Where does English (and European) Rugby League fit into all this.

[Dave T]

17 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

Does LD mean because the BBC were the host broadcaster they would be entitled to a feee if another company used their product?

Maybe, the general conversation is if there is any value for the NRL in the UK. 

[Dave T]

19 minutes ago, Barley Mow said:

The benefit may be in letting it sink just far enough down the gurgler that NRL can come in as a saviour with control of the whole thing.

The UK comps essentially become feeders to NRL - effectively academies producing players for NRL clubs, barely paying full-time wages so that any decent player has no good option other than signing to an NRL club.

The best British players are then all playing in NRL. Then with the top tier international game having collapsed in Europe due to no SH opposition (as we are already seeing) an NRL controlled GB/England side can be set up to play SH nations down there.

The benefit could be NRL obtaining control over the game worldwide, with all top level RL played in Aus/NZ (and perhaps PNG) and only lower tier matches up here (with maybe an occasional GB/England tour to the UK.

I think your first para hits the mark. It's a dysfunctional relationship that mirrors some real life relationships. Undermine them so much that they are worthless, lacking value, have no options and then they are there to be controlled. 

The NRL don't want the RFL trying to organise too many tests using NRL players. They don't want mid-season tests. They don't want extended world cups. They are happy to stage a few games a year on their doorstep, keep their players close. 

It is in their interest to weaken the RFL, but not kill it. They want a subservient RFL just as all the other 'governing bodies' now are. 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Dave T

[JohnM]

The Aussies knew and respected Mo as the game's power broker (e.g. who else could have charmed £500k out of Norweb so Wigan could buy Offiah?) but now, in my view, we have no one of his stature. No wonder Australia is looking elsewhere. That is also why success with the  Reimagining project with IMG is so vital.

[gingerjon]

It is quite sweet this belief that there are hundreds of millions to be paid for an Australian domestic league in any sport via the US.

Endearingly parochial.

[JohnM]

Who believes that, though?

 

[Click]

3 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

It is quite sweet this belief that there are hundreds of millions to be paid for an Australian domestic league in any sport via the US.

Endearingly parochial.

To be honest - I am sure there is a lot of money in the US for the NRL if they are able to leverage it from betting companies.

I was very surprised earlier this year when a friend I have in Ohio messaged me asking about the NRL as they had them on their "draft picks" or whatever betting site he was using. He wanted to watch the game live with me rather than just seeing if he picked the right winner, etc. 

Super League has never been able to do anything abroad because IMO, you can't get attached to a league, or a team if you can't even get the option to watch them most weeks, if not every week. American's and Canadians that I have known have thought it strange that we would televise our game, but not all games, so they couldn't watch the team I supported. 

Hopefully with us having our games in a more broadcast standard for all, it will eventually get to the point of being able to grow more internationally as a League and the teams/players in it. 

[Midlands hobo]

2 hours ago, Dave T said:

Maybe, the general conversation is if there is any value for the NRL in the UK. 

Is there any value for Australia? When did England last beat Australia?

[Spidey]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

The Aussies knew and respected Mo as the game's power broker (e.g. who else could have charmed £500k out of Norweb so Wigan could buy Offiah?) but now, in my view, we have no one of his stature. No wonder Australia is looking elsewhere. That is also why success with the  Reimagining project with IMG is so vital.

Widnes are still waiting for the full £500k BTW

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Midlands hobo said:

Is there any value for Australia? When did England last beat Australia?

I have no idea what this question has to do with the conversation

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Midlands hobo said:

Is there any value for Australia? When did England last beat Australia?

That's not the question being asked.

There is probably no rugby league value for Australia playing England.

There is definitely no real value to the NRL brand - in the form of TV rights etc - in the UK.

[JohnM]

49 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Widnes are still waiting for the full £500k BTW

Really? How so?

[Harry Stottle]

11 hours ago, The Rocket said:

Taking over and running Rugby League or replacing Rugby League with NFL ?

Hopefully, they know what they are doing unlike the tinpot outfit with a 12 year make or break agenda to make some money.

[Dave T]

4 hours ago, JohnM said:

The Aussies knew and respected Mo as the game's power broker (e.g. who else could have charmed £500k out of Norweb so Wigan could buy Offiah?) but now, in my view, we have no one of his stature. No wonder Australia is looking elsewhere. That is also why success with the  Reimagining project with IMG is so vital.

