Can IMG make Rugby League into a more successful sport?

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, RP London said:

Is this still the hangover from the power battle early in the 2000s with EuroLeague and the FIBA SuproLeague ? 

Appears to be.

Schisms, eh?

[RP London]

9 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

Good job I'm not your boss , lazy barstewards 

I'm my own and i'm very close to giving myself a written warning.. just for something to do that isnt what i'm supposed to be doing!

[GUBRATS]

34 minutes ago, RP London said:

I'm my own and i'm very close to giving myself a written warning.. just for something to do that isnt what i'm supposed to be doing!

You need to get a ' proper ' job

[RP London]

15 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

You need to get a ' proper ' job

I really do, or at least a proper boss 

Edited June 23, 2022 by RP London

[GUBRATS]

1 hour ago, RP London said:

I really do, or at least a proper boss 

If it doesn't involve climbing up a ladder with a cordless drill it's not ' proper ' , especially in this heat , or rain , or snow 

Lazy git 

[RP London]

8 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

If it doesn't involve climbing up a ladder with a cordless drill it's not ' proper ' , especially in this heat , or rain , or snow 

Lazy git 

i'd still drill through the cord

[idrewthehaggis]

23 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Euroleague licensing rules can be found here (for nerds like me): https://www.euroleague.net/rs/arly7cmx6hsh55up/84bd1f8d-134d-42a0-a8ee-cd688d29aaa2/282/filename/2021-22-euroleague-bylaws-linked.pdf

There's all sorts of interesting criteria in there, like minimum capacity stadia, attendances, population, distance from Frankfurt/airports/hotels etc.

Returning to the thread's theme, it is curious what has been suggested for Euroleague via IMG.

If that plan was enacted, at least it would be transparent. However as much as I want a central authority to take the lead, I do not get the impression the current RFL are it. 

But maybe IMG might conclude that as well. 

If you look at those criterias and adapted it to RL, then I think you'd find more excluded than included.

If that is so the choice is an elite league of 6-8 clubs or a plan to enhance, fund and support the middle top clubs to join the St Helens etc. 

The one that got me laughing was the criteria for a 4 star hotel within 25 km (15 miles). Erm let me think............

[Man of Kent]

1 hour ago, idrewthehaggis said:

Returning to the thread's theme, it is curious what has been suggested for Euroleague via IMG.

If that plan was enacted, at least it would be transparent. However as much as I want a central authority to take the lead, I do not get the impression the current RFL are it. 

But maybe IMG might conclude that as well. 

If you look at those criterias and adapted it to RL, then I think you'd find more excluded than included.

If that is so the choice is an elite league of 6-8 clubs or a plan to enhance, fund and support the middle top clubs to join the St Helens etc. 

The one that got me laughing was the criteria for a 4 star hotel within 25 km (15 miles). Erm let me think............

I agree that certain criteria for Euroleague would be hopelessly unsuitable for Super League. That said, this licensing model seems like it could overcome certain issues relating to expansion, the heartlands and P&R.   

[steve oates]

On 23/06/2022 at 06:07, Man of Kent said:

They have already held talks with the NRL about growing the international game. They are leading the negotiations for the next TV deal starting from 2024. And they are looking beyond the heartland for growth, which suggests rumours like Dublin may have legs. 

Gaelic Games, Rugby Union and Soccer are the big sports in Dublin.....

How do you think Rugby League will fit there and how much do you think it will cost to promote the sport there to build a  full time successful Dublin RL club?

[steve oates]

On 02/06/2022 at 19:31, GUBRATS said:

without regular meaningful and hopefully competitive internationals we will never grow the sport in the NH 

Having been around long enough I can remember just how awesome the Great Britain.v.Australia test series games were.

That was our biggest promotional card.... 

[Dave T]

5 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

I remember those early 2000´s games but that´s because my stepdad had skysports. We need internationals on fta. 

Our main internationals have been on FTA for years now, there is no reason to believe we will change that approach. 

The sooner we get to playing internationals the better. We've lost two years of what should have been huge internationals in the UK, with massive coverage on the BBC. 

[gingerjon]

4 hours ago, Dave T said:

Our main internationals have been on FTA for years now, there is no reason to believe we will change that approach. 

The sooner we get to playing internationals the better. We've lost two years of what should have been huge internationals in the UK, with massive coverage on the BBC. 

