How did you think that went down? Did that go off as expected? And is that the sort of theme with a number of other causes that you could be looking at in the years ahead?

Absolutely.

Look, we don't listen to the haters.

We listen to the majority of the population.

95% of the population would have seen that for what it was.

And Jai Arrow is an inspiration to anyone that has a fatal disease or has been given some very bad news.

Probably the best example for me is on the day that Jai was diagnosed.

I mean, the question is, though, moving forward for the pre-entertainment, are you going to have to spend a little bit more money and dig a little bit deeper into your pocket to lock down a blockbuster actor? Or have you formed the view after last night that we don't need a Kylie Minogue or an equivalent for the NRL?

How did you think that went down? Did that go off as expected? And is that the sort of theme with a number of other causes that you could be looking at in the years ahead?

Absolutely.

Look, we don't listen to the haters.

We listen to the majority of the population.

95% of the population would have seen that for what it was.

And Jai Arrow is an inspiration to anyone that has a fatal disease or has been given some very bad news.

Probably the best example for me is on the day that Jai was diagnosed, a 40-year-old serviceman from Townsville got diagnosed with MND.

I mean, the question is, though, moving forward for the pre-entertainment, are you going to have to spend a little bit more money and dig a little bit deeper into your pocket to lock down a blockbuster actor? Or have you formed the view after last night that we don't need a Kylie Minogue or an equivalent for the NRL?

And tonight we're celebrating his year as well, Pete, with the entertainment before the game.

Look, I think people have missed the point with the Jai Arrow situation tonight.

What Jai Arrow's done is he's become a leader.

He doesn't realise that he's become a leader.

We're receiving a lot of correspondence to say that people that have got diseases and similar diagnoses with MND, we had one person contact us who on the same day that Jai got diagnosed, he got diagnosed.

He was 41 years of age.

His whole world collapsed.

Is there something that you're more proud of than anything else?

And tonight we're celebrating his year as well, Pete, with the entertainment before the game.

Look, I think people have missed the point with the Jairo situation tonight.

What Jai Arrow's done is he's become a leader.

He doesn't realise that he's become a leader.

We're receiving a lot of correspondence to say that people that have got diseases and similar diagnoses with MND, we had one person contact us, who on the same day that Jai got diagnosed, he got diagnosed.

He was 41 years of age.

His whole world collapsed.

Is there something that you're more proud of than anything else?

It's been phenomenal and it's been great that we've been able to stand up for the local industry and take on Victoria, who had long dominated parts of the season.

Absolutely.

People don't realise that we are actually in competition to Victoria.

The majority of our revenue comes from wagering.

So if they wager on a New South Wales event, we get the revenue.

If they wager on a Victoria event, they get the revenue.

So we needed to ensure that we had quality product.

Now, with only three games left of the season, I'm keen for you to reflect on that because there would have been pressure for you very early on to make changes on the run.

How proud are you of that?

I'm very proud of our game.

You know, that's the beauty of sport.

You know, it's got a human side.

And rugby league, we're one big tribe.

And when one of our people go down, we cuddle them and support them and do our best for them.

And we've proven that.

Have you spoken to Joe?

All roads lead to a huge final series here.

Absolutely, and I wouldn't be surprised what team wins, and it's been proven this year, if you've got the right game plan against Penrith, I mean the Bulldogs proved it, the Roosters proved it, so I wouldn't be surprised if any team won this weekend, even though the bookmakers have got some of them at short price favourites, I wouldn't be betting against any team.

The reasoning

behind it, what's that all about? Look, we wanted to accommodate as many Sharks fans as possible.

And you're only going to accommodate around 12,000 at Shark Park.

We're hoping to get a lot more than that at Allianz.

And we want to showcase our game on the best possible venues.

It's a billion-dollar stadium, and it accommodates the fans in five-star luxury, and we've got to look after the fan.

Growth of the gun.

The Waz would be great.

I mean, it...

They certainly deserve it.

They've been one of the most consistent teams.

And all of New Zealand are behind them.

And what they did during COVID for us, where they stayed for 12 months, we will never forget.

Is there anyone you can give us an insight?

And we just want a big thank you for what you've done.

Look, I think that all the thank has got to go to Jai.

I mean, what he's going through and, and how everyone's got behind him.

He's such a beautiful human being.

And when you meet with him, um, And he's grabbed the heart and it just shows you what sport can do.

