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'Tis the cusp of a new season and time to put old rancours behind and embrace the new.
In the spirit of renewal and revival I have been lurking here of late to gauge the feel and the vibe of the place, and must say that a certain spring in the pace, a certain verve, a certain edge in the discourse, has been missing.
True, Phantom and The Whole Truth have attempted to lead the charge for the dissidents in a somewhat desultory and disillusioned manner, but they really bear no comparison to the warhorses of seasons past. A smattering of north of the river reactionaries have now ensconced themselves easily and effectively as the scions of the establishment and have carried all before them.
So let me attempt to move things along, hopefully into a future where aggression, ridicule, obfuscation, hypocrisy and sanctimony are not reserved exclusively for the use of the establishment's representatives and it's hangers on.
Anyway, I understand there was a council meeting at RugbyWA last night, and that one of the items on the agenda was the parlous state of the ARU's finances. It seems that the $30,000,000 plus windfall that the Union received from the Lions Tour has been all but dissipated, thanks largely to the $10,000,000 they had to pay to bail out the Rebels and save them from the receivers, and no doubt also to the largesse extended to the other Eastern seaboard franchises.
So bad is the situation that the ARU have exhorted the state Unions to levy a fee of approximately $400 per senior team (about $2000 - $3000 per club) for the privilege of being able to play the game, with these extra monies being payable directly to ARU coffers. To sweeten this shit sandwich the clubs were informed that the levy was going to be $1200 or more per team, but thanks to the persuasive powers of the state unions this was reduced to a more "acceptable" level of extortion.
Maybe Rockingham weren't as silly as we all thought in reducing the number of senior sides they field ...
Well, carry on, and happy new year to all.