Nine boss Hugh Marks has stated for the first time he wants the NRL to return this year but says clubs must be better supported by the league.
A fortnight after publicly lashing the NRL, Marks on Monday said the game needed to restart from its coronavirus shutdown to help life return to normal.
Marks has been locked in meetings with ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys over the game’s planned May 28 return.
Nine had previously told the stock market it stood to save as much as $130 million if the game did not come back in 2020.
A reworked season is expected to be announced this week with broadcasters Nine and Fox to have some say on their preference for the competition’s structure.
But Marks told 2GB Radio on Monday the game needed to return in some form.
“Rugby league restarting is one of those things we need to make sure happens as part of getting through this and getting out the other side into a recovery,” the Nine CEO told 2GB.
“Those discussions are ongoing.”
The ARL Commission is expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss broadcaster discussions before rugby league’s Project Apollo committee reconvenes on Wednesday.
Marks was complimentary of V’landys, with the pair likely to engage in broadcast deal negotiations in the coming year.
It comes despite Nine publicly questioning the NRL’s management earlier this month, accusing it of wasting the “hundreds of millions” the network had invested for decades.
The broadcast network blamed a “bloated head office” that it said had left clubs with little to fall back on during the pandemic.
NRL clubs are currently paid $13 million in grants per year, more than $3 million in excess of the salary cap.
“One thing I want to see come out of this is that investment goes back into club footy,” Marks said.
“It’s the tribalism of rugby league that is its greatest strength.
“Investment in clubs, players and those communities I think has been underdone for some years.
“That’s something I’m agitating to make sure is part of the recovery so we can see a sport that we think has a great long-term future that warrants our investment in it.”
