Off the Wall

When you look at the pressures on two of the major areas of sports sponsorship - alcohol and gambling - it is not hard to understand why the NRL is taking a very tough line with the Bulldogs over its sponsorship agreement with the Strathfield Group.

The decision by the NRL to block the $2 million sponsorship may seem harsh - but there is a lot more at stake than just this sponsorship.

The NRL official sponsor is Telstra. Its various components are believed to add up to something like $12 million a year. It is so important to the NRL that the league actually compensates each club $100,000 a year for not entering into sponsorships with Telstra