THE RUBGY LEAGUE Council will meet tomorrow to vote on the proposals set forward by IMG in their plan to ‘re-imagine’ rugby league.
Of all 36 professional clubs, only a very select few have announced their intention to stand up against the plans put forward by the marketing giants.
Here are the hour and their arguments:
Wakefield Trinity
Currently the only Super League club to announce their intention to vote against as chief executive Michael Carter explains why:
“We have the IMG grading issue upon us. We still have some reservations about the things that are in there,” Carter said in his program notes ahead of the West Yorkshire club’s fixture against Leigh Leopards at the weekend.
“We are broadly in favour of the direction of travel, but until these key issues are resolved, we will not be voting in favour.
“This is a key moment for our sport and we need to take full advantage of this last opportunity.
“In my opinion, IMG need to get to a point where they have the majority of the sport behind them and taking this forward with just a 51% majority is not a good look for the sport, nor a resounding mandate to take the sport forward.”
Featherstone Rovers
Featherstone’s chief executive Martin Vickers last month told League Express: “We have such a strong model here for continuous improvement so this is not anything of us being fearful of improvement. We have aspirations and goals to be a category A.
“We do feel, though, that we have to have a level playing field and have a chance because the same four or five teams dwindling at the bottom of Super League have had their chance already.
“I feel there is a ceiling of a B Championship club on reaching the same score as those clubs, this is our chance.
“We felt there was a tweak in the rules that seemed to be skewed in favour of the bottom end of Super League who in every way have had their chance.”
Keighley Cougars
Arguably the most vocal opponent of IMG’s plans, Keighley Cougars owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia have fought the plans tooth and nail, telling League Express: “I feel it’s worse than I expected,” owner Ryan O’Neill said.
“You’ve got to have a PHD in astrophysics to understand the grading system they’ve put in place.
“It’s not sport. It’s so technical that it’s going to turn the fans away in droves.
“What you are creating is an elite cartel, it’s elitist and they are protecting the few. They want to get to 12 Category A’s and once they get there, that’s it.
“They are taking away the opportunity, we won’t be given the opportunity to get 10,000 fans against St Helens because they are going to be protected. They will be the elites.
“It’s either IMG’s way or the highway.”
Batley Bulldogs
Owner Kevin Nicholas, after the IMG meeting with all 36 professional clubs in March at Huddersfield, told Rugby League Live: “There’s a bias towards Super League clubs to get more points on the attendances, that’s the problem. Some of the stuff can be tinkered with but to me, the idea that finishing bottom of the league and finishing top of the league is nothing to do with promotion and relegation doesn’t sit with me.
“I think there will be certain disillusion if you know you can’t achieve a goal no matter how hard you try.”
