RUGBY LEAGUE is in an interesting period in terms of its future.
International marketing giants IMG came onboard last year with the hope of ‘re-imagining’ rugby league, setting out a number of criteria in which all 36 professional clubs would be graded going forward.
Those plans were set out in the hope that standards will be driven up on and off the field with on-field performance just a small part of five criteria that also includes finances, catchment, facilities and fandom.
For Bradford Bulls chief executive, Jason Hirst, the proposals set forward by IMG are necessary to change in order to remain attractive – though he does feel that the rugby league fanbase may have one major reservation.
“Like the overwhelming majority of clubs the Bradford Bulls voted for and support the IMG recommendations,” Hirst told League Express.
“We did so as it’s clear that rugby league needs to change certain thiings if it’s to remain an attractive sport to broadcasters and bring in new spectators and additional, much-needed sponsorship and revenue.
“There are always bound to be reservations when such a seismic change begins to take place. One for our club is how will fans of all clubs respond to and embrace the fact that promotion and relegation will no longer be solely determined by on-field performance.
“Whilst the model of no automatic promotion and relegation is commonplace in the southern hemisphere and the USA, it isn’t so in the UK and Europe.
“That said, some changes to promotion and relegation formats have been introduced and embraced in the UK in the past, starting with the football play-offs system in the late eighties, followed by a similar system in UK rugby league in more recent times.
“I raise that point to demonstrate that although lots of people are initially reluctant to accept and embrace change, their viewpoint often changes over time once the changes have been embedded.”
Hirst does believe that IMG can improve on one key aspect.
“In terms of what IMG can do better, ideally we’d like to see more face-to-face communication with clubs on an individual basis, but I’m sure that will come in time.
“There’s a wealth of experience across the rugby league member clubs and it’s vitally important that it’s used to the best effect.
“Club owners and leadership teams also have ideas on how to generically improve our great sport’s off-field performance, for the benefit of everyone and they should be consulted with. It’s also important that IMG continue to engage with the fans of our sport.
In terms of what grade Bradford would get under the IMG proposals, Hirst is optimistic that the Bulls will score relatively highly.
“We believe we will be a “strong” B grade club initially. Our focus is on ourselves in relation to how we score and where we can improve, short, medium and longer term, to ultimately receive an A grade score.
“In other words, we’ll control our controllables and see where we end up in the grading table.”
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