The owner of New York said last year, that they would play all their home games in New York and not buy loads of English players, but play mostly their own players. Also he would pay for the away clubs to stay at a hotel near the airport. That would be better than what Toronto have done.
The owner of New York said last year, that they would play all their home games in New York and not buy loads of English players, but play mostly their own players. Also he would pay for the away clubs to stay at a hotel near the airport. That would be better than what Toronto have done.[/quote
Will they be seeking any central funding? If not, will they reach a stage when the investment dries up, particularly if they fail to get any local tv interest, when they simply cannot afford these expenses.
It sounds like NY and Ottawa are planning a more sensible approach and not looking at high value signings like SBW, but rather looking to develop some home born talent. Whether this will give them any immediate success will have to be seen and, if not, will they generate any substantial local interest.
Probably/Hopefully, they will learn from the problems that TWP have created for themselves. I think they would be better aiming to to develop a NA league, with say initially 10 clubs and build from there. Whether there is any interest in that approach, I don't know.
I suppose they will know better than us if there is a market or enough interest in NA to be worth the effort.
They certainly love their odd style of football and it has many similarities to our game. The use of all the body armour amuses us I know, but their training and coaching was a major influence in the development of the Aussie RL game via Jack Gibson the highly esteemed Aussie coach.
There is a lively American Football game in this country and they could at least get RL to that level in the States. They like the 'tough guy' generally and that marks RL out as different from the US game - much like cage fighting versus boxing!
A few demonstration games by British and/or Aussie teams might help with the publicity, maybe even a few old headed Brits/Aussies to establish some plays for budding 'locals' wouldn't break the bank but it could stoke up some interest to start with.
I suppose they will know better than us if there is a market or enough interest in NA to be worth the effort. They certainly love their odd style of football and it has many similarities to our game. The use of all the body armour amuses us I know, but their training and coaching was a major influence in the development of the Aussie RL game via Jack Gibson the highly esteemed Aussie coach. There is a lively American Football game in this country and they could at least get RL to that level in the States. They like the ‘tough guy’ generally and that marks RL out as different from the US game – much like cage fighting versus boxing! A few demonstration games by British and/or Aussie teams might help with the publicity, maybe even a few old headed Brits/Aussies to establish some plays for budding ‘locals’ wouldn’t break the bank but it could stoke up some interest to start with.
I was listening to the Tony Collins podcast the other day, he was talking about the move in the 1960s to having a limited tackle count to prevent endless phases of play being directly plucked from the downs in American Football which was something I'd not realised. See also the sin bin and Ice Hockey.
Certainly RL has the most in common with American football of any code and as you say, could appeal to that market. If RL ever became even a middling level sport in America it would probably eclipse the game in this country such is the size and wealth of American sports.
Great prospect there. Perhaps our RFL should talk to the NRL about a joint expansion move. Of course the Aussies are already trying to expand the game in the Pacific islands so they might have enough on their plate.
There are a few books about Gibson that are interesting if you are interested in how the game has developed, he was a character for sure!
So we have made a laughing stock of our game yet again. Toronto have their participation agreement terminated but can submit another one next season. Is not the participation a yearly thing anyway ? A 12 point deduction should be the minimum punishment. With them wanting central funding now then how long is it going to take the other clubs to realise they cannot pay for trips over there and with the other cross the pond teams being let in at even more expense it is nothing but a joke. Time now for the RFL to split from SL and let the game prosper in this country first.
So we have made a laughing stock of our game yet again. Toronto have their participation agreement terminated but can submit another one next season. Is not the participation a yearly thing anyway ? A 12 point deduction should be the minimum punishment. With them wanting central funding now then how long is it going to take the other clubs to realise they cannot pay for trips over there and with the other cross the pond teams being let in at even more expense it is nothing but a joke. Time now for the RFL to split from SL and let the game prosper in this country first.
If only!!! Until someone in authority re-defines the game's league structure we will continue to slip further down the drain.
As it stands at the moment I can see very little, other than money, to make SL a desirable place to be. How safe are GB clubs in SL? The 'Big Clubs' will make their presence secure by any means possible, but the rest are just padding to be discarded as required to make space for other big spenders. Remember, you don't have to be bottom of the league to be relegated. The lowest placed GB club might be enough!
