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Eddie Hearn-Time for the RFL to swallow pride and let him take over,if he is still interested?


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We all know the game is frankly on it’s anus and the news from London Broncos that they are going part time because of savage funding cuts proves it.And I understand other clubs have been provisionally told what is going to happen to them. And let’s face it too,Super League clubs are feeling it as well.

Now is it time for the RFL and the clubs to swallow their pride and go back to Eddie Hearn and say to him if you can revolutionise this sport and make it prosper once more you can have full control and ownership of it,which I understand he wanted.

 And the way I see it is this game is very slowly dying and the longer this Governing body is in charge they will go down the same road as the BDO(British Darts Organisation)when the selfishness of Oliver Croft almost killed darts and in the end whilst darts in the end survived and thrived,the BDO is now finished.

 And this if we aren’t careful will happen to rugby league and the RFL one day and maybe sooner than we think.

Thoughts?

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10 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

We all know the game is frankly on it’s anus and the news from London Broncos that they are going part time because of savage funding cuts proves it.And I understand other clubs have been provisionally told what is going to happen to them. And let’s face it too,Super League clubs are feeling it as well.

Now is it time for the RFL and the clubs to swallow their pride and go back to Eddie Hearn and say to him if you can revolutionise this sport and make it prosper once more you can have full control and ownership of it,which I understand he wanted.

 And the way I see it is this game is very slowly dying and the longer this Governing body is in charge they will go down the same road as the BDO(British Darts Organisation)when the selfishness of Oliver Croft almost killed darts and in the end whilst darts in the end survived and thrived,the BDO is now finished.

 And this if we aren’t careful will happen to rugby league and the RFL one day and maybe sooner than we think.

Thoughts?

I think, from memory, you're a Swinton fan?

As long as you're happy for Swinton to never be involved in any decision making about the upper levels of the sport and not to even be considered to play a game in it, then this is something you may want to consider.

If you have any reservations about that, or have a belief that any clubs currently involved in rugby league are guaranteed a spot in a Hearn-esque takeover, then I will find a polite, mocking emoji to put here.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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22 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

 

go back to Eddie Hearn and say to him if you can revolutionise this sport and make it prosper once more you can have full control and ownership of it,which I understand he wanted.

 

Just on this bit, 'if' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there to be handing over full control and ownership...

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The last few weeks of suggestions, comments and rumours have only confirmed that RL in this country needs a different approach and a different direction. Comments by the interim SL chairman, owners and journalists only make me think that the solutions to the problems the game faces don't lie within the game. I have found things like going to 14 then 2 x 10s, casting aside 16 clubs etc thoroughly depressing to read. I have not seen anything that addresses the issues I think the sport faces or anything that makes Super League bigger and better and more valuable to Sky going forward. Its all just more of the same and contraction to protect select existing clubs.

I'm not sure if the Hearn's are the answer or if the sport could even use them at the level I'd be comfortable with. I struggle to see how they could really get involved in Super League at the level of control they would want, the big clubs have no need to cede control and power like that. I would certainly be inclined to get them, or someone like them, on board for some events like the Challenge Cup, Magic, internationals (if we ever play them) and 9s comp if we want to expand the offering and say you take 50% of whatever you increase the current numbers by. Whether that is even big enough for them to be interested in I'm not sure.

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37 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

We all know the game is frankly on it’s anus and the news from London Broncos that they are going part time because of savage funding cuts proves it.And I understand other clubs have been provisionally told what is going to happen to them. And let’s face it too,Super League clubs are feeling it as well.

Now is it time for the RFL and the clubs to swallow their pride and go back to Eddie Hearn and say to him if you can revolutionise this sport and make it prosper once more you can have full control and ownership of it,which I understand he wanted.

 And the way I see it is this game is very slowly dying and the longer this Governing body is in charge they will go down the same road as the BDO(British Darts Organisation)when the selfishness of Oliver Croft almost killed darts and in the end whilst darts in the end survived and thrived,the BDO is now finished.

 And this if we aren’t careful will happen to rugby league and the RFL one day and maybe sooner than we think.

Thoughts?

