The 4 of Us

https://warringtonwolves.com/news/2023/october/Armani-Sharrock-named-new-Women-s-Head-Coach/# And a St Pats mon to boot!

A post which pretty expertly sums up the state of RL in the UK.

Buys it from someone needing the money more than him, gives notice to quit, negotiates new lease. Makes money. Ask Coventry.

It more likely to consist of North Leigh, Central Leigh, East Leigh Cobras, West Leigh, South Leigh, Culcheth, Atherton and Tyldesley (no connection to original Northern Union team for ip purposes)

A very good like for like conparison to the cumulative £50m turnover of Wasps, London Irish and Worcester not me thinks.

And not even playing for the Wooden Spoon!

The game on the pitch is top notch. The reason why the game has not progressed for generations or has failed to take a grip of any opportunities (there have been plenty) is the fact the club owners, who are largely only really bothered about their own club, having been running the show, and the limited talent within the governing body, have not had what it takes to change it. There is only 1 way for the game to progress and that is to have an independent commission running the game in the UK and every other body being subsidary to it. IMG is required to asvise on marketing, TV and the rest, because the sport does not have the talent within it to do that job.

When he was appointed, I felt as though it showed a potential lack of ambition, when other teams were spending big on more high profile overseas coaches (appreciate that is not always to the best effect!) That being said, I appreciated that Wigan were building from the bottom up and that he was very much in the mold of Shane Wane in that he had done the hard yards in the junior teams and was effectively moving up with the same players of whom he had gained respect in the acadamy ranks, to the end that there was complete continuity in his appointment, which has shown the success in Wigan’s planning for the long term. He clearly impressed the powers that be that he had what was required and trusted his skill set even if he hadn’t got the high profile name or SL experience. He appears to be a very good student of the game with impeccable player management skills, from which the players have responded with some outstanding ball in hand rugby and a ruthless work ethic. He deserves his success and new contract.

Agree with all that. Unfortunately the CEO appears to see it as per the quote “Plan A is the full redevelopment which ticks every box going”. Makes you wonder if they would be doing much/anything to improve fan experience unless forced, which is partly why the game is in such a mess. My main question I suppose in OP was the IMG/SL credit for planning permission only. If so, and that was sufficient to gain Castleford (and others) a place in SL going forward, I couldn’t see any doing much more than the absolute minimum to get and then stay in. I think that article belies a really dissapointing “just enough” attitude from Castleford’s CEO which would weigh like an anker on any wishes to be SL as a whole. The game needs a much more ambitious mind set across the professional game.

https://www.totalrl.com/castleford-tigers-managing-director-on-super-league-stadium-redevelopment-with-two-plans-now-in-place/ Sharing this from news section in case it had passed people by. Couldn’t quite believe what I was reading. Is it correct that any team will get an extra IMG point for planning permission only for a unfunded architects drawing? If so, it appears that Cas are positioning the Wakefield Council as the fall guys in the event they don’t unduly rush any decision? The first draft is in his mind, as are the follow up presumably. And if the council don’t do whats needed soon enough, they’ll spend £2M on sticking plasters?

Being a bit of a saddo, I looked at the space they have on google. There’s more than appears at a sideways glance. I always thought there were issues behind with the houses, but there is a road in between. There is a partial roof on the right hand side which you think could be extended fairly easily along the length of the ground. However, if they are looking for some fairly inexpensive and heavy engineering light coverage, they could look to something like a heavy duty awning/canopy type cover which would make the area look much better than it is now and provide much needed cover.

Yep, I get that, but still! Either way, it’s going to be a transformative development for them. Will be good to see what’s planned for the opposite side.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/challenge-cup-format-group-stages-27592339

Possibly the most passive aggressive post of the year

And imagine any mobile company doing this for any sports team in the UK https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/up-the-wahs-one-new-zealands-sneaky-message-for-the-warriors/LCN4L6J7A5AE5AU7B5OLWAJGAM/

https://ministryofsport.com/warriors-winning-strategy-the-commercial-playbook-behind-their-nrl-uprising/ Warriors’ Winning Strategy: The Commercial Playbook Behind Their NRL Uprising 2023 in numbers

Brigantes

“Rugby League Live understands clubs voted to keep the competition's existing 27-game format next season.” This could actually be achieved with 14 teams and Magic Weekend as opposed to loop fixtures. The rentention of the extra fixture gives the odd number of fixtures sufficient to justify the playoffs. There’s also reference to the changes to the Challenge Cup not being ready for next season, so perhaps bigger changes as expected in 2025 afterall.

Exactly this. If fans aren’t attracted to watch, it’s rhe clubs having inadequate facilities, or not making it sufficient of an event that needs looking at. There’s a lot of clubs that have put hard work into making the day something to attend, rather than just the game. There are also those which expect people to fork out £20 or more to stand on a open terrace with a wall to pee against. Not surprising that some might choose an alternative outlet for their spending.

Out of interest I came across this as a download on my Samsung TV yesterday. Exactly the sort of thing the game should be looking towards. https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nzr/id6450051979 https://get.nzrplus.com

Let’s suppose that the production cost for a single SL game is £25,000 and that there are currently 4 games per round not covered, then excluding the Magic Weekend, that would mean costs of £100,000 per every one of 26 rounds met by Sky, which makes a £1m reduction in cash look less challenging, especially if SL can sell in the secondary rights. DAZN?

Following on from discussion on other threads, Newcastle may well get a reprieve if there is an early reorganisation based upon the IMG criteria in time for next season.

Absolutely, but I thing from the IMG survey, it was clear that the loop situation was one of, if not the top concern for fans. There are other options, such as reducing the number of games, 22 home and away? Although, they could be offset with an increase in Challenge Cup games with a round robin round including every/most SL sides? Will be interesting to see what happens, but looks like momentum will be building. I suspect that the 30 day exclusivity period will be more to do with organising structure for next year, as opposed to signing on the dotted line.