The members of the Strategic Working Group are Gary Hetherington (Leeds Rhinos), Paul Lakin (Hull KR), Eamonn McManus (St Helens), Stuart Middleton (Warrington), Karen Moorhouse (RFL) and Ralph Rimmer (RFL).....
Any thoughts on how this will pan out ..
You don't mention Sky pulling the strings.
Is this the first time that RFL have given any thought to a strategy for the future of the game, rather than a few clubs looking to take as much cash as they can for their own clubs at the expense of the rest.
Leeds, saints and DIRE are the clubs you speak of Frank .. obviously its only to benefit them
Why is there no Championship or League 1 Chairman on this committee?
Why is there no Championship or League 1 Chairman on this committee?
Because the RFL in it's various forms are not concerned with the interests or future of Championship or League 1 clubs?
Why is there no Championship or League 1 Chairman on this committee?
I was thinking that myself. The Championship/L1 clubs should be represented directly and not through the RFL. After all, the proposed Sky plan will mean scrapping 16 of the clubs. Quite an innovative way to expand the game.
They would also be better bringing on board, an independent person with experience in sports promotion.
Why on earth would they allow an independent person to participate Frank? They know what’s in their own self(ish) interest which, IMHO, can be summed up as .. make sure we are OK and bugger the rest of Rl.
Can't think that far back but they would all have been behind Maurice at the start of SL and very likely that merging clubs is still on their agenda.
Their aim will be to make the game into whatever Sky wants, thus securing their futures.
Can’t think that far back but they would all have been behind Maurice at the start of SL and very likely that merging clubs is still on their agenda. Their aim will be to make the game into whatever Sky wants, thus securing their futures.
With that approach it could be a short term future for the game of rugby league. They really do need to look further than their own self interest. If the game is to survive, surely it needs to consider how to retain and consolidate a rugby league presence in the areas where the game is currently played; and then look for expansion in the UK. They should also look to RU and consider how the international game can be developed and promoted.
This may involve some of the "bigger" clubs accepting that their Sky "bonus" will be substantially reduced. If that means clubs cannot pay out six figure contracts to over-rated players and some may even have to revert to a part-time game, then they need to face that prospect. It may also mean that clubs that cannot attract sufficient local support and sponsorship, will have to consider their future, which could include some mergers.
In reality, they probably already know the outcome of the strategic review as prescribed by Sky - a two division SL with 10 teams in each, with the bulk of Sky money going to the ten Premiership teams. That will enable there to be less snouts in the Sky trough and 16 teams thrown to the dogs.
Nobody really knows how SL clubs spend their cash. If, as has been reported, Williams is on a £400k contract, others must be on a par. In the NRL players can become millionaires in one contract. Williams or Bateman don't come back home and miss out totally, they're not that daft.
Just watched the Irish football, much like RL with passionate supporters, but limited geographical coverage.
Back in the day top quality players playing because they like the game and could make their hobby pay. It didn't pay massively but it paid for training nights etc.
Some think that the game would disappear totally if FT stopped, I don't.
My questions would be :
Who selected the members of the ‘strategic working group’ ?
Who approved the selected members ?
Why is there no representation of other rugby league clubs, bodies or organisations outside of SL ?
Who does the group report to ?
When will the scope of the groups remit be made public ?
What are the timeframes that the group are working within ?
Who will review and approve their recommendations ?
From my perspective this is, on first look, a group commissioned to look at ways that SL (as opposed to RL) can survive.
it is incredibly disappointing though not in any way unexpected, that a review group should consist of SL clubs only. where is the junior game, amateur game and Championship representation ? Where is the representation of independent observers ? Where is the representation of external professional business management agencies.
The review is taking a top down approach presumably but appears not to be interested in anything after the top bit. Fortunately, I suspect it will come to nothing. There will be a few recommendations that will shuffle the dwindling finances towards the SL clubs, which is a bit like the band playing on the Titanic. More and more I think we need to ditch the professional tag and re-invent the game as a regional amateur sport that people actually enjoy rather than this increasingly desperate notion to pass the game off as an expanding international sport.
Wells, on the Sky game postscript, was hunting that major reorganisation by the Sky element was due to be made public shortly.
Can hardly contain myself!!!!!
Exactly the opposite of the approach that is actually required. You can see where this one is going.
The selected panel see their future as a ten club league forever.
It may see Rimmer to his retirement, though that might be stretching it a bit, but after that it will have run its course. Sky may change to game to suit themselves but RL will not be that game.
Nobody really knows how SL clubs spend their cash. If, as has been reported, Williams is on a £400k contract, others must be on a par. In the NRL players can become millionaires in one contract. Williams or Bateman don’t come back home and miss out totally, they’re not that daft. Just watched the Irish football, much like RL with passionate supporters, but limited geographical coverage. Back in the day top quality players playing because they like the game and could make their hobby pay. It didn’t pay massively but it paid for training nights etc. Some think that the game would disappear totally if FT stopped, I don’t.
And therein lies the problem, The NRL is one Australia's top sports (if memory serves me right, only bettered by Aussie Rules).
Rugby League in the UK is a minority/regional sport.
The seeds of delusions of grandeur sown by Maurice Lindsay made RL fans think the game was bigger than it actually was, and unfortunately after years of trying (and failing) to match The NRL, the game has hit the buffers.
As for football in Ireland, they certainly do have the numbers, unfortunately most Irish based fans fawn after the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd and Celtic, instead of their own local clubs, which is something that really annoys me, as most Liverpool & Man Utd fans have never seen their team play live.