Latest IMG proposals for Super League

[Pneuma]

Looking at the ‘crowd’ and atmosphere at Huddersfield this morning IMG have a huge job ahead of them.

 

[Gobsmacked]

Looking at the ‘crowd’ and atmosphere at Huddersfield this morning IMG have a huge job ahead of them.

A lot of the crowds have been great but it's freezing there atm and on and off rain. They're lucky to get the crowd they got. Also 2 very shit sides, Castleford just sacked thier coach.
There's probably 6 to 8 clubs doing well for crowds ect but that relegation bs has held back the bottom half of the comp for decades. They can't build a roster properly at any stage because the main objective is to stay off the bottom.
That's being scrapped! It'll take a couple of decades to see the benefits of that but it will come.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Looking at the ‘crowd’ and atmosphere at Huddersfield this morning IMG have a huge job ahead of them.

Despite being the birthplace of the Northern Union, Huddersfield has never been a full-on RL town. It looks awful now because the stadium is way too big for their current fanbase. They're still in considerably better shape than when I went to second division games at the old Fartown ground in the 80s.

Additional extenuating circumstance, as mentioned in the post above, is that temperatures have been hovering around zero for several days.

BTW, intriguing that you feel comfortable posting negative remarks about poor crowds. I thought that was the preserve of incorrigibly miserable potatoes. Almost as though one half of your brain doesn't know what the other half is up to. What do we call that? cognitive dissonance?

 

[Pneuma]

Despite being the birthplace of the Northern Union, Huddersfield has never been a full-on RL town. It looks awful now because the stadium is way too big for their current fanbase. They're still in considerably better shape than when I went to second division games at the old Fartown ground in the 80s.

Additional extenuating circumstance, as mentioned in the post above, is that temperatures have been hovering around zero for several days.

BTW, intriguing that you feel comfortable posting negative remarks about poor crowds. I thought that was the preserve of incorrigibly miserable potatoes. Almost as though one half of your brain doesn't know what the other half is up to. What do we call that? cognitive dissonance?

Over analysis i think

 

[RL The greatest game]

Only thing it’s missing is player development and community engagement for me. Both those areas are important and require club investment.

It is my opinion that all Super League clubs should have academies.
No Academies to me means no Super league Place.
Championship clubs that aspire to play in Super League should also have academies.

 

[RL The greatest game]

Looking at the ‘crowd’ and atmosphere at Huddersfield this morning IMG have a huge job ahead of them.

Match day match awareness. Match day awareness
Get the message out as to when the Giants are playing. Day and kick off time To who they are playing and admission prices.

 

[Perth Red]

Match day match awareness. Match day awareness
Get the message out as to when the Giants are playing. Day and kick off time To who they are playing and admission prices.

’uddersfields a small place, I doubt anyone doesn’t know when giants are at home. Tickets are £50 for three games so not expensive. They’ve never drawn big crowds largely due to small population reach and a middling team.

 

[Pneuma]

A lot of the crowds have been great but it's freezing there atm and on and off rain. They're lucky to get the crowd they got. Also 2 very shit sides, Castleford just sacked thier coach.
There's probably 6 to 8 clubs doing well for crowds ect but that relegation bs has held back the bottom half of the comp for decades. They can't build a roster properly at any stage because the main objective is to stay off the bottom.
That's being scrapped! It'll take a couple of decades to see the benefits of that but it will come.

It’s the first game I’ve watched this year and I really did pick the wrong one. I’ve always loved watching English rugby league and I love the crowd participation. This one had no atmosphere at all. And I agree. Promotion and relegation stinks. I’d like to think English rugby league will expand into ‘European rugby league’ over time with permanent French teams and maybe others over time. That’s a long term project but you have to have big goals when you have such a great game.

 

[Pneuma]

Amazon and Apple hold Super League talks with evolving deal in the works

The current broadcast deal expires at the end of the season.

www.examinerlive.co.uk

 

[Pneuma]

More excitement

IMG’s rugby league revamp delivers hope of promised land for city clubs

Championship sides such as York and Newcastle hope the proposed grading system will mean Super League status

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

More excitement

IMG’s rugby league revamp delivers hope of promised land for city clubs

Championship sides such as York and Newcastle hope the proposed grading system will mean Super League status

www.theguardian.com

Newcastle Thunder used to be Gateshead Thunder, who were parachuted into SL in the late 90s and quickly got into financial trouble. Part of the same sticking pins in the map policy that saw the likes of London, Paris, Sheffield chosen for the first SL season.

Top-down has never worked in English RL. There just isn't enough general familiarity with the game to tap into. Much stronger grass roots RL scene in the North East these days. Still a long way to go in my view, but the growth is organic and real this time. Epitomized by Cramlington Rockets winning National Community Club of the Year.

