SL clubs look to reinstate Nigel Wood.

[Dave T]

42 minutes ago, Damien said:

Interesting statement by the IRL, with the word concentrated no accident. Obviously no IRL statement can be without Troy Grant spouting his usual:

International Rugby League (IRL) is saddened and concerned by the news of the resignation of the Rugby Football League Chair and Deputy Chair of the International Rugby League, Simon Johnson.

Mr Johnson has served on the International Rugby League Board for a period of five years.  Since late 2023, he has served as the Deputy Chair of International Rugby League.

IRL Chairman Hon. Troy Grant said: “Simon has been a wonderful contributor to the rebuilding of International Rugby League as part of the new board who inherited an organisation that suffered a telling period of selfish amateur administration, lack of vision and strategy and poor governance. With his fellow Directors, he helped guide and navigate the organisation through the pandemic period and made a meaningful contribution to the organisation's rebuild structurally, operationally, and financially.”

Mr Johnson has been a member of the RFL Board since 2014 and served as RFL Chair for nearly six years, playing a key role in England's hosting of the Rugby League World Cup in 2022.

Mr Grant said: “Simon has been instrumental in building the strong relationships that now exist between the Australian Rugby League Commission and Rugby Football League fostering a close personal and working relationship with ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys.  This relationship has seen record investment back into the international game, regular tours of southern hemisphere teams in Tonga and Samoa to England in recent years and the historic return of the Kangaroos tour to England in the Autumn of 2025.

“Simon is deeply admired and respected by his fellow IRL Board Directors, and my friend will be greatly missed.  He has been a wonderful Deputy Chair to me, who was always fully supportive with the highest integrity, decency, and has always acted in the game’s best interests. I will miss him dearly as sound counsel and only wish him every success in the future.”

https://www.intrl.sport/article/404/irl-statement-resignation-of-simon-johnson,-rfl-chairman

 

I think that's a really unprofessional statement tbh, and it really does reaffirm my view that some Aussie stakeholders are stretching what their involvement should be in the game across the world.

It's really unprofessional to talk about the old RLIF board - and while he may have issues with them, from the outside looking in, the IRL doesn't even appear to be a thing any more.

He should have wished Johnson well, and not be getting involved in the RFL affairs and ultimately attempting to influence who is in control. The mentions of V'Landys seem a bit odd tbh. 

[Damien]

28 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think that's a really unprofessional statement tbh, and it really does reaffirm my view that some Aussie stakeholders are stretching what their involvement should be in the game across the world.

It's really unprofessional to talk about the old RLIF board - and while he may have issues with them, from the outside looking in, the IRL doesn't even appear to be a thing any more.

He should have wished Johnson well, and not be getting involved in the RFL affairs and ultimately attempting to influence who is in control. The mentions of V'Landys seem a bit odd tbh. 

Yeah I agree.

[sweaty craiq]

Woods will be a filler, holding fort and making sense of the mess. It seems folk are jumping before being pushed which means the ayes for change have the votes.

we seem a world beater on how to ignore opportunity, don’t manage failure or encourage results based earnings.

we must massively increase income before owners stop tipping up

[DoubleD]

44 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think that's a really unprofessional statement tbh, and it really does reaffirm my view that some Aussie stakeholders are stretching what their involvement should be in the game across the world.

It's really unprofessional to talk about the old RLIF board - and while he may have issues with them, from the outside looking in, the IRL doesn't even appear to be a thing any more.

He should have wished Johnson well, and not be getting involved in the RFL affairs and ultimately attempting to influence who is in control. The mentions of V'Landys seem a bit odd tbh. 

Very unprofessional and surprising given he used to be a politician. I'd even go as far and state it is petulent. Embarrassing really

[Archie Gordon]

42 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think that's a really unprofessional statement tbh, and it really does reaffirm my view that some Aussie stakeholders are stretching what their involvement should be in the game across the world.

It's really unprofessional to talk about the old RLIF board - and while he may have issues with them, from the outside looking in, the IRL doesn't even appear to be a thing any more.

He should have wished Johnson well, and not be getting involved in the RFL affairs and ultimately attempting to influence who is in control. The mentions of V'Landys seem a bit odd tbh. 

Nobody serious ever says out loud what they think of their predecessor - and if they do, they don't use such childish language or do it in every single message.

Anyway ... for the UK, it now appears that we will have the clubs' 'independent' review of governance rather the RFL's 'independent' review of governance. God help us.

[Exiled Wiganer]

We have the greatest game of all. It is chronically undersold. 

What we need is a Maurice Lindsey for the modern era - or a gang of them - who believe in and can sell our game. 

We need people who spend their every waking moment promoting and selling our game. I am not aware that we have anyone whose sole job that is. 
 

Nothing else matters. 

[super major]

20 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

We have the greatest game of all. It is chronically undersold. 

What we need is a Maurice Lindsey for the modern era - or a gang of them - who believe in and can sell our game. 

We need people who spend their every waking moment promoting and selling our game. I am not aware that we have anyone whose sole job that is. 
 

Nothing else matters. 

