Packers Reportedly Make Partnership with Australian Rugby Club
The chairman of a prospective Australian professional rugby team said his team would become a "sister club" with the Green Bay Packers.
I don't know how much stock to put into this, but it was too interesting to resist posting.
The Packers have apparently made a partnership with a prospective team in Australia's National Rugby League (NRL), according to a recent interview airing 612 ABC in Brisbane, Aus. with Geoff Murphy, chairman of the bid committee for a Central Queensland NRL club.
I use the word prospective because Central Queensland does not even have a team in the NRL yet. They are hoping to become an expansion team in the popular professional rugby league.
It would be a little bit like Los Angeles making a partnership for their non-existant NFL team team with a rugby team overseas.
As the story goes, Geoff Murphy traveled to Green Bay this past December to visit with Packers president Mark Murphy (no relation) to learn more about how the Packers have managed to become such a successful professional sports franchise in a rural area.
Central Queensland is faced with a similar situation, how to gain such a passionate following and attain success despite being a small-market team.
If Central Queensland is lucky enough to gain entry into the NRL, they will form a relationship with the Packers as Geoff Murphy explained in the interview.
"I asked (Mark Murphy) if they would become a sister club with us, and they've agreed to that," said Geoff Murphy. "Also, we're going to exchange players, and we're going to exchange training staff, etc. when we get up and going. And Mark Murphy has also agreed to come across for Kickoff. I've got him pinned down for Kickoff in 2015."
As someone who lived in Australia, albeit briefly, I can confidently say the popularity of the NRL in Australia rivals that of the NFL in the U.S.A. on a relative scale, and there are indeed elite athletes in their league.
That being said, I'm not sure how a "player exchange" would work. The punters that Australia are known for are those who play primarily Australian rules football, not rugby.
And I can't ever imagine the Packers ever loaning a player they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) to a rugby team unless it's for nothing than the sake of publicity and a photo-op.
One more thing of note in the interview with Geoff Murphy, he said he thought the Packers would buy back any shares of stock in the team for $2. I did not know that.
In any case, I encourage listening to the interview.
Comments (12)
February 09, 2012 at 09:44 pm
Yes, but the key is that aussiepacker must be just beaming...
February 09, 2012 at 10:43 pm
I am cheers tommyboy
February 09, 2012 at 11:01 pm
I heard about this the other day but was unsure how true it was. It is very interesting to see how it all unfolds, But they are not a show in to be excepted into the comp as there is a few candidates. Haveing the packers support them can only help there cause though. As for player exchange i really dont understand how that would work as i doubt their would be anyone that would cut it as a punter and and the biggest men in our league are 230-250 pounds and not fast enough for a running back and i would think the pure transition to say LB or even FB would be just to long to gain any benifite from. Switching trainers could be a interesting thing as both codes could probally benifit from this (Especially the packers with there tackling). I would be torn as i already have a nrl team and dont even live in Queensland (about a 20hr drive away) and to make matters worse as im from NSW Queensland teams are the same as the packers playing a rival. Probally not as bad as the vikings but maybe as bad as the cowboys. Hope this does come to happen though.
February 09, 2012 at 11:49 pm
All I know is you guys are nuts. The wife and I met a group from Australia that had a couple with them from New Zealand when we went to Cabo. Awesome crew, they were just bashing the "Kiwi", in good fun of course. I can drink... But that crew was no joke, great time!
February 10, 2012 at 10:24 am
The real potential here is not in player exchange, but in tailgater exchange. I, too, ran across a group of vacationing Aussies once. It is my considered opinion that these fellows would slide seamlessly into the Wisconsin beer drinking tailgate culture, although they call them "lagers." "Grab us a couple-a lagers, mate." This is a cultural statement by the Packers, not a sports statement.
February 10, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Absolutely.
I just know now not to bring up that I'm a gun owner... They're not too big on that I learned. Which is fine, but now I know not even to bring it up... Kinda turned into a thing. Quickly forgotten though.... Commenced happy drinking.
February 10, 2012 at 11:38 pm
Guns actually came up when I was partying with these guys. They were admittedly jealous that we could own guns and complained about their own gun laws. He couldn't believe I actually had a deer rifle. One dude has some stories about kangaroo poachers.
February 09, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Yeah, we'll exchange Rodgers for a Chris Brian type... Seems legit.
Hell, we already have a little sister in duh bares... Why not have another one? Maybe this one won't bring shame and embarrassment to us!
In all seriousness, I could see Clay just laying Mofo's OUT! They'd be all like "KRIKEY, what was that mate"? And his mates would be all like "that was the Clay Maker mate... Put you square on your arse he did. You've been out for some days now mate"... Sound about right Aussie?
GBP 4 LIFE
February 10, 2012 at 12:22 am
Clay would definately make the game interesting. I reckon he would be able to convert for a VERY large pay cut. The packers annual salary cap could easily buy every teams cap in the whole league and have change. The biggest thing i wonder is how a nfl player would handle the conditions? and by that i mean the game goes for 80 mins (two 40 mins halfs) and each team has 17 players (13 on the field and 4 on the bench)and can only interchange players 12 times a game. it would take adjustments for any nfl player.
February 10, 2012 at 01:01 am
here is some nrl big hits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wK9zAppHc
February 10, 2012 at 08:38 am
I bet they're better tacklers than almost anyone on our D. Those Rugby dudes don't miss tackles its crazy.
February 10, 2012 at 08:57 pm
It would take three games- three games watched for most NFL fans to become rugby fans.
The games are fast, strategic, powerful, colorful and hard nose. Without the helmets you see the human element, get to know the players, and see the agony and glory on their mugs. And mugs they is.
And the way Rugby League handles instant replay is brilliant. It's the referee in conversation with the replay crew and it's all broadcast on tv in real time.
"The Packers are challenging the fumble, fellas. What's it look like to you."
"Roger, it's not a fumble but three more are coming."
"OK, Packer's ball, fumble and drop on!"