News 
 Local News 
 Sport 
 Rugby League 
 Gallop has faith sponsors will continue to support the NRL 

Gallop has faith sponsors will continue to support the NRL

23 May, 2009 11:03 AM
NRL chief executive David Gallop is confident sponsors will stick by the game through the current spate of off-field incidents, but has warned future troublemakers face heavy punishment.

Sponsors have put the NRL on notice to clean up its act after a raft of scandals recently, putting the future of clubs and the game as a whole under threat.

Cronulla's major sponsor LG Electronics announced on Thursday it would not renew its $750,000-a-year deal at season's end while two of the game's biggest backers, Aussie Home Loans and Telstra, have also been reconsidering their support of the game.

Gallop met with Aussie's John Symond yesterday and the company agreed to continue its sponsorship of the State of Origin series.

But the NRL boss said Aussie, and all the game's sponsors, remained concerned and wanted assurance players would be made responsible for their actions.

''Pleasingly, John and his team see the fit for his company and the millions of people that follow rugby league,'' Gallop said.

''But we certainly agree that there are issues that are of concern to Aussie and their association with the game and we agree that our clubs and our players need to be accountable for their actions.''

Gallop warned players who continued to misbehave were putting the game's future at risk and would be dealt with severely.

''Our players should not need any reminding that if anything further happens to damage the reputation of the game, then the pressure to deal with that heavily will be intense.''

He said the NRL remained in daily contact with its sponsors, including Telstra which has ordered a review of its $12million sponsorship but was confident the game could overcome its challenges.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times

Print
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size

Most popular articles

Australian Running Festival

Feb Best Buys


The Canberra Times







Weather brought to you by:

Weatherzone

Classifieds

Front Page

Current Issue
Privacy Policy | Conditions of Use | Advertising Terms | Copyright © 2012. Fairfax Media.
 SEND...
 SAVE...
 SHARE...