Yet Mo's dream of merging clubs was opposed by virtually everyone

[Exiled Wiganer]

8 minutes ago, super major said:

Yet Mo's dream of merging clubs was opposed by virtually everyone

Indeed. I mean the Maurice in his sell sell sell mode not in his crazy restructuring notion mode. 

[Damien]

42 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Nobody serious ever says out loud what they think of their predecessor - and if they do, they don't use such childish language or do it in every single message.

Anyway ... for the UK, it now appears that we will have the clubs' 'independent' review of governance rather the RFL's 'independent' review of governance. God help us.

Grant does it in every interview or at least puts down what he inherited.

Edited March 11 by Damien

[PREPOSTEROUS]

Definition of madness.....

[RigbyLuger]

Lets be fair. He's done a great job for Bradford in getting back Odsal having been under the ownership of the RFL.

[Agbrigg]

I wonder what direction the game will take from here. Most chairmen put their clubs first but also many are very canny business men so I would presume they have some ideas what they want to achieve. It Is difficult to guess what comes next but I would bet IMG are on borrowed time. 

[RigbyLuger]

https://x.com/johnnyddavidson/status/1899507974894231633

 

[Toby Chopra]

32 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

I wonder what direction the game will take from here. Most chairmen put their clubs first but also many are very canny business men so I would presume they have some ideas what they want to achieve. It Is difficult to guess what comes next but I would bet IMG are on borrowed time. 

If the clubs wanted to terminate the IMG deal they could do without going through all this. Same with some kind of NRL tie-up or governance review.

So I'm still none the wiser on the "why?" of all this, and particularly "why right now?", so all we end up with as explainations is egos, and getting mates jobs. 

I kinda hope there is some grand plan afoot, wise or not, rather than it just being the petty motivations above which would be much more depressing.

Edited March 11 by Toby Chopra

[whatmichaelsays]

Hello darkness my old friend...... 

[RigbyLuger]

3 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

If the clubs wanted to terminate the IMG deal they could do without going through all this. Same with some kind of NRL tie-up or governance review.

I'm still none the wiser on the "why?" of all this, and particularly "why right now?", so all we end up with as explainations is egos, and getting mates jobs. 

I kinda hope there is some grand plan afoot, wise or not, rather than it just being the petty motivations above which would be much more depressing.

Hopefully the journalists find some answers to those questions, because I'd love to know why too.

[sweaty craiq]

13 minutes ago, RigbyLuger said:

Hopefully the journalists find some answers to those questions, because I'd love to know why too.

Isn’t there a meeting tomorrow? Reading between the lines I think the IMG deal was creatively sold at best and just added to the waste of air top table we had.

Feel really positive about all this in what is a vital year for RL

[sweaty craiq]

18 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

Hello darkness my old friend...... 

clocks go forward soon

[Agbrigg]

4 minutes ago, sweaty craiq said:

Isn’t there a meeting tomorrow? Reading between the lines I think the IMG deal was creatively sold at best and just added to the waste of air top table we had.

Feel really positive about all this in what is a vital year for RL

apparently meeting cancelled, swamp has been drained as they say.

[Northern Eel]

I dread to think that this might be related... Anyone know what this is about? I may well have missed it!

https://x.com/catalanmedia/status/1899386191582994664

[Taffy Tiger]

1 minute ago, Northern Eel said:

I dread to think that this might be related... Anyone know what this is about? I may well have missed it!

https://x.com/catalanmedia/status/1899386191582994664

Wow !!

[Archie Gordon]

37 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

If the clubs wanted to terminate the IMG deal they could do without going through all this. Same with some kind of NRL tie-up or governance review.

So I'm still none the wiser on the "why?" of all this, and particularly "why right now?", so all we end up with as explainations is egos, and getting mates jobs. 

I kinda hope there is some grand plan afoot, wise or not, rather than it just being the petty motivations above which would be much more depressing.

I've no idea what the purpose of this manoeuvre is either. And now it seems to involve the international game, 6 months out from an unconfirmed Ashes series and 18 months ahead of an already shrunken RLWC. Super!

[JohnM]

58 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

Hello darkness my old friend...... 

..and say "Hello to Ultimate Rugby League"......

Pure speculation on my part, but maybe the 4 truly professionally-run clubs (Wigan, Warrington, St Helens and Catalans) may be joining the NRL and the rest are joining  this lot: Binky Beaumont returns to Cheshire’s Gandeys Circus | Great British Life

[phiggins]

Torn on this. Lots of things that I don’t want, but no idea what I would like to happen.

The Salford debacle has shown a complete failure of governance in the game, so a change is needed and fast. But I don’t much care for Wood returning, not for the owner of the club I support being front and centre of it all. Unfortunately, the clubs will rule the roost, while owners are putting more money in than the RFL / RLC can bring in. 

[Dave T]

57 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

I dread to think that this might be related... Anyone know what this is about? I may well have missed it!

https://x.com/catalanmedia/status/1899386191582994664

 

55 minutes ago, Taffy Tiger said:

Wow !!

Do these things ever come to anything?