The Dentist Wilf wrote:I think we'd all be surprised how many Clubs are with him on the break away and just waiting for the right time. Whether they will all come out in public and stand with him this time around is another thing, there are a lot of unhappy administrators out there at present and the RL are a bit of a pedantic and archaic bunch. However who knows perhaps this will be the catalyst for change, personally I don't think it will be myself, that said I'm pretty confidant one day there will be a break away by the Clubs. As far as the administration of Super League is concerned we have a fine game with some fine business men as administrators at Club level however the game itself is performing well short of its potential as far as it's exposure and it's standing is concerned and I think some of those guys are getting mighty frustrated.
I don't agree with everything Koucash says and does, but I back him on his comments about the RFL.
They struggle to get even the basics right. Refereeing is inconsistent, promotion of the game mediocre (only releasing international fixtures months before whereas in Union and Football you know when and where the big games will be years in advance) as others have pointed out it was ridiculous to commit to such a long SKY deal just at a time when sports rights prices are on the up due to competition from BT and others.
While Super League has become more competitive over the last few years, it's been more of a case of teams becoming more average with a lot less quality overseas imports coming over and some big name England players going to Australia or Union. The mentality seems to be keep costs low, play it safe and make small profits, but that only works for so long before the fans get bored and the kids don't take up the sport.
That said it is still generally a good watch, but the game badly needs more national exposure, the RFL need to convince SKY to allow a handful of games each year to be made available on free to air TV or free online, surely there is a benefit to SKY in getting a free advert for one of their main sports on free to air tv. Just look at the increased level of interest in England games since they've been back on the BBC.
As for expansion itself, putting teams in Oxford, Toronto and all the rest is all well and good, but there are major cities right on the doorstep of the heartlands such as Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield were the game is nothing more than a minority sport where time, money and effort could and should be spent. Instead we just take a magic weekend or international to these places once a year and hope that does the business.
