April Fool’s Day lived up to its name 30 years ago when the News Limited-backed Super League officially declared war on the establishment ARL, burning more than a billion dollars on obscene player contracts and futile airfares, as two billionaires, Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Packer, fought over pay TV rights for three bitter years, eventually deciding to share them.

The waste in a conflict that became known as “Super Greed” was such that ARL chair Ken Arthurson lamented, “The money we spend on lawyers could fund the development of the game for a year.”

The trigger factor for the war was an earlier decision by Arthurson and his chief executive John Quayle to admit three new clubs from Perth, Townsville and a second Brisbane one into the 1995 competition.

Only one club was expected to be chosen to join newcomer Auckland but with three of them needing players, there was enormous inflationary pressure imposed on the incumbents to retain their top talent, leading to fractures across the game.

Eight clubs joined Super League and ten remained with the ARL. Similar inflationary threats exist now with Papua New Guinea and possibly a Perth team set to join the NRL by 2027, with expansion to 20 clubs mooted.

But back in 1995, half the ARL clubs were broke, making them vulnerable targets for News Limited largesse. By contrast, all 17 of today’s clubs have their salary caps funded by the NRL, as well as receiving a $5m administration grants. However, the new Port Moresby team has been offered generous tax concessions to attract players and Perth is yet to find a backer to fund about $30m a year in operational........

© Brisbane Times