6 replies to this topic

[Pugwash]

http://news.bbc.co.u...ue/14329986.stm

So with Crusaders going t!ts up all their overseas players, thirteen, can now join other clubs and not count on the overseas register. I'm sure the RFL have forgotten that the World Cup is in a midge's over two years and all the S.L. clubs will be crammed to the gills with third-rate antipodeans whilst our youngstes wait for a chance.

I know, let's not have their wages counted on the salary cap as well eh?

Pugwash.

[Shadow45]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/14329986.stm

So with Crusaders going t!ts up all their overseas players, thirteen, can now join other clubs and not count on the overseas register. I'm sure the RFL have forgotten that the World Cup is in a midge's over two years and all the S.L. clubs will be crammed to the gills with third-rate antipodeans whilst our youngstes wait for a chance.

I know, let's not have their wages counted on the salary cap as well eh?

Pugwash.

Now, now, I'm sure the powers that be at Red Hall have the best interests of Rugby League at heart.

[Heywood Tiger]

I agree, the RFL are an absolute disgrace. Once again theyve embarrassed the sport with this debacle. Once the club went into administration it was clear the project was doomed. So instead of swapping them with Widnes at that point they moved them North as if they'd forgotten about the "huge potential for RL" in the South, rather wanting to minimise their embarresment rather than do whats best for RL.

[DiddyDave]

I can understand your frustrations Puggy,but "third rate Antipodeans",I think not. If England`s youngsters were any good,these blokes wouldn`t be required,but from what I`ve seen in recent end of season Four Nations matches,England (GB?)are not much better than PNG and the annual walloping of our Gallic neighbours is hardly a sign that things are on the improve. Of course,we all know the OZ/Kiwis are only here to prop the game up so it is palatable fare for Sky TV,so you I`m afraid can`t have it both ways. Should Mr Murdoch and Co decide to ditch Super League,I think we all know the game would virtually disappear as a spectator sport as it would never be able to compete with football and,dare I say it,rugby yawnion. Us older ones who can recall some of the great GB teams of the past,would no doubt consider that the game is now beyond redemption,but I guess you could say that about most sport these days. Third rate Antipodeans therefore are a regrettable necessity for UK rugby league in my humble opinion.

[Pugwash]

When I used the tem 'third rate antipodeans' it was meant as regards their first rate ones and not as compared to our players.

If our clubs were to bring over current internationals and State of Origin players then maybe we could take them but these guys are just taking places that young British players desperately need.

Yes they are better than our crop but how are we going to breed top class scrum halves when the likes of Sam Tomkins get moved to full back to give Leuleui (sp) his place. If I were a Wigan fan I would be very wary that Sam might be getting watched by the NRL or Union and he might decide to go to one of them! We@ll only develop players if they are given chance to perform regularly and don't forget that the end of PR was said to be needed to allow us to bring youngstes on now they're cominf in in plane loads.

Murdoch **** *** ***** ********** *******.

Pugwash.

[DiddyDave]

Yes its a veritable Catch 22. As you say moving players from their selected positions to include foreigners is not good for the national team,but surely the way the international game is these days,who cares? World Cups are every four or five years and the Four Nations is no more than an end of season tournament that means sod all,only wanted by satellite TV. Having lived Down Under for the last 39 years and an avid supporter of the NZ Warriors (though I now live in Oz),I guess I`m spoiled by being able to watch top league every week,but I`m more than impressed with the odd game of Super League that they show on channel 9. The local blokes play just as well as the imports,so surely it`s a good thing that the game is still top fare and more than equal with other sports. Be happy with what you`ve got Puggy,it`s far from ideal,but far better than nowt.

[ArthurDaley]

Cash boost for Super League as Sky pen five-year TV rights extension worth £90m

By Sportsmail Reporter


Last updated at 12:55 PM on 3rd August 2011

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The Rugby Football League have unveiled a new five-year television deal with Sky Sports that will net Super League clubs £1million a year for the first time.


The latest agreement replaces Sky's current three-year contract, which is thought to be worth around £50million and expires at the end of the season, and runs to the end of 2016, extending the game's partnership with the satellite broadcaster to 21 unbroken years.


The agreement will see up to 70 Super League games being televised live each year, including all play-off ties and the end-of-season Grand Final at Old Trafford, supported by weekly shows like Boots 'N' All and Super League Super Men.


Sky's the limit: The satellite broadcaster has penned a new deal

Although the governing body have not revealed the value of the new deal, it is thought to be worth in excess of £90m over the five years.


The new contract is restricted to coverage of Super League, leaving the RFL free to conclude separate television deals for internationals, the Carnegie Challenge Cup and the Co-operative Championship.


The BBC's Challenge Cup deal runs out this season and negotiations are ongoing with terrestrial broadcasters.


'At a time when broadcast fees in sport have been under real pressure, this is a tremendous outcome for the sport of rugby league,' said RFL chairman Richard Lewis.


'It clearly demonstrates the confidence that Sky Sports has in the game's current and future appeal and will give everyone involved in the sport a real boost.


'This is the first time we have sold domestic rights independently of international rights and so it bodes well for those sales which will be concluded either later this year or early next year.


All action: Sky viewers will enjoy another five years of coverage

'The extended partnership from three to five years will enable us to plan for the future and tackle the issues we need to address in order to make Super League stronger.'


Sky has held exclusive live rights to Super League since paying £87m in the spring of 1995 in a deal which included a hefty sweetener to smooth the way to a switch to a summer season.


Subsequent deals fell in value until a five-year agreement worth just £63m to run from 2004-08 was struck, although that was renegotiated upwards in November 2007 when the arrival of Setanta Sports as a genuine threat to Sky helped the RFL and IMG secure around £50m in a new three-year contract to run from 2009-11.


Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said: 'We are pleased to extend our partnership with the Rugby Football League for a further five years.


'Sky Sports has worked in tandem with the Rugby Football League as its principal media partner to showcase the game and support its development over the last 16 years.'



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