IT’S fair to say that rugby league is at a bit of a crossroads in terms of moving forwards.
With the sport heading into a new era under IMG, there are calls from some corners of rugby league for a complete overhaul of the current system.
IMG have already outlined the potential areas in which they will focus, not least the likes of the Challenge Cup and the scrapping of loop fixtures and the Magic Weekend.
But Widnes Vikings head coach John Kear has called for something similar to happen as when the Super League was created back in 1996.
Back then, Maurice Lindsay took on the mantle of revolutionising the sport and there is no doubt that he was successful in doing just that.
And Kear has backed IMG to make a good go of it moving forward.
“I think IMG will revamp it and there are a lot of good ideas being floated around,” Kear told League Express.
“It will benefit the sport. And for me they’ve got to wipe the late clean and start again.
“Maurice Lindsay was a great visionary. He got Sky involved and launched Super League and took the sport to the summer.
“That was radical thinking at the time but to us now it’s normality and I think similar thinking is required now for perhaps the rebirth of the sport which will allow it to grow again.”
Of course, one aspect of the sport which is consistently scrutinised is the rules that are in place across all competitions.
For Kear, when asked about which potential rule he would change, there was 100% certainty in his answer.
“Throw the six again rule out and throw it out with an anvil around its neck so it goes to the bottom of the river so as to never surface again!”
Never change, John Kear, the sport needs more characters like you.