Sport is one of those areas that we all come together as a tribe.

And rugby league is probably the best tribe out.

How do you see that happening in terms of whether it's Fox or Nine or Seven? What sort of stuff do you want to see and do you not want to see?

And we just want a big thank you for what you've done.

Look, I think that all the thank has got to go to Jai.

I mean, what he's going through and, and how everyone's got behind him.

He's such a beautiful human being.

And when you meet with him, um, And he's grabbed the heart and it just shows you what sport can do.

Sport is one of those areas that we all come together as a tribe.

And rugby league is probably the best tribe out.

How do you see that happening in terms of whether it's Fox or Nine or Seven? What sort of stuff do you want to see and do you not want to see?

And we just want a big thank you for what

you've done.

Look, I think that all the thankers have got to go to Jai.

I mean, what he's going through.

and how everyone's got behind him he's such a beautiful human being and when you meet with him and you know he's grabbed the heart and it just shows you what sport can do you know sport is one of those areas that we all come together as a as a tribe you know and rugby league is probably the best tribe out i mean as soon as he went down all of us went around him and cuddled him and made sure that he was okay and made sure that he knows that we're there for him and And, you know, you can't get a better person than Wayne Bennett.

I think he's done a brilliant job.

And Blake Soley and Nick Pappas from South, they've got to take a lot of the credit.

I've always said it.

You just keep flowing.

And it just keeps flowing.

So it's not nonstop.

We introduced the captain's challenge 'cause, because the fan hates being ripped off, you know? And so if they get an opportunity to challenge something, we introduce a two-point field goal.

So, uh, and that, that's been a, a success in itself because when there's two points to go, everyone's expecting, you know...

And some of the great highlights of the game that, you know, Nathan Cleary kicking a two-point field goal to, to equal the scores, et cetera.

And what's-- And then we introduced the short kickoff.

Yeah, yeah.

That media landscape and what you've seen change in your time, uh, we're a little bit hindered on the free-to-air stuff in this country, but does, does that worry you, what's going on in the media? Does that worry you? Does it excite you? Where do you reckon it goes?

Look, it excites me to a degree because the way people consume TV now is different to what it was five or 10 years ago.

You know, naturally, people used to watch free-to-air, but now they've shifted and migrated to subscription television.

It's like going to a restaurant and picking what meal you want, and that's what subscription television does is if you wanna watch a movie, you wanna watch sport, you wanna watch...

Um, you got the op- you got the opportunity to do so.

And the younger person has really gone to watching and consuming, um, their content via telephones and tablets.

So that's a complete different to what it was 10 years ago.

How political is PNG and Perth given there seem to be rules around them? They get carve-outs, special deals to get them up and running.

That media landscape and what you've seen change in your time, uh, we're a little bit hindered on the free-to-air stuff in this country, but does, does that worry you? What's going on in the media, does that worry you? Does it excite you? Where do you reckon it goes?

Look, it excites me to a degree because the way people consume TV now is different to what it was five or 10 years ago.

You know, naturally, people used to watch free-to-air, but now they've shifted and migrated to subscription television.

It's like going to a restaurant and picking what meal you want, and that's what subscription television does.

If you wanna watch a movie, you wanna watch sport, you wanna watch, um, you got the, you got the opportunity to do so.

And the younger person has really gone to watching and consuming, um, their content via telephones and tablets.

So that's a complete different to what it was 10 years ago.

At, see, at some point you run into just the sheer logistical issues of expanding the competition, don't you? Just, you know, through sheer geography.

Heavens above.

[laughs] Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

A lot of fun, Gary.

Uh, w- we, we got there a little early.

So what happened yesterday at Suncorp Stadium was, uh, uh, there's a- an annual charity touch football, uh, game where, um, companies or individuals can, uh, can, can bid to be... to have a team captained by Wally Lewis or captained by Allan Langer.

And, um, so there's Team Wally and, and Team Alfie, uh, and they get to play, uh, at a game at Suncorp Stadium and, uh, I commentate it.

It's all saved for them.

Mm.

Second question, how much of it is looking to go into potential that grassroots route?

no grassroots is very important for us participation is important and this year we've you know we cracked the 200 000 registrations there's so many people playing rugby league in queensland we don't actually have the fields anymore we need to go to the education department to try to get some fields so rugby league is booming and participation has ever been higher and and you can participate you know no matter what age you are because you can play tip tag and of course contact and if you participate you become an engaged fan and that's important for us and Most sports clubs around the world, they concentrate on the 12 to 14-year-olds because they're the future customers and the future people that get engaged in your sport.

