February Column: ClubsNSW Chair Sallianne Faulkner

As you would have heard by now, ClubsNSW has teed up a special partnership with the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), which will see Your local club host the Official NRL Vegas Watch Party on Sunday, 2 March. This is such an exciting opportunity for the industry, and it is designed to benefit every club — big or small.

Getting involved couldn’t be easier. Thanks to our partnership with the ARLC, every club that is a member of ClubsNSW and is planning to show the NRL Vegas games live is permitted to call themselves the host of an Official NRL Vegas Watch Party and can gain exclusive access to a whole range of marketing assets that feature NRL branding — think social media tiles, posters, pull-up banners and digital screen artwork — all freely available for clubs to download and use to promote the event in their venue. 

You can find out more about all of that, including the links to download said creative assets, here. I encourage every club to get involved in this initiative and enjoy the increased foot traffic and fun that comes with it!

And be sure to keep an eye out from Monday, 24 February for a new ad on free-to-air TV stations and catch-up television channels across NSW featuring rugby league legend Laurie Daley, who is the Official NRL Vegas Watch Party ambassador for Your local club. You can also expect to see and hear ads promoting clubs as the go-to destinations for watching the NRL Vegas games in The Daily Telegraph and on 2GB Radio, SEN stations, NRL.com and across social media.

Away from the great game of rugby league, there is plenty happening in club land at the moment! Entries for the 2025 Clubs & Community Awards are open now (submit your nominations here before 7 March); round one of our ClubsNSW Regional Meetings has commenced; the Australasian Hospitality & Gaming Expo is on in Brisbane in less than a month; and entries for the 2025 Perfect Plate Awards will open in March, too. More on that to come soon. 

Late last month, I had the pleasure of visiting Bowral Bowling Club to see Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows perform, and enjoyed a wonderful meal there too. A great time was had by all and a reminder of how fantastic clubs are at bringing people together and putting on a show. 

I was pleased to read that Cronulla RSL will be commemorating National War Animal Day next weekend (read more about that here) and that Wagga RSL Club has announced the appointment of Wayne Mutton as its new General Manager — congratulations Wayne! 

Plus, rumour has it that the ClubLIFE Podcast will be back for a second season later this month. 

Keep the good news coming, I say…