AUSTRALIAN Rugby Union boss John O'Neill has given a blunt warning that one of the football codes might not survive. He reckons it will come down to the survival of rugby union or rugby league, not both.

O'Neill said yesterday that league and union need to protect their own backyards as much as concentrate on interstate and overseas expansion because of the crowded marketplace and aggressive pursuit of new territories by the AFL and soccer.

O'Neill believes that because of the similarities between league and union, it will be one of those codes - rather than Australian football or soccer - that is at most risk of extinction. "I think there is a risk that one of the football codes may not survive in the form that it currently enjoys," O'Neill told the ABC program Offsiders.

" I mean, competition is about survival. Rugby league and rugby union actually are the two games that are very similar. Rugby league is celebrating 100 years of its existence. I'm not talking about reunification of the two games, but in this battle for hearts and minds, there is a risk that one of us may slip off the list.

"I don't intend for it to be rugby union, I'm not intending for it to be rugby league. But I think we know there is a gorilla in the room called AFL and we know, I know, that football is the big mover and shaker - and therefore, I think rugby league and rugby union are going to have to fight very hard to maintain our positions, particularly in the eastern states."

But National Rugby League chief executive David Gallop told the Herald the future of rugby league is "rosy and going from strength to strength". Gallop said the other codes, including Australian football and soccer, had their own challenges and he rejected any suggestion union and league could combine forces.

"I am very confident in rugby league's future, and while there are some initiatives that we have worked on with union, such as doping, sports betting and new media rights, I don't see huge opportunities for synergies beyond that," Gallop said.

"AFL and soccer are not without their own challenges. With AFL, they have a number of teams in Melbourne and are keen to manipulate the draft system to accommodate new teams, and equally football would be the first to admit they have a long way to go in this country."

Meanwhile, O'Neill predicted financial pain for the Western Force, caused by the withdrawal of sponsor Firepower, leaving the club and some of the players "taking a haircut". He said: "With the benefit of hindsight, Firepower was illusionary."

O'Neill said if the players, Matt Giteau, Drew Shepherd, Ryan Cross and Cameron Shepherd, were reasonable about the cuts they would have to make (from their former Firepower third-party contracts), the Force would be financially viable. O'Neill said the players could not renegotiate their Force contracts on the basis that the third-party deals were unfulfilled because they had to honour their playing contracts.

"The Western Force are doing all they can to make up the leeway. Matt Giteau can't just pack up and go off to the Brumbies," O'Neill said.

The players are owed between $100,000 and $500,000 for the third-party deals, which haven't been paid since December. As well, the Force are owed several hundred thousand dollars for unpaid sleeve sponsorship.