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Gasnier, Mark |
  Mark GASNIER [Player Stats] + Submit additional information or a correction to this player 
Where is David Gallop? Fri July 18, 2008 by Matthew O'Neill The Bulldogs introduce a positive initiative to bring in more spectators only to be shot down, the game is losing players and money by the truckload and in all of this our esteemed NRL boss has remained silent. Where is David Gallop? The News Limited publications have absolutely hammered the Bulldogs for their Polynesian promotion in enticing more spectators to their home clash against the New Zealand Warriors. News Limited are 50% owners in our game, although the way the News Limited journalists carry on you would think they are investors in destroying the code. Gallop should be actively supporting and lauding such an initiative, but he has inconspicuously silence on the topic. One has to wonder if this is because he is fearful of rocking the boat against the News Limited tidal wave. Is this the kind of behaviour we want from the leader of our great game? Earlier in the week the NRL lost Mark Gasnier to the lucrative dollars in France and never at any stage has Gallop investigated ideas of ensuring that our next generation of stars remains in the NRL for the long-term and not use the NRL as a breeding ground for overseas competitions. Roy Masters from the Fairfax publication Sydney Morning Herald yesterday revealed that Rugby League fills 64 of the top 100 Pay TV spots - including 42 in the top 50 - well ahead of the AFL with 23 spots in the top 100. Yet the NRL badly under-valued it's worth on the television box despite it being common knowledge that Rugby League is the sport best suited to the television viewer. Click here to read Masters article The AFL gets the prime Pay TV sports slot on Fox Sports 1 and their product is flooded across the Pay TV sets. They have made little headway in eating into Rugby League's market share. Despite this, the AFL continues to get the cream and the pudding whereas the NRL gets in the crumbs in comparison. Rugby League still wins the ratings. Gallop made comments recently that the AFL has teams in all five major capital cities, but he neglects a few facts. Sydney and Brisbane are two of Australia's three largest cities and the TV market is geared towards Australia's three largest cities. New South Wales and Queensland between them has more than 50% of Australia's population. There is also a substantial part of the population base not counted as "capital city" that Rugby League wins in. These are primarily the Central Coast, South Coast/Illawarra and Hunter/Newcastle regions in NSW, all of the ACT, and the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and North Queensland regions in QLD. These regions combined are almost as populace as Adelaide and Perth! Additionally, there is no rule that says a capital city must have a team in the code to be worthy of a decent free-to-air TV slot ? something that Rugby League doesn't get in three of our capital cities. We haven't even mentioned the popularity the NRL enjoys on the TV sets throughout New Zealand. When the TV and Radio rights came up for renewal a few years ago, it was essentially a closed shop. Rival bidders were not sought, despite rivals submitting unsolicited bids for the rights. This insular approach has ensured the NRL has failed to maximise the games' full potential and full reach. rleague.com exclusively revealed a further example of this insular approach last year, the NRL's bungled the internet and mobile rights deal with Telstra. As the NRL's CEO, Gallop has to accept accountability for the declining crowds, the shortfall in TV and sponsorship revenue and players' leaving the NRL for better financial deals before their time is up. One club trying to reverse the trend of declining crowds is the Bulldogs, yet they haven't received one bit of support from Mr Gallop and the NRL. Here we have a club putting forward an idea and a promotion to bring in the crowds and take the fight forward for the NRL and Rugby League - only to be ridiculed by one half of the NRL's owners. With the World Cup coming up in October and November the support from the Polynesian community is going to be crucial with teams from Tonga, Samoa and Fiji competing in the 10-team tournament. The Polynesian population in Australia is booming and is a goldmine for the NRL, and clubs such as the Bulldogs have the opportunity to cash in upon this. Saturday's promotion by the Bulldogs against the Warriors is one of a number of initiatives they are going to bring in for their home games. It would be easy in theory to throw open the gates for all people under the age of 16, but it won't have the same outcome. The Bulldogs know they needed to target an audience and playing against the Warriors this weekend is a perfect opportunity to easily tap into the booming Polynesian market. The driving force behind the promotion is Sonny Bill Williams, a player from a Polynesian background, the highest profile player in the NRL today and the best the Bulldogs have had since the legendary Terry Lamb. Williams has been courted by French RU Club Toulon in recent weeks and this initiative shows his commitment to promoting the Bulldogs and encouraging the Polynesian community to support Rugby League and the Bulldogs. The NRL can't afford to lose Williams when he is off contract in four years time and the big one for the NRL comes up in 2010 when Greg Inglis is off contract. One can only wonder if Inglis and his management timed his end of contract to fit in nicely with Australia's 2011 RU World Cup campaign. The games' leadership must be proactive and not sit on their collective hands. As current leader, Mr Gallop has to explore ways of bringing the NRL more revenue, more promotion and more forward positive thinking ideas to keep our prized players in the game. In recent weeks, I believe question marks have surfaced around whether Mr Gallop is the man to take the NRL forward into the future. Some may say, with good reason, that he's run his race and his services should be terminated sooner rather than later. Personally, I think Rugby League is the best sport and the best product in Australia, but is being run and ruined by people who couldn't organise a p**s up in a brewery! Click here to read Bulldogs editorial and statement Gasnier confirms departure from Dragons to France Tue July 15, 2008 Source: www.dragons.com.au St George Illawarra Dragons have today announced captain Mark Gasnier has decided to exercise a clause in his playing contract and leave the Dragons at the end of the 2008 season. The local junior signed a five-year playing contract in June 2006 which was to be supplemented by commitments of third party sponsors, to keep Gasnier at the Dragons and in the game of rugby league. Unfortunately after 18 months these third party commitments have not been fulfilled and Gasnier, through his manager George Mimis has been investigating opportunities outside the NRL and has agreed to terms with French Rugby Union team Stade Francais for two seasons, commencing at the end of the 2008 NRL season with the Dragons. While the process has been complex and efforts have been made on many fronts to resolve the contractual problems Gasnier has chosen to exercise a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the Dragons if the external financial commitments were not met. "To acknowledge that Mark Gasnier is leaving the Dragons and the game of rugby league is indeed a sad occasion," said Dragons Chief Executive Officer Peter Doust. "Mark is a rare talent, a St George junior who has developed into one of the games finest players. "Two years ago we worked extremely hard to keep him at our Club and in the game when he was off contract and attracting significant offers from elsewhere and over the past two years we have continued to do all could to ensure he remained a Dragon but unfortunately his decision to leave is for circumstances beyond our control," added Doust. "Mark's contributions to our Club both on and off the field have been significant and he will certainly be difficult to replace," said Doust. The Dragon's captain explained the difficulties and frustrations associated with his decision. "This definitely wasn't an easy decision to make," said Gasnier. "I love the Dragons and the Club has always been fantastic to me. "I could not have asked for any more from this Club, Peter, the Board, Nathan and the players in the way that I have been treated and looked after for my entire career," added Gasnier. "I made the decision because it became very clear to me that the commitments that were made to me and that I agreed to in 2006 involving external parties was not going to eventuate. "Everyone knows that we have a relatively short time as athletes and therefore we need to ensure that we maximise our opportunities on and off the field. "I am very grateful to the Dragons and rugby league for the support that I have had and I know that I will leave behind some great friends but I am still here now and have much of this season left to focus on with the Dragons. Gasnier made his first grade debut as a 19 year old in Round 8 of season 2000 and has represented City Origin (2001, 2003), NSW on 9 occasions and played 15 Tests. News Source: www.dragons.com.au
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