The BBC are showing every game of our three World Cups this year.

That's a smidgen bigger than the Kangaroo tours which were never more regular than every four years anyway.

[Dave T]

3 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

The BBC are showing every game of our three World Cups this year.

That's a smidgen bigger than the Kangaroo tours which were never more regular than every four years anyway.

Indeed - isn't it something like 61 games live they will show across their platforms? Plus the Challenge Cup, and Channel 4's games. 

FTA presence isn't a problem for us. 

[Jughead]

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/ditch-hidden-agendas-and-reduce-games-or-risk-burning-out-players-like-football/

Interesting. 

[steve oates]

On 24/06/2022 at 17:33, ShropshireBull said:

I remember those early 2000´s games 

OK let me take us all back to then.  2004........

40,000 in Manchester for GB.v.Australia with the likes of Fielden, Morley, Peacock, Sculthorpe and Farrell matching the Aussies....... GB.v.New Zealand, Carney, McGuire, Senior, Wellens and Long in the backs. The Huddersfield game selling right out.

Then on to GB's great win over Australia - sell out at 25,000 with many more unable to attend at the JJB Wigan, Britain romps to Victory with Senior finishing the Aussies off in the final minutes. Over to Hull for 23,000 crowd and a close encounter with New Zealand, before the final before 39,000 at Eland Road in Leeds.

Our decline in terms of the quality players we produced, who had the ability to mix it at top International level and sell out stadiums is pretty sad, and there for all to see, but many young people just don't want to play Rugby any more and it's hitting us hard as did the head knocks expose. Obviously Covid stifled attendances too, but even though that has gone, are there significant numbers of spectators who have decided not to come back to RL which is a bit of a shadow compared with the game we had 18 years ago.

How do any of us seriously think IMG will turn that round???, and if they don't why would we want to get stuck with a 10 year contract? I can only think that they are being brought in to manage continued  decline...

So I suggest we don't expect much at all from them.....

[gingerjon]

13 minutes ago, steve oates said:

How do any of us seriously think IMG will turn that round???

There's about 12 pages on this thread and dozens of comments on others.

[nadera78]

21 minutes ago, steve oates said:

OK let me take us all back to then.  2004........

40,000 in Manchester for GB.v.Australia with the likes of Fielden, Morley, Peacock, Sculthorpe and Farrell matching the Aussies....... GB.v.New Zealand, Carney, McGuire, Senior, Wellens and Long in the backs. The Huddersfield game selling right out.

Then on to GB's great win over Australia - sell out at 25,000 with many more unable to attend at the JJB Wigan, Britain romps to Victory with Senior finishing the Aussies off in the final minutes. Over to Hull for 23,000 crowd and a close encounter with New Zealand, before the final before 39,000 at Eland Road in Leeds.

Our decline in terms of the quality players we produced, who had the ability to mix it at top International level and sell out stadiums is pretty sad, and there for all to see, but many young people just don't want to play Rugby any more and it's hitting us hard as did the head knocks expose. Obviously Covid stifled attendances too, but even though that has gone, are there significant numbers of spectators who have decided not to come back to RL which is a bit of a shadow compared with the game we had 18 years ago.

How do any of us seriously think IMG will turn that round???, and if they don't why would we want to get stuck with a 10 year contract? I can only think that they are being brought in to manage continued  decline...

So I suggest we don't expect much at all from them.....

If I take your posts seriously for just a moment; rugby league has plenty of people capable, and plenty of experience, of managing decline. It certainly doesn't need to bring in any outside organisations to do that.

[Damien]

8 hours ago, steve oates said:

OK let me take us all back to then.  2004........

40,000 in Manchester for GB.v.Australia with the likes of Fielden, Morley, Peacock, Sculthorpe and Farrell matching the Aussies....... GB.v.New Zealand, Carney, McGuire, Senior, Wellens and Long in the backs. The Huddersfield game selling right out.

Then on to GB's great win over Australia - sell out at 25,000 with many more unable to attend at the JJB Wigan, Britain romps to Victory with Senior finishing the Aussies off in the final minutes. Over to Hull for 23,000 crowd and a close encounter with New Zealand, before the final before 39,000 at Eland Road in Leeds.

