Gloomy predictions of top tier stalemate and dead rubbers in IMG new era – Mailbox

Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Get your views in now via email to: james@loverugbyleague.com

James

I can’t see anything other than tears with the IMG decision. Franchising didn’t work before why will it work now. This is how I see it panning out.

Over the next 5 years maybe 12 or even 14 clubs will qualify to be in the top tier. Of which 5 will be grade A the rest Bs. But the gap will widen to such an extent that none of the championship clubs will ever attain a good enough B. Then it’s stalemate as it was before.

Without the excitement and risk of relegation we will by mid season end up with dead rubbers nothing to play for nothing to loose. We will become a fill in sports that will move to suit sky schedules. I even predict we will get less and less sponsorship money from sky.

The RFL will keep prattling about with the rules “to make it quicker with less down time” but impose such restrictions on contact that we will emulate american football with protection and mega substitutes.

The RFL need to hang their head in shame.. If they couldn’t run the game why did they sell it off to a third party.

In 5 years the championship clubs consigned to permanent second division status will start to press for governence independence away from IMG, sky, and the RFL. Maybe as a new league structure traditional Rugby League.

I can’t see anything good in these proposals. The RFL has made a hash of running the game for the last 50 years. This is not the magic bullet.

Graham

Editor’s comment

I’ve said elsewhere that it seems like an overly elaborate way of determining who is in Super League, when perhaps the minimum standards system would have sufficed. But unfortunately, rugby league has become obsessed with structure in the past decade or so and perhaps IMG realised that they needed to at least get something out in the open before they can crack on with what is the real work – increasing revenue, participation and viewing figures.

There’s a lot of pressure being put on IMG, who while they have agreed a 12-year strategic partnership with the RFL, will presumably have to wait until the project turns a profit before they earn. That could put some strain on resources in the short-term at least.

As I wrote in this column, I think unfortunately the new grading system will just see a continuation of the worst legacy of the licensing system.

It would probably be a lot less painful if someone had the guts to come out and say ‘these are the teams we want in Super League right now’ and just run with it, rather than continue with the pretence of doing it in a perceived fair way, which ultimately just gets most people’s backs up.

The proof will be in the pudding.

Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Get your views in now via email to: james@loverugbyleague.com