Story from Australia that the Aussie's are looking at taking over the Super League, looking wether it is viable or not.
Story from Australia that the Aussie's are looking at taking over the Super League, looking wether it is viable or not.
I hope not, we really will become a feeder league then (more so than now). If anything I want us to move against anything Aussie inspired.
I'd be all for it if it was for the good of the game.
But as much as I would like to see change and see the game move forward, I tend to agree about them cherry picking even more players..
Id rather Eddie Hearn take over
There's not much detail in it, I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
In reality we have a situation where if someone in Super League is good enough for the NRL and wishes to leave, they will anyway.
A bit more money in the game over here may actually keep them here
Alternatively there seems to be a plan to sell a share of the game to "Venture Capalists"
I'm all for people putting money into the game but traditionally the game has been supported by wealthy local businessmen who do it for the love of the game and their club.
They don't do it to make money but Venture Capitalists would be looking for a return on their investment.
Seems a dangerous road to go down
Money talks personally I welcome it as a real opportunity for the good of the game.We are about to get rogered over the TV deal and if we carry on with the same leadership we'll be back semi pro within three years.
Learned comment from The Don
Add to that the odour of desperation that RL will clearly exude.
Robert Elstone was brought in as a protest to the Wood and RFL.
His remit was to attract increased commercial revenue specifically
the TV deal and paid handsomely to do it.
For all Wood's nepotism and mismanagement he did deliver a £40m pa TV deal
(by accident or design)
Elstone has failed - commercial revenue down and costs rocketing pre-covid.
The TV deal will be a car crash and the likes of McManus along with Hertherington
have got him in their sights.
His last roll of the dice will be to sell the game to venture capitalists to cover
his commercial failings. They will buy cheap if at all and will asset strip.
Never let the mafia "buy" a share in your restaurant.
Just playing devils advocate here.
But if a Third Party wants to invest money into Super League , the end goal for said Third Party would be to recoup the original investment and profit on top.
They wouldnt just let any old dafty run the job. They would put someone in place who they believe (with a proven track record) who would fulfil that role.
Ultimately, they would push the game on.
They would be looking for big sponsorships. Bigger sponsorship means bigger exposure means increased TV deals.
This story has reared its head in the past so there may be something in it. It depends how the NRL would view it - as a pure feeder league or an expansion of their brand. Either way there’s not exactly a queue of other interested parties so it might be that or semi pro rugby
What does the NRL do different? Or is it as a simple as more people watch and people play? Therefore there is more money in the game.??
Some good points raised, I just don't trust the RFL to get anything right. Including selling our competition to someone else.
Please yes. Rimmer and elstone are killing us.
All for it, between The RFL, Robert Elstone and the club chairmen, we’ve got the game being pulled in all sorts of directions without any overall leadership and a mess of self interest and short term thinking reining supreme.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
If you had a good few quid to invest would you choose RL ?
There is nothing financially to be made from this game, even with top money in sponsorship, it will just tick over.
Since the launch of SL and the very good initial profile, it has lost its connection with the International and Amateur scene, the growth of the game has regressed and any money invested now will be to prop up a few teams to keep a viable 12 plus team competition.
We need radical forward thinkers not safe steering executives.
A dictating non democratic Venture Capitalist may be just what is required.
The whole thing wants streamlining but who owns what?
It was interesting in the vote re Toronto that the RFL had one vote and so did each of the SL clubs and that's where some of the problem lies.
The chairmen of most of the SL clubs will only vote for what is best for their club not necessarily the game as a whole.
They would only want a new "expansion" club if they were going to bring 5000 visiting fans, and that's not going to happen.
Financially Lyndsay's dream of merged super clubs in Super League may have been right but it was never going to happen.
Maybe we need a breakaway of say six of the more professionally minded SL clubs plus six new clubs spread over the UK formed and backed by NRL clubs to form an elite league.
But it would need millions of Aussie dollars to fund it
I think that's a massive part, nearly 1m people in Sydney watched the grand final on TV, out of a population of 5m..
In 2019 the AFL grand final was the most watched programme on TV, State of Origin had three of the top ten with the NRL grand final in there also..
I know that's all figures but you can't underestimate how It's absolutely massive
You don't need me to tell you that means sponsorship, TV rights and publicity
They wouldn't own the clubs themselves but a couple of things they could do:-
(i) Charge the game interest on money invested (top slicing income from TV) , to a point it actually bleeds the clubs dry.
The clubs then become worthless. Bit like a loan shark charging mega interest.
(ii) Franchise the competition. Clubs can win or lose their right to complete in the third party owned competition.
Nothing stopping them from taking "Wigan Warriors" franchise and giving it to "Watford Warriors".
I think about the merger idea all the time.
But getting anyone to agree would be near impossible.
Having the officials be more accountable needs looking at aswell.
I think that has been atrocious this year. So inconsistent.. But what is done?? Nothing I imagine.