Business of Sport: NRL’s ‘unholy row’ with its players could cost it big time

Business of Sport: NRL’s ‘unholy row’ with its players could cost it big time
Sione Katoa of the Sharks scores a try during the round 19 NRL match between Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks. (Image: Getty)
Trevor McKewen
They’re often pitched as protagonists but in modern professional sport, players’ unions and the sporting bodies their members are contracted to are linked at the hip. Players' associations became a fact of life in United States sports during the 1950s; Australia’s two big winter football codes followed in the 70s and then Australian cricket in 1997. Two years later, we had the birth of the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA). For all the criticism NZ Rugby (NZR) and the NZRPA cop, it can’t be...

More Opinion

The Money Game: Berkshire & Benjamins
Opinion

Simon Robertson: The Money Game: Berkshire & Benjamins

Fund CIOs are the most important people when the rubber meets the road.

Simon Robertson 03 May 2025
Pulling a sickie? Employers stay alert for misuse
Law & Regulation

Rachael Judge: Pulling a sickie? Employers stay alert for misuse

Employers must be careful not to jump to conclusions about an employee's activities.

Rachael Judge 02 May 2025
There is no free lunch when it comes to austerity
Economy

Cameron Bagrie: There is no free lunch when it comes to austerity

Budget 2025: Education and defence are expected to gain increased investment.

Cameron Bagrie 01 May 2025
How NZ can help the Brits go high-tech
Opinion

Peter Griffin: How NZ can help the Brits go high-tech

The faster and cheaper path to space for the UK might be Rocket Lab’s Electron rockets.

Peter Griffin 30 Apr 2025