'We need to': ACT Brumbies coach Dan McKellar calls for free-to-air rugby broadcast deal

So how does Rugby Australia turn Noah Lolesio into a household name to the casual sports fan? How can the profiles of players like Irae Simone one day mirror that of rugby league star Latrell Mitchell?

It looms as one of the key questions as rugby officials edge closer towards striking a television broadcast deal for 2021 and beyond.

We are reaching crunch time for rugby union supremos. The ink will have barely dried on this story when you pick up the newspaper on the morning of November 1, and the 15-man code is yet to strike a broadcast deal for the next Super Rugby season.

Channel Nine is offering $30 million and free advertising to broadcast one Super Rugby match per week, as well as Wallabies Tests and the Rugby Championship, on free-to-air television. The remaining Super Rugby games each week would be broadcast live behind a paywall on subscription streaming service Stan.

MORE RUGBY UNION

For so long Foxtel has been home to rugby union in Australia, with the pay television network said to be offering between $35 million-$40 million for Super Rugby, Wallabies Tests and the Rugby Championship. Some Foxtel sources say less than $35 million is on the table.

What officials are then left to weigh up is, roughly, a potential $5 million gain should they strike a deal with Foxtel, or the chance to open the code up to more eyeballs for less cash.

ACT Brumbies coach Dan McKellar knows which way he would be leaning as he looks to help the code build the profiles of its players.

"It's huge. We need to. I've been an advocate of that for a number of years, we need to get the game on free-to-air television," McKellar said.

"Not everyone has got Fox, not everyone has got Kayo. They're great supporters of the game. But being able to turn on any particular channel everyone has got access to and see a game of rugby if that's what you want to do, it helps to build the profile of our teams and our players.

"It gives boys and girls another option of a sport they may want to play as a kid."

The Brumbies are desperate to turn their players into household names as the club looks to build on its Super Rugby AU triumph this season.

So too are the Wallabies as they look to capitalise on a new era of players under coach Dave Rennie during their Tri-Nations campaign against the All Blacks and Argentina.

Rugby Australia has struggled to grow the game in recent years due to a lack of exposure, with matches often stuck behind pay television network barriers, coupled with a run of outs by the Wallabies.

Signing a new deal with Foxtel could potentially see rugby continue on its downward trajectory, with viewership for the code up to seven times smaller than it was in 2004. Rugby Australia's financial woes mean the code could certainly use an extra $5 million in the bank.

But something has to change, and this is a chance to make that happen. The game has to market itself well enough to capture a new audience. It may well prove to be short-term pain for long-term gain.

A move to free-to-air television would open the game up to new fans. A Saturday night in football season on Channel Nine is often territory reserved for old move re-runs.

Put a Brumbies versus Queensland Reds showdown into the mix and there are plenty of sports fans who may well be hooked by the battles between a raft of Wallabies players.

There's a battle of the playmakers in Lolesio versus James O'Connor, and the scrumhalves in Nic White and Tate McDermott. Pete Samu would have a chance to press for a Wallabies recall against Reds No. 8 Harry Wilson.

Rugby fans have been crying out for change. This is a golden opportunity. If we want to talk about a new era for the code, think bigger than the 15 men on the park.