They didn't respect Mo and they showed their true colours when we went against them. They basically mocked him during the SL war. 

To claim they respected Mo is the same as to say they respect Wood. 

[JohnM]

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

Widnes are still waiting for the full £500k BTW

7 minutes ago, Dave T said:

They didn't respect Mo and they showed their true colours when we went against them. They basically mocked him during the SL war. 

To claim they respected Mo is the same as to say they respect Wood. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/61477617#:~:text=Lindsay was respected and admired,for most of his career.

[JohnM]

31 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Hopefully, they know what they are doing unlike the tinpot outfit with a 12 year make or break agenda to make some money.

Tinpot? Shock horror: Leigh supporter gets it wrong ...again.

[Dave T]

29 minutes ago, JohnM said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/61477617#:~:text=Lindsay was respected and admired,for most of his career.

I'm not sure an obituary is the best evidence to come up with. 

I was a fan of Lindsay's entrepreneurial style, but he was also treated with the same disdain as future RFL bods. 

[Lowdesert]

I seem to remember Shane Richardson issuing a wake up call back in 2021 on the NH game and if iirc it was posted on here at one stage. 
 

  

 

 

[Damien]

21 minutes ago, Lowdesert said:

I seem to remember Shane Richardson issuing a wake up call back in 2021 on the NH game and if iirc it was posted on here at one stage. 
 

  

Yes it was pretty laughable.

He also mapped out an international schedule that was blatantly NRL centric and eerily similar to the path we are now following.

[Lowdesert]

5 minutes ago, Damien said:

Yes it was pretty laughable.

He also mapped out an international schedule that was blatantly NRL centric and eerily similar to the path we are now following.

It was a lot more of a plan than we have now.  Again, and I might be wrong on the year, he had praised the improvements that the NH had made in 2016, so he had something to refer to.  I think Trent Robinson, a person that seems to be highly thought of on these boards, had a fair say in his report findings too.
 

The reduction of teams was never going to work though.

[Damien]

1 minute ago, Lowdesert said:

It was a lot more of a plan than we have now.  Again, and I might be wrong on the year, he had praised the improvements that the NH had made in 2016, so he had something to refer to.  I think Trent Robinson, a person that seems to be highly thought of on these boards, had a fair say in his report findings too.
 

The reduction of teams was never going to work though.

I see better plans on here every day. Its really not difficult to come up with a plan. The trouble is implementing them.

[Jim from Oz]

TBH the more V’Landys and the NRL wrap themselves around gambling and mega gambling $$$, the more concerned I become

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

Yes it was pretty laughable.

He also mapped out an international schedule that was blatantly NRL centric and eerily similar to the path we are now following.

We should be very critical of the RFL. We shouldn't listen to the Aussie propoganda

[Sports Prophet]

On 11/11/2023 at 20:08, The Rocket said:

I just find it hard to imagine that there would be any benefit from letting the game in England going too far down the gurgler, but when and how would they step in.

I agree, there is an asset right there, but it’s not the NRLs asset, so at best it’s a partner, at worst it’s a competitor, in reality it’s somewhere in the middle.

What I find most strange is when people think if the NRL took over SL, they would turn it into a feeder comp to NRL. That is just an absolute barmy theory.

I anticipate on the other hand, the NRL, as effective governors of all professional club RL, would want to see the sport equally competitive in both hemispheres. 

 

[gingerjon]

25 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

I anticipate on the other hand, the NRL, as effective governors of all professional club RL, would want to see the sport equally competitive in both hemispheres. 

Good for you and good for them.

I anticipate they have not one single piece of replicable knowledge that would help grow the game in England or Europe more broadly.

[Sports Prophet]

6 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Good for you and good for them.

I anticipate they have not one single piece of replicable knowledge that would help grow the game in England or Europe more broadly.

“Woe is me and no-one can tell me how to fix it because they don’t know how hard my job is.”

There is plenty of replicable knowledge in the entertainment and media industries. England and Europe is not that special.

News Limited being the major financial partner of the NRL knows a thing or two, wouldn’t you think?