John Kear calls on Super League and RFL to come together again

Elder statesman John Kear has called on the Super League clubs to hand back full control of the game to the Rugby Football League.

The top-flight clubs broke away from the RFL in 2018 and established their own board of directors to run their affairs under Robert Elstone but the latter’s decision to hand in his resignation has thrown the governance of rugby league up into the air.

Some clubs, most notably Leeds and St Helens, want to see the game reunified and Kear, whose 29-year coaching career has included stints in Super League with Hull, Sheffield Eagles and Wakefield, believes it is time to stop clubs making crucial decisions with self-interest in mind.

Kear, who is now in charge of Championship club Bradford, said: “You can’t have turkeys voting for Christmas and that’s what we’ve had.

“Self-interest should be removed in favour of an independent body who have a holistic view of where they want the game to go to in the next five to 10 years. It may well ruffle some feathers but so be it.

“I worked at the RFL when Maurice Lindsay was there and he didn’t need any clubs to tell him where he needed to take the game. I think we perhaps we need a Lindsay-esque leader who really knows what he wants for the game.”

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