Was that something you made very clear to DAZN? Whatever you charge the punter, whatever you charge the viewer, it's got to be affordable?

Absolutely, and we never, ever took a backward step.

That was probably the hardest part of the negotiation.

That's probably when it got the most robust.

I'd never forget that I was a wog kid from Wollongong, and you've got to be able to afford to watch the product.

So we didn't want to see it become a prohibitive cost.

Like I don't think we're, I don't think everyone's actually wrapped their heads around what a job you and Andrew have done to get the money out of the broadcasters to the extent that it is the biggest in, in sporting history here in Australia, in the current climate, were you worried about just, just the way the economy is at the moment? I know the game has gone through the roof, but just the way everything was around the game, was that a concern?

Absolute major concern, because as you're correct, the structure, the way that people now consume television has changed dramatically.

People are consuming it through laptops, phones, iPads, and they're not consuming it on traditional means.

They don't watch free-to-air TV, and people are moving away from that to subscription TV.

And we have to take that into account, the whole structural element of how people consume TV.

and the economy was certainly a concern.

There was a lot of concerns along the way, but we're always confident because we've doubled our audience, and that's the big selling point.

What does it mean for a rugby league fan that's outside of Australia, Peter, and access to the game now, and with a view to what that growth could look like over the deal length?

Realistically, was anyone else in the hunt, or was this always gonna land with your longtime partners, Nine and Fox?

No, they were all in the hunt, James.

Um, w-we were still negotiating, uh, the night before we announced it, so it laid into the night.

So no deal was done, and I made it very clear to all parties until there was execution of an agreement, um, that there wouldn't be an agreement.

So everyone was still in right to the last minute, and Amazon, uh, were very professional and b-- a pleasure to deal with.

Unfortunately, we couldn't accommodate them, um, and we went with the existing partners.

But, uh, the negotiations were certainly robust, but we did our best for the game, and that's why the, you know, we've been able to achieve five point three billion over seven years, uh, which is the biggest sporting deal ever in Australian history.

Where do you think the growth is with the current schedule? Is it Monday Night Football again? Is there more room on Sunday? If there are extra games each week, and there will be, where will those games be likely?

In the current climate, were you worried about just the way the economy is at the moment? I know the game has gone through the roof, but just the way everything was around the game, was that a concern?

Absolute major concern because, as you're correct, you know, The structure, the way that people now consume television has changed dramatically.

People are consuming it through laptops, phones, iPads, and they're not consuming it on traditional means.

They don't watch free-to-air TV, and people are moving away from that to subscription TV.

And we had to take that into account, the whole structural element of how people consume TV.

And the economy was certainly...

There was a lot of concerns along the way, but we're always confident because we've doubled our audience, and that's the big selling point.

What does it mean for a rugby league fan that's outside of Australia, Peter, and access to the game now, and with a view to what that growth could look like over the deal length?

What are we going to see tonight?

Look, I think it's mate against mate.

That's the thing that surprises me is they go from being club best friends to being enemies.

And tonight's going to be no different.

And it just goes up another level, another speed.

And, you know, as you say, that's the greatest rivalry you've ever seen between...

Queensland and New South Wales.

What do the New South Wales and Queensland fans think when you bring the game down here?

To take over them, to help them, to buy in?

Look, we're prepared to do so, but if we did do it, we'd want to have total control because their corporate governance model is they're all clubs, and clubs all have self-interest, so you never get good outcomes.

or decisions if the shareholders run the company.

You've got to trust the board of directors.

Any public company, the shareholders don't run it.

The directors do.

And the way the NRL would do it is we would run the competition and they would benefit.

Yeah.

Where's that at? I

think the problem with the hotels is I played a lot of Monopoly as a kid, so I didn't even have to get four houses to get the hotel, so that made it easier.

That's fun.

And look, the hotel business for the NRL is doing exceptionally well because one thing we learned from COVID was that we didn't have any assets and we had three months to survive, otherwise we would have been broke.

And I wanted to make sure that the next time around there's an emergency that we have sufficient assets to get us through.

And the clubs and the players are our partners and they allowed us to generate $300 million worth of assets as part of the funding deals that we've done with them.

And we appreciate the objective was seen for what it was and they've been very, very good partners.

Is that something you'd