FORMER Catalans Dragons halfback Luke Keary has defended his criticism of the RFL and Super League.
In an interview earlier in the year, Keary took aim at the governing body in the northern hemisphere, claiming that the Super League product was ‘unwatchable’.
Of course, the comments created quite the buzz, but now the veteran has reiterated his concerns over the state of the game in the UK.
“I got myself in a bit of trouble being a bit too honest,” Keary said on James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast.
“It was the way I said it and how it came out. It was a mistake. The conversation was silly but I stand by the points inside it.
A lot of people reached out who have watched that game over there and they could see where I was coming from.
“I’ve watched the Super League since I was a kid, and you admire it from afar but I had no idea about how it was run with the RFL or anything like that.
“It was just a huge shock what was going on and what people were putting up with and especially how Catalans are being treated so it came to a head in that interview.
“I regret how it came across but things inside it, they were right from my point of view. A few things need to change for the betterment of the game but there’s so many small wins they can have.”
Keary also believes that the decision to expand Super League to 14 teams for 2026 was taken “so quickly” that it was confusing.
“There was a lot of talk in the background about restrictions around them (Catalans) on paying for teams’ travel to come over so they’ve financially handicapped them a little bit.
“Even Peter (V’landys) said with Toulouse coming in and not giving them that share of funding so they can’t play to the salary cap straight away. It’s not centrally funded, but it’s not centrally governed either.
“Over there they, the clubs, all get votes. I met (Kris) Radlinski from Wigan when they came to Catalans and he’s a really good fella.
“He was talking about the vote (for promotion) saying he didn’t have the information to make an informed decision about whether to proceed.
“It was concerning they came up with that so quickly and everyone was so confused. There’s a lot of head-scratching things about when people can vote. It’s a bit all over the shop.”