We all know the game is frankly on it’s anus 

No its not. Far from it. Anyway, I thought you'd resigned from the forum ages ago.

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IMHO the Hearns are very good at promoting one-off events I.e. Premier League Darts is a series of one-off events staged around the UK and Europe as the Hearns do not expect people to attend every Thursday night.  The boxing events are also one-off events.

So I would have no issue if the Hearns were asked to promote the Magic Weekend and the Challenge Cup Final.  Both events, as proved over the last few years, are around 70% of capacity.  So if supporters of clubs competing cannot fill the grounds then the only option is to attract people, especially those living in the region where the events are staged, to the event.

I would say to the Hearns ‘The Magic Weekend attracts around 68,000 - full capacity over both days gives a total of 104,000.  So you can have 80% of the income from any figure above that attendance’.  If they succeed the game gains a very positive outcome for little risk.

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What I see Hearn offering the RL is expertise in digital marketing, for example embracing new media, social media, digital solutions as Matchroom have done with IFL TV and DAZN. Not only that the visual presentation of the sport, commentary teams. for example, pitch markings, advertising hoardings and match day presentation. What he's done with the boxing coverage on DAZN is fresh, exciting and innovative. Getting Maya Jama involved in the commentary team was a masterstroke and appeals to different audiences. 

Do I think he should be solely in charge of the sport no but I do think he should be on a RL commission charged with running the sport alongside other experts and the expertise he clearly offers is promotion, event management, marketing, digital and social media strategy and TV presentation

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I’d certainly consider Eddie Hearn and his team in some capacity but absolutely not full control and ownership of the sport. Like him or loathe him he is very successful at what he does and makes money for the sports he’s involved in. One thing that impresses me about Eddie Hearn is his relationships with the sportsmen he has in the Matchroom stable and equally their regard for him. I’m not talking about the Joshua’s, Whytes and Benns, Im talking about the young up and coming sports men and women. He knows them, their backgrounds, family, Coaches, trainers, their ambitions their strengths/weaknesses  and he also knows where they’re going, who their competition is. In short he actually goes beyond being a thorough professional businessman and takes the time to know everything he needs to in order to create success.

Id give him the task of creating a new event for the sport along similar lines to crickets The100. That may be a 9s or some other shortened version of the game that’s even more dynamic than the actual sport of Rugby League itself.

If he does that and creates success then allow him more latitude by giving him control of Magic Weekend or maybe task him with finding a way to make The Championship more relevant to the wider public and maybe TV.

Im not in the Rugby League is dead brigade but the direction of travel is alarming and it’s been heading in the wrong direction since around 2005.

something needs to change

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11 minutes ago, The Daddy said:

What I see Hearn offering the RL is expertise in digital marketing, for example embracing new media, social media, digital solutions as Matchroom have done with IFL TV and DAZN. Not only that the visual presentation of the sport, commentary teams. for example, pitch markings, advertising hoardings and match day presentation. What he's done with the boxing coverage on DAZN is fresh, exciting and innovative. Getting Maya Jama involved in the commentary team was a masterstroke and appeals to different audiences. 

Do I think he should be solely in charge of the sport no but I do think he should be on a RL commission charged with running the sport alongside other experts and the expertise he clearly offers is promotion, event management, marketing, digital and social media strategy and TV presentation

If we need (digital) marketing and presentation consultants then we should recruit those.

We don't need to just ring up Eddie Hearn and ask if he's free for a bit.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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1 minute ago, OMEGA said:

I’d certainly consider Eddie Hearn and his team in some capacity but absolutely not full control and ownership of the sport. Like him or loathe him he is very successful at what he does and makes money for the sports he’s involved in.

It's worth clicking on the links on the Matchroom Sport page for some of the most recent events in some sports and just how little impact they had.

Hearn/Matchroom are very good at convincing people that everything they touch turns to gold but their fail rate is pretty high.

 

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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6 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

It's worth clicking on the links on the Matchroom Sport page for some of the most recent events in some sports and just how little impact they had.

Hearn/Matchroom are very good at convincing people that everything they touch turns to gold but their fail rate is pretty high.

 

Not sure I agree with you on that!

