans to return to community
November 25, 2014 12:00AM

NEWCASTLE Knights have stripped close to $3 million from their operating budget for next season with the NRL agreeing to underwrite the club’s financial position for the next three years as it transitions out of private ownership and back to a community owned club.

The Knights newly appointed independent board, under the chairmanship of Hunter Valley vigneron Brian McGuigan, met for the first time on Monday and director and former ARL boss John Quayle said he is confident about the club’s long-term financial viability post-Nathan Tinkler.

“A strong competition with the Knights is just vital to the long-term future of the game and the good thing is what the league has acknowledged here — it is a community-based team,” Quayle said. “The first stage is getting the structure in place that makes sure the long term viability of the Knights is secure.

“You can’t do that over one year. You have to take that over a period of time. If we get that right first up, the rest flows. “(It needs) good governance, a good strategic plan long term because no longer can a team survive just year to year. “The first thing is to get our spending in line with what we make. That will be the key. “The good thing about this structure is the league own us. They can’t own us long term but have made it quite clear they want us to take our time in getting the structure right.”

 

[Newtown]

It looks like Wests Tigers are not alone in planning for better times.

 

[Tigerdon]

should be easy to strip $3mil from the knights with Bennett done.
didn't they sign him for $4mil.

 

[supercoach]

should be easy to strip $3mil from the knights with Bennett done.
didn't they sign him for $4mil.

So true, no Boyd and no Darius will save a truck load of dollars, Stone will be on the same sort of dollars Potter was on and that amounts to what a bog average backrower gets a year.

I wonder if the NRL have given teams like the Tigers,Knights and Dragons some sort of demands other than the implementation of the independent board. Because all three are very quite in the player market and have shed some big contracts.

 

[Newtown]

should be easy to strip $3mil from the knights with Bennett done.
didn't they sign him for $4mil.

So true, no Boyd and no Darius will save a truck load of dollars, Stone will be on the same sort of dollars Potter was on and that amounts to what a bog average backrower gets a year.

I wonder if the NRL have given teams like the Tigers,Knights and Dragons some sort of demands other than the implementation of the independent board. Because all three are very quite in the player market and have shed some big contracts.

I agree. To me the policy of not buying any new players for up to two years was not Jason's Taylor's policy but an order from the NRL to Wests Tigers " to get your house in order before you spend anymore money or you will lose NRL support".

 

[cqtiger]

I'd have thought the opposite. If an average team can't buy players to be more competitive then it is counterproductive all round.

The NRL should be ensuring a level playing field for all registered clubs. This is not possible when some teams actually get biased advantages - broncos and regular Friday night games spring to mind. OK that is from the TV networks requests but to be truly fair it can't continue.

Scrapping the current salary cap would be on my priority list too. Every boy and his dog knows that it is not fair in it's current state. I don't want to drag down the top clubs but it is not a fair system. There are too many biased options. Player A will play for a top team for far less money than a lower performing team? Is it purely because the top team is run more professionally or are there other things at play here?

There would still be hiccups in a points style cap but surely it would be far more manageable than the current salary setup.

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.1.4_

 

[GNR4LIFE]

should be easy to strip $3mil from the knights with Bennett done.
didn't they sign him for $4mil.

If they did, it wasn't a yearly salary.

 

[alexaki]

should be easy to strip $3mil from the knights with Bennett done.
didn't they sign him for $4mil.

So true, no Boyd and no Darius will save a truck load of dollars, Stone will be on the same sort of dollars Potter was on and that amounts to what a bog average backrower gets a year.

I wonder if the NRL have given teams like the Tigers,Knights and Dragons some sort of demands other than the implementation of the independent board. Because all three are very quite in the player market and have shed some big contracts.

I agree. To me the policy of not buying any new players for up to two years was not Jason's Taylor's policy but an order from the NRL to Wests Tigers " to get your house in order before you spend anymore money or you will lose NRL support".

Players Salarys come from the NRL grant every club get the same grant amount… Other income received from the club; sponsorship, merchandise etc. goes to pay the running of the club

_Posted using RoarFEED 4.1.4_

 

[innsaneink]

should be easy to strip $3mil from the knights with Bennett done.
didn't they sign him for $4mil.

So true, no Boyd and no Darius will save a truck load of dollars, Stone will be on the same sort of dollars Potter was on and that amounts to what a bog average backrower gets a year.

I wonder if the NRL have given teams like the Tigers,Knights and Dragons some sort of demands other than the implementation of the independent board. Because all three are very quite in the player market and have shed some big contracts.

I agree. To me the policy of not buying any new players for up to two years was not Jason's Taylor's policy but an order from the NRL to Wests Tigers " to get your house in order before you spend anymore money or you will lose NRL support".

Hmmm…an interesting hypothetical newtown....I wonder if there is such a directive

 

[happy_tiger]

I'm thinking that would be a restriction of trade and highly illegal

More likely the NRL will have told them that if they can't get their ship in order , they have plenty of other options to choose from or to relocate them elsewhere

Let the Knights make the right call by giving them no other call to make

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I'm thinking that would be a restriction of trade and highly illegal

More likely the NRL will have told them that if they can't get their ship in order , they have plenty of other options to choose from or to relocate them elsewhere

Let the Knights make the right call by giving them no other call to make

Is it restraint of trade when the NRL are essentially helping fund the club?

As Ink said, interesting point as to whether the club has been told to reshape it's operations and balance the books before splurging on signings, especially with Anasta claiming he and other players are being dudded in their pay cheques.

If this is the case (and it is just speculation,) I wonder why Cronulla wasn't treated the same way. Haven't they also received assistance from the NRL also, and they've signed a whole swarm of high profile players in the last few years.

 

[Geo]

I think I have to get some more shares in the Tin Foil company….

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Ease up Geo, it's just a theory.

 

[happy_tiger]

I'm thinking that would be a restriction of trade and highly illegal

More likely the NRL will have told them that if they can't get their ship in order , they have plenty of other options to choose from or to relocate them elsewhere

Let the Knights make the right call by giving them no other call to make

Is it restraint of trade when the NRL are essentially helping fund the club?

As Ink said, interesting point as to whether the club has been told to reshape it's operations and balance the books before splurging on signings, especially with Anasta claiming he and other players are being dudded in their pay cheques.

If this is the case (and it is just speculation,) I wonder why Cronulla wasn't treated the same way. Haven't they also received assistance from the NRL also, and they've signed a whole swarm of high profile players in the last few years.

Your theory would be a bit like a bank giving a business loan to a restaurant owner and then telling him he can't buy any food ,cooking utensils or ovens

They would of been given some ideas or areas to improve on obviously , but telling them who they can or can't sign just wouldn't cut it

 

[innsaneink]

Maybe they were just "advised" to tighten the purse strings….With any loan there are restrictions and the.golden rule could apply. ..we are only thinking out loud here

_Posted using RoarFEED Android 1.1.5_

 

[happy_tiger]

Maybe they were just "advised" to tighten the purse strings….With any loan there are restrictions and the.golden rule could apply. ..we are only thinking out loud here

_Posted using RoarFEED Android 1.1.5_

And that makes perfect sense Ink

 

[hammertime]

It looks like Wests Tigers are not alone in planning for better times.

Has anyone seen the list of board members for the knights? I'm from Newcastle and know a few of them. It's a very impressive bunch of people.

The Knights will go from strength to strength with this mob in charge. I'm sure the $3mil cut was operating fat and/or Bennetts paycheck.

I hope the Tigers are looking at similar cuts. Although, I can't imagine we have too much over-expenditure.