IF there has been one club’s owners that have been outspoken in recent months then it has been those of Keighley Cougars.
Owners Ryan O’Neill – whose father Mick led the ‘Cougarmania’ phenomenon in the late 1990s – and Kaue Garcia have continued to stress their opposition to recent plans forwarded by IMG to ‘re-imagine’ the sport of rugby league.
At the recent IMG grading criteria meeting at Huddersfield Giants’ John Smith’s Stadium, the Cougars pair handed out a dossier containing their opposition to the plans put in place.
Since then, O’Neill and Garcia have strengthened their cause with numerous interviews in the media, with the pair most recently appearing on BBC Radio Leeds to stress why they will vote against IMG’s plans on April 19.
“They have gone and made this formula on a computer claiming it is all data driven and they are totally ignoring the fact that sport is about fairness, competition and opportunity – they want to take it all away,” O’Neill said.
“Why would we, when it comes into force, invest in a squad and spend our money and stress about everything only for us to finish top, get a medal and then a slap on the back?
“It is pointless. It takes away all the enthusiasm and the drive to get to the top.”
Garcia and O’Neill went further, declaring that it was the failure of the 12 Super League clubs to showcase the sport in the best light as to why the last Sky deal was reduced.
“We 100% agree that the sport needs to improve. What we have done since 2019 shows that – we have been one of the most progressive clubs since then.
“We don’t agree with this criteria because it is simply going to protect 12 clubs (in Super League) who have failed the sport.
“The reason the Sky money has gone down is because those 12 clubs haven’t been delivering the product and Sky want a change and this change they are proposing protects those 12 clubs.”