Certainly  there are sell outs and there are those that struggle but that’s the nature of events because they’re subject to many exterior influences.

What I do see on Matchrooms calendar are multiple sports, some of them unfashionable, that have hours of TV broadcasting and huge prize fund pots.

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14 minutes ago, OMEGA said:

Task him with finding a way to make The Championship more relevant to the wider public and maybe TV

 

We need to do that with Super League first. No one is interested in paying money for a second tier competition, and time wasted on that is just that.

Look at what they so on social media to enhance those involved in their sports. What do we do?

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24 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

If we need (digital) marketing and presentation consultants then we should recruit those.

We don't need to just ring up Eddie Hearn and ask if he's free for a bit.

I've listed several skill sets that he offers and not just the ones you listed. There's a big difference between a for hire consultant and someone that has successfully signed broadcast deals and revolutionised the presentation of a whole sport. These so called consultant your talking about hiring do they have experience of managing events for 80,000 at Wembley or signing deals with Emirati in the Middle East? 

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6 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

Anyone who thinks a man who is incredibly successful at sports that require no infrastructure costs and has to pay nothing towards the grassroots of the sports he creams money in from needs a head check. Darts, Snooker (laregly kept up by Chinese cash) . Not the answer. 

I wouldn't bring him in to oversee grass roots, governance or community clubs, he has specific skill sets that could benefit the sport and I see no reason why those skills can't be sourced as part of a commission with other people that bring their own specialist knowledge 

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I have to admit that i've never been a fan of Frank Hearn or Eddie Hearn. As has been mentioned, they are events people, of a certain level.

They are currently involved to some degree in team sports in the UK, such as Basketball and Netball, but solely as events. Having no interest in either of those sports I honestly couldn't tell you much about the events they organise. But a good marker for any impact they've made would be to compare the difference between what those sports had achieved pre and post involvement with Matchroom.

You could argue that selling Basketball to the neutral sports fan is easier than RL would be, due to the global awareness it enjoys. 

All the things listed about what they might bring to the sport I think can be achieved through working with just as capable, if not more capable, organisations and agencies. Without all the ego.

The way they operate quite simply would never work in RL.

I don't think we don't need a circus to be successful. Just some decent people with the right skillset and a progressive and strategic approach. Just my humble opinion of course! 🙂

Newham Dockers - Champions 2013. Rugby League For East London. 100% Cockney Rugby League!

Twitter: @NewhamDockersRL - Get following!

www.newhamdockers.co.uk

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4 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

I have to admit that i've never been a fan of Frank Hearn or Eddie Hearn. As has been mentioned, they are events people, of a certain level.

They are currently involved to some degree in team sports in the UK, such as Basketball and Netball, but solely as events. Having no interest in either of those sports I honestly couldn't tell you much about the events they organise. But a good marker for any impact they've made would be to compare the difference between what those sports had achieved pre and post involvement with Matchroom.

You could argue that selling Basketball to the neutral sports fan is easier than RL would be, due to the global awareness it enjoys. 

All the things listed about what they might bring to the sport I think can be achieved through working with just as capable, if not more capable, organisations and agencies. Without all the ego.

The way they operate quite simply would never work in RL.

I don't think we don't need a circus to be successful. Just some decent people with the right skillset and a progressive and strategic approach. Just my humble opinion of course! 🙂

The initiatives and direction that the sport needs and the qualities that Eddie Hearn brings is not just about bringing in skills that you can get by hiring an agency or consultants it's about the leadership that comes with it, experience of leading and dealing with high level organisations and the added value it brings. RL have brought in agencies and consultants before with little or no positive impact.

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Eddie Hearn is the wrong answer to the wrong question. 

The question people are asking is "who can save us?" - that's the wrong question. The question that people should be asking is "who do we want to attract to RL, what do we want RL to be and how does it get there?". 

The sport doesn't need a saviour or a "white knight". It doesn't need a PT Barnum. It just needs to know what audience it actually wants and some idea of what "success" looks like. 

Once that's decided, then it can go about delivering what those audiences want, but it's totally and entirely within the remit of the clubs to do that. 

Eddie Hearn can't fix anything if he doesn't know what the hell RL actually wants to be. 

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