Our decline in terms of the quality players we produced, who had the ability to mix it at top International level and sell out stadiums is pretty sad, and there for all to see, but many young people just don't want to play Rugby any more and it's hitting us hard as did the head knocks expose. Obviously Covid stifled attendances too, but even though that has gone, are there significant numbers of spectators who have decided not to come back to RL which is a bit of a shadow compared with the game we had 18 years ago.

How do any of us seriously think IMG will turn that round???, and if they don't why would we want to get stuck with a 10 year contract? I can only think that they are being brought in to manage continued  decline...

So I suggest we don't expect much at all from them.....

And we lose 44-4 in the final against Australia.

That's an awfully rose tinted, selective summary. In the early 2000s we also had 16k at Blackburn and tests against the Aussies at Hull that only got 22k. We also had the likes of Richard Horne and Karl Pratt selected on the wings because we could barely must a winger. Players like Mike Forshaw and Stuart Rearden were no world beaters either.

[Gerrumonside ref]

I really hope there’s a joined up plan domestically to cash in on the potential success and profile of the three World Cups happening soon.

All three formats deserve a different strategy and contingency based on their potential to pull in the public gaze.

Hopefully too there will be much needed preparations on how to tell our stories during this period to the media.

 

 

 

[Tommygilf]

2 hours ago, Damien said:

And we lose 44-4 in the final against Australia.

That's an awfully rose tinted, selective summary. In the early 2000s we also had 16k at Blackburn and tests against the Aussies at Hull that only got 22k. We also had the likes of Richard Horne and Karl Pratt selected on the wings because we could barely must a winger. Players like Mike Forshaw and Stuart Rearden were no world beaters either.

I am utterly shocked that the poster you quoted would provide a view like that...

[RP London]

12 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I really hope there’s a joined up plan domestically to cash in on the potential success and profile of the three World Cups happening soon.

All three formats deserve a different strategy and contingency based on their potential to pull in the public gaze.

Hopefully too there will be much needed preparations on how to tell our stories during this period to the media.

 

 

 

This is one of the bits I hope IMG bring... with their wide range of experience that they can call on this type of media front and PR work can really help us. 

As for the "manage decline" i cannot see IMG wanting to do something like that when they are tasked and will make money out of growth but not decline.. that would seem a really odd way to run their business and that is also not what they have historically done. 

[fighting irish]

44 minutes ago, RP London said:

This is one of the bits I hope IMG bring... with their wide range of experience that they can call on this type of media front and PR work can really help us. 

As for the "manage decline" i cannot see IMG wanting to do something like that when they are tasked and will make money out of growth but not decline.. that would seem a really odd way to run their business and that is also not what they have historically done. 

It's utter rubbish RP.

Isn't their 'cut' dependant on improving the games income?

Managing steady decline would mean they don't make any money at all just managing for nothing.

Was it you who asked me what it means if you can't see the lunatic in the room?

[steve oates]

14 hours ago, Damien said:

That's an awfully rose tinted, selective summary. In the early 2000s we also had 16k at Blackburn and tests against the Aussies at Hull that only got 22k. We also had the likes of Richard Horne and Karl Pratt selected on the wings because we could barely must a winger. Players like Mike Forshaw and Stuart Rearden were no world beaters either.

Your counter summary seems to make the case that the level of spectators on the terraces and in the seats,  and the level of ability amongst home grown players, has simply never changed over the last near 20 years?  GB  in 2004 were no better than GB today and crowds are just as good?.......Really?

The stats appear to say there's 1,000 less spectators per game and the reports appears to say clubs are stuffing their rosters with extensive numbers of Aussies due to falling numbers of grass roots players leading to less quality home grown talent?  Do you think this is not the case?

[RP London]

16 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

It's utter rubbish RP.

Isn't their 'cut' dependant on improving the games income?

Managing steady decline would mean they don't make any money at all just managing for nothing.

Was it you who asked me what it means if you can't see the lunatic in the room?

exactly that.. if the game doesn't improve its revenue streams then IMG gets nothing.. why would you put effort in for nothing!

[gingerjon]

18 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

It's utter rubbish RP.

Isn't their 'cut' dependant on improving the games income?

Managing steady decline would mean they don't make any money at all just managing for nothing.

Was it you who asked me what it means if you can't see the lunatic in the room?

Yes, one of the few seemingly confirmed details is that IMG’s payment comes out of the growth they achieve.