York have been on the cusp for as long as I can remember. More positives now than ever before. One of the big three in Women's SL. Progressive capable administration. Tidy new stadium. Great place to visit.

Wakefield has been a city since the 19th century. Not a straightforward situation in RL terms in that Castleford and Featherstone are within the boundaries of the City of Wakefield, but hardly the best example for the article to cite as a "town-based side". Trinity's enduring handicap is the ground and facilities.

 

[Pneuma]

IMG reveals how it will separate clubs who are tied on assessment points

Visit the post for more.

rugbyleaguehub.com

 

[Pneuma]

Not sure that article really told us a lot but at least they are thinking about it.

 

[Perth Red]

Nice to be talked about positively for a change! Goal is simple, get to 15 points!


Former Great Britain star and Sky Sports pundit Phil Clarke has dubbed Hull KR the benchmark for rival clubs to follow ahead of the IMG era in rugby league.
The strategic partner, who joined the sport in 2022 in a long-term deal, announced the five major criteria that will determine the grades each club will be given moving forward in 2025. The plans were released after the meeting in Huddersfield with the owners of each Super League and lower-tier clubs in attendance.
The five components are fandom, performance, finance, stadium and catchment. IMG's vice-president Matt Dwyer was a guest live on Sky before Wigan's game with Catalans Dragons on Thursday evening to clarify the new proposals.

Host Brian Carney asked co-pundit Clarke about his thoughts on the possible new structure that is set to change the sport forever. Which led to him praising the on and off-field progress the Robins are making in between Dwyer's explanations.

"In principle, who is against growing the game," said Clarke. "We all want to do that. It's finding the best way to do it. In my lifetime, we've tried plenty of things that have been unsuccessful. What I will say is the new IMG plan is a base that I would think I can grow my club as an owner.

"Too many people think IMG have a magic wand and clubs will double their attendances. It takes hard work. Take Hull Kingston Rovers, for example. They are doing sensible things week in and week out to grow their club and increase their fanbase with an enjoyable experience.

"A coach used to say to me, we don't need to do extraordinary things to win. Just do things extraordinarily well. That principle applies now, and clubs need to act on the suggestions and follow Hull KR's lead."

Hull KR the benchmark for IMG era according to Sky Sports pundit Phil Clarke

Clarke gave the Robins plenty of praise live on Sky Sports.

www.hulldailymail.co.uk

 

[Perth Red]

A proposal for a 2-up, 2-down relegation model from Super League has been put forward by one of the dissenters towards IMG’s latest plans to “reimagine rugby league”.

The RFL met with Keighley Cougars owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia earlier this week to discuss their feedback from last week’s announcement.

The Cougars were the only club to vote against the initial IMG proposals late last year, and following the latest release of information, they provided an 18-page dossier to press in opposition.
That prompted RFL chairman Simon Johnson to meet with the two owners in central London, where they had four hours of discussions.

Johnson agreed to feedback their concerns and proposals to IMG.

O’Neill said: “The meeting was largely positive. Simon listened to our scepticism and wants to reach a unified position where all clubs can agree to a restructure.

“Our key points are that promotion and relegation should be on a 2 up, 2 down model. We tentatively agree that only category A and category B clubs should be in Super League, but that there should not be sub-grading within the A and B categories. We will continue to express our stance on the situation and of course update our fans in due course.”

Club calls for IMG to consider 2-up, 2-down relegation proposal

A proposal for a 2-up, 2-down relegation model from Super League has been put forward by one of the dissenters towards IMG's latest plans.

www.loverugbyleague.com

 

[Gobsmacked]

A proposal for a 2-up, 2-down relegation model from Super League has been put forward by one of the dissenters towards IMG’s latest plans to “reimagine rugby league”.

The RFL met with Keighley Cougars owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia earlier this week to discuss their feedback from last week’s announcement.

The Cougars were the only club to vote against the initial IMG proposals late last year, and following the latest release of information, they provided an 18-page dossier to press in opposition.
That prompted RFL chairman Simon Johnson to meet with the two owners in central London, where they had four hours of discussions.

Johnson agreed to feedback their concerns and proposals to IMG.

O’Neill said: “The meeting was largely positive. Simon listened to our scepticism and wants to reach a unified position where all clubs can agree to a restructure.

“Our key points are that promotion and relegation should be on a 2 up, 2 down model. We tentatively agree that only category A and category B clubs should be in Super League, but that there should not be sub-grading within the A and B categories. We will continue to express our stance on the situation and of course update our fans in due course.”

Club calls for IMG to consider 2-up, 2-down relegation proposal

A proposal for a 2-up, 2-down relegation model from Super League has been put forward by one of the dissenters towards IMG's latest plans.

www.loverugbyleague.com

No conflict of interest here