https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/local-sport/the-townsville-blackhawks-believe-they-are-well-equipped-to-bounce-back-from-financial-crisis/news-story/50d2a33531bee216772d0448616e63fa THEY may “go backwards to come forward a long way” but the Townsville Blackhawks are adamant they will rise from the pandemic. Funding cuts have been widespread for the club, with the QRL’s decision to cut all finances to Intrust Super Cup teams following the closure of Brothers Leagues Club as the coronavirus situation continues. But according to Blackhawks football operations manager Adrian Thomson this is not foreign territory for the men in green. When they first came into the competition at the end of 2014 they were given six months to get a squad and club together. At that stage Thomson estimated the Queensland Cup funding they received was roughly “a quarter or a third” of what they receive now. With funding now at a standstill he said it was just the “climate of the beast”, but they were well attuned to deal with such a setback. “For the first two years, the (Cowboys) covered a lot of our costs, we had a very thin full time staff,” Thomson said.
“The coach, myself and the admin lady – you don’t want to see it, but at least we know how to deal with it. “It hasn’t been that long ago that we went through that realm. “It is going to be under pressure but at the end of the day, only five years ago since we went through that thing. “I am sure the game will recover really quick – I reckon our product is the bestseller around. “People will want to watch sport when it comes back online.” As it stands the QRL has discontinued club funding until at least October 31, the freeze taking effect from the end of April. It came as no major surprise to Thomson as the loss of staff, competition and certainty took effect, although he and other club honchos were hopeful a small boosts would continue each month. At the end of the day, if there was no revenue coming into the game then there would be no funds in turn heading to the clubs. However like many in the game he was perplexed as to how the NRL’s funding got into the situation it has. Criticism has been directed at the game’s governing body regarding the way income had been stored to ride at a crisis scenario as rugby league currently finds itself in. Broadcast finances have been a major source, and with no games to televise that too has dried up. All Thomson hoped for is that the game learned from this and rebounded even stronger. “Like most we are wondering where the millions have gone,” he said. “You would hope that there was always a cash reserve to help – but at the end of the day we would all love to have a crystal ball and know we had a pandemic coming and would be shut down. “I am sure we will learn from it. From the game’s point of view we have to go backwards a fair way to come forward.”
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AuthorOne of my main responsibilities was to cover the Blackhawks and Gold Stars and build strong relationships at the club. Archives
May 2020
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