Wigan Warriors Chairman, Ian Lenagan has hailed the decision to move forward with a new fixture proposal for Super League and Rugby League more generally from the 2019 season.
Super League will continue as a twelve-team league, but will revert to a normal ‘one-up, one-down’ promotion & relegation system.
The `Season + Super 8s’ format will abolished and replaced by a more normal, 29-game season including 14 home games and a Magic fixture. A five-team play-off series, preferred by both broadcasters and sponsors, will complete the end of the season.
“The democratic process has spoken and we’re delighted with today’s outcome,” said Lenagan.
“Today we have crossed the starting line in terms of changing our sport for the better and we have done it formally and democratically. We came out of the meeting feeling motivated and optimistic about this great game of ours.
“In Robert Elstone we have a superb Executive Director for Super League and I think that now both he, and we, can get on with what we should to be doing – promoting Super League and the whole sport of Rugby League properly.
“The fact that change was endorsed by an overwhelming majority, two thirds to one third, surprised a lot of people but there are a lot of sensible people in the sport of Rugby League. They shared our vision that Super League should get the promotion and profile it deserves, and that the Super 8s and the Qualifiers should be scrapped.
“From a Wigan viewpoint, we’ve been working on this for the best part of 18 months now, so there’s a natural sense of satisfaction with today’s outcome. It’s so important for Wigan and for other Super League clubs’ financial future.
“It’s good to have taken the lead along with other Super League clubs such as St Helens, Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers throughout this process. We’ve seen Super League lead and the rest of the game generally, including the RFL, follow. Now we can look forward to a proper, regular season with the number of games we would expect and all fixtures decided at the beginning of the season.”
For more on the outcome of the EGM and its implications, be sure to get a copy of Monday’s League Express.
