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On Monday, October 29 2012, the Australian Rugby League Commission revealed the five-year Game Plan setting out a strategy and the funding principles that will drive Rugby League’s future as The Greatest Game of All. The plan commits Rugby League to being the most entertaining, most engaging and most respected sport with the mission of enriching people’s lives through the core values of excellence, courage, inclusiveness and teamwork.

Rugby League’s strategic plan forecasts that by 2017:

• An NRL Growth Fund will have made $200m available for investment in key projects.
• Club membership will reach 400,000;
• Rugby League social media platforms will engage 5.8m people;
• Average attendance at NRL games will increase to 20,000
• 700,000 people will play in competitions;
• 1.8m will be engaged in NRL community programs;
• 1.65m will take part in Rugby League activities;
• 84% of all NRL players will be engaged in education or career training;
• Central revenue will have doubled to more than $300m;

Within the plan are key objectives and initiatives for the next five years including a commitment to providing first class player conditions and career pathways; assistance programs for grassroots volunteers; a centralised development program; values-based codes of conduct across every level of the game; and a formal review of expansion options after the 2014 season. A significant feature is a clear blueprint for how people engage with Rugby League and how they become life-long fans. 

Underpinning each aspect of the Game Plan are strategic goals backed by detailed operational plans and budgets that the Commission will review on an ongoing basis. It is a fundamental change in the way the game does business and in the way it connects with people from regional Australia to the grassroots everywhere and to the elite competitions.