Get back to playing for pride in your town/club with any cash being a bonus.
I was reminded about a comment from the great Johnny Raper when contracts came on the scene. He said something like , 'when the money means that much to you, you've lost the plot! You should be playing for what's on your left t*t - that badge, that team!'
We are a long way away from the Raper era I know, but how many 'greats' that we have seen played pretty much for what Raper said.
Couldn't agree more with the above comments. SL is all about money. Expansion is just another word for money. It is not about developing the game in the UK or North America. It is all about how much more money that those few clubs who would survive in the big city international league, rake in. Possibly good for a few players, but in the world of the ruthless big money business, it may not turn out as lucrative as they thought. Just ask some o of the TWP players and staff who have not been paid for 3 months.
Does anyone really believe that in the unlikely event of the game taking off in North America - you can watch a recorded game on Fox Sports at 5am - that the North Americans will not want to dominate the game and change it to suit them. I guess those supporting this expansion would agree to players dressing as clowns or running around in pink tutus, if that meant they could have a share of a larger pot of money. It is more likely to be a revised version of American football.
I agree that if those few clubs who manage to get into the super duper international jamboree want to go their way, just let them and let everyone else go back to a community based game. You never know, someone might even want to invest in developing the game in the UK.
Time now for the RFL to split from SL and let the game prosper in this country first.
100%. Toronto isn't viable. Ottawa won't be. NY won't be. As for exhibition games, been there, done that. Happened in the late 80s/early 90s, Wigan and Warrington played there, even engineered a couple of all-out biffs to show them how tough we are. Didn't work, it's a dead horse.
The RFL should jettison the SL and concentrate on RL in the UK in a managed, probably part-time capacity. Let Wigan and Saints play NY, it'll die a death and they'll come crawling back eventually.
Interestingly there seems to be a growing interest in what would be a Chamionship league in France once again. Ideal project alongside a revised GB Championship to give a wider view, a European RL trophy , maybe even a Euro Challenge Cup for the league's top four. All fodder for TV coverage?
What was wrong with the structure pre licensing?
The Championship having a 6 team play off in a 10 team league maybe, but besides that teams had a fair chance of staying up and doing well.
The NRC Group stages were on the season ticket and actually allowed for decent derby matches and also some decent gate money for L1 teams with guaranteed fixtures v well supported clubs.
Things have been messed around with so much and we are in a worse place.
Agree CJ. Just sort it out and lets get on with it.
A competitive GB league will work imo.
My comment about the French project was to show that progress was being made there which would allow some European international interplay. It would mean that our players had a chance of the international scene, without SL!
The professional era has given lads the vision that playing RL was a route to being a millionaire. That may be true for some and certainly is for some Aussies, but not for all.
All the SL teams need to agree to Toronto's participation for them to be allowed in next season.
If Toronto are after a share of the Sky money, is there any chance of the other 11 clubs agreeing. The supposed mega TV deal looked dead in the water as far back as last year, when their last group of home games were not broadcast due to a money dispute.
When the top layer of makeup (the pretty one we all see ) is peeled back , what is underneath is nowhere near so attractive.
It would be fantastic for RL to be a global sport, but the RFL need to stop grasping at any nettle offered to them and start growing the sport properly. As the saying goes, if something looks too good to be true , it probably is, or in this case, the saying is probably
If it looks like a duck , walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck ,
or in Toronto's case , a dead duck.
In fairness to Toronto they always had to wait to renegotiate the north American TV deal as Super League had given it away, as they tend to, for a handful of beans.
In a logical world Super League would bring in a third party to negotiate a deal with Sky, a French broadcaster and a North American broadcaster, put all the money in one pot and then divide it equally. Instead we leave the Catalans to try and negotiate a deal which previously being given away for free. Sometimes it's better to not give it away at all and not devalue your own product.
I have just seen an article on something called CP24. It seems that without selling the franchise, there is no future for Toronto as the financial situation is terminal.
The Wolfpack say they have four interested parties from both sides of the Atlantic and they have been able to confirm that one of the U.K. bids is from Newcastle rugby and I would think that if they were to end up as owners, there would be little chance of the franchise staying in Canada and would purely be for the purpose of Newcastle owning a SL franchise .