Big spenders not always winners

On Friday the Warriors ($11 million) defeated the Roosters ($15 million), meaning the four teams left in the NRL finals have a combined turnover of just over twice the Broncos.

In the AFL, for the first time in eight years, two Victorian teams - Geelong and Hawthorn - will contest Saturday's grand final.

The one-city juggernauts that have the sponsorship and support of a metropolis to themselves (West Coast Eagles, Brisbane Lions, Sydney and Port Adelaide) either failed to make the finals or finished eighth (Swans), despite dominating grand finals this decade.

Melbourne's richest club, Collingwood, with almost $20 million in revenue from non-football sources (hotels and poker machines), failed to make the top four. Collingwood was the only AFL club last year with multiple sponsorship deals worth more than $1 million a year.

Seven years ago Geelong, last year's premiers, was $7 million in debt. Hawthorn fought off a merger with Melbourne just over a decade ago. The Bulldogs, beaten by Geelong on Friday, were struggling to meet the 92.5 per cent minimum that clubs are required to pay on the salary cap, while St Kilda, losers to Hawthorn, was the sole AFL club last year to record an operating loss.

The $14 million disparity between the turnover of the NRL's top club (Broncos) and those at the bottom (Sharks, Warriors) is mirrored in the AFL, where there was an $11 million difference last year in total net revenue generated by West Coast ($25.3 million) and North Melbourne ($14.3 million).

In an era of salary ceilings and drafts, there is an equalisation of playing talent, but no caps on coaches' salaries, training and rehabilitation facilities or the number of staff and resources devoted to recruitment.

It could be assumed the big-spending clubs would have an advantage in these areas, yet the AFL clubs with the largest sources of revenue failed to make the top four, while in the NRL three of the poorest clubs have qualified for the grand final elimination games.

Nor is there any correlation between a club's ownership model and its on-field success.

Just under half the NRL's privately owned clubs - Rabbitohs, Cowboys and Titans - failed to make the play-offs, while four - Sea Eagles, Warriors, Broncos and Storm - made the top six.

Stadium income is the main reason for the income disparity between NRL clubs. The Sea Eagles and Sharks play out of stadiums (Brookvale Oval and Toyota Stadium respectively) that generate only a fraction of the gate at Suncorp Stadium, the Broncos' home ground.

A good gate at Suncorp's 52,500-seat stadium can be worth $800,000 to the Broncos, while a big gate at Brookvale Oval, with only 5000 seats, and 15,000 capacity on the hill, is $250,000.

The Broncos' gate takings last year were $10 million. The Sea Eagles and Sharks took $1.5 million. The Storm, who play at the antiquated Olympic Park, have similarly dismal gate revenue. It's no surprise that News Ltd, which owns the Broncos and Storm, recorded a $2 million profit last year in Brisbane and a $6 million loss in Melbourne.

The AFL's 16 clubs generated $512 million in revenue last year, producing an average turnover per club of $32 million, nearly double the average NRL turnover.

Saturday's AFL grand final will be played at the MCG, while the NRL's two grand final qualifiers will be played at the Sydney Football Stadium, which has half the capacity of the Melbourne ground.