Re: Relegation : Mon May 27, 2019 12:28 pm  

The Eagle wrote:

The game is poorly run from the top in this country.

At the grass roots level there is passion and dedication to the game. At the top level there is no vision, no planning and no money.

The professional game is in a battle to stay alive in this country in the next decade

I could say "t'was always thus" - but I do think there is a bigger threat now. RU is SO much stronger than is was 10 years ago, and the NRL is streets ahead also (relative to Super League). If we get further left behind financially, we really will struggle. Add into the mix the change in aspirations for youngsters who might otherwise play the sport, and it's a toxic combination.

I'll probably get rinsed for this, but I wonder whether the NRL should get involved in the wider game. Both Australia and the UK could benefit from closer integration in a host of areas (junior development, referees development, coaching development, marketing...).

And again back to topic, losing Leeds from SL is not going to be a step forward in any strategic sense for the game.

[Fantastic Mr Catpiss]

Re: Relegation : Tue May 28, 2019 10:20 am  

KaeruJim wrote:

I could say "t'was always thus" - but I do think there is a bigger threat now. RU is SO much stronger than is was 10 years ago, and the NRL is streets ahead also (relative to Super League). If we get further left behind financially, we really will struggle. Add into the mix the change in aspirations for youngsters who might otherwise play the sport, and it's a toxic combination.

I'll probably get rinsed for this, but I wonder whether the NRL should get involved in the wider game. Both Australia and the UK could benefit from closer integration in a host of areas (junior development, referees development, coaching development, marketing...).

And again back to topic, losing Leeds from SL is not going to be a step forward in any strategic sense for the game.

i don't think you'll get rinsed, but that statement fails to recognise that the NRL is only bother about Origin, and then the NRL.

SL can eff off, Internationals can eff off as well.

Re: Relegation : Tue May 28, 2019 2:32 pm  

The problems are no one at the RFL are good enough to Market SL none of them have the relevant experience, knowledge or expertise to market this great game. They are not prepared to take the necessary risks that are needed to take this game to the next level. The English premier league walked away from the football league and have never looked back they are now the richest league in world sport with everyone wanting to buy a piece of the action. Someone needs to take a risk, long term growth will come from the UK not Canada and the US. Scrap the Salary cap or at least increase it by doubling the cap. Clubs with small crowds they need to market themselves not rely on the SKY money why should teams with an average crown of between 4k and 5k hold back teams with crowds of 12k plus. Its time to take some risk take the blinkers off market SL properly and let the teams who can afford it buy better quality players from the NRL and not having to settle for the cream of the crap brigade.
for those who simply say that any increase in the salary cap would be paid into the players pockets, well I do not mind paying top quality players good money, but to pay good money to mediocre players then the clubs only have themselves to blame.
I have spoken to a number of SL CEO's they are desperate to keep the Salary cap and it just so happens to be , these guys run the teams with the small crowds, these are the same people who are keeping SL in the doldrums and are responsible for the teams buying players from the NRL at the lower end of the scale.
All this does by keeping the Salary cap is dragging everyone down to the bottom of the barrel and we can see that this year on the pitch.

Re: Relegation : Tue May 28, 2019 3:54 pm  

There needs to be more clauses to the cap if its going to stay, id like to see somthing that rewards clubs for bringing there own players through, maybe 3 home grown players nominated at the start of each season who dont count against the cap. That along with the Marquees potentially gives you 5 quality players who would only count 300k against the cap and rewards clubs for getting the youth through.

Re: Relegation : Tue May 28, 2019 8:45 pm  

mattsrhinos1978 wrote:

There needs to be more clauses to the cap if its going to stay, id like to see somthing that rewards clubs for bringing there own players through, maybe 3 home grown players nominated at the start of each season who dont count against the cap. That along with the Marquees potentially gives you 5 quality players who would only count 300k against the cap and rewards clubs for getting the youth through.

Or you could just exempt any player from the cap who has come through your own academy.

End of the day, we can play with the cap how we like but it’s close to being scrapped already with the Marquee rule. We’re already unlevelling the level playing field. You might as well kill it as have an overly convoluted system which costs more to administer than it’s worth.

Re: Relegation : Wed May 29, 2019 6:46 am  

KaeruJim wrote:

Or you could just exempt any player from the cap who has come through your own academy.

End of the day, we can play with the cap how we like but it’s close to being scrapped already with the Marquee rule. We’re already unlevelling the level playing field. You might as well kill it as have an overly convoluted system which costs more to administer than it’s worth.

While no cap atall sounds good in theory, you need the clubs to stick to there means, some of the biggest clubs in the game, including ourselves, have come unstuck when theyv had no one policing what they spend on players. Im not against scrapping it, but it would worry me to a degree. Id prefer a more gradual move towards it, sumthing like what iv mentioned initially then evaluate where we are. Deffinatly think there should be a reward for your own players being brought through. Dont see whats complicated about saying players X,Y,Z are our nominated exemp home grown players for this season.

Dont agree that the Marquee is anywhere near what scrapping the cap altogether would be like, being able to sign a couple of players other clubs might not be able to afford is a lot different to Wigan signing world stars in every position, us trying to keep up, both clubs getting themselves in a royal mess.

I want to see superstars all over superleague but i dont want it if in 5/10 year time most the clubs are bankrupt, im no expert so dont know if they would be, but its a worry imo.

Re: Relegation : Wed May 29, 2019 7:20 am  

KaeruJim wrote:

Or you could just exempt any player from the cap who has come through your own academy.

End of the day, we can play with the cap how we like but it’s close to being scrapped already with the Marquee rule. We’re already unlevelling the level playing field. You might as well kill it as have an overly convoluted system which costs more to administer than it’s worth.

But the Marquee rule has been there a long time. All they have done is make it two instead of one.

Re: Relegation : Wed May 29, 2019 9:32 am  

Gotcha wrote:

But the Marquee rule has been there a long time. All they have done is make it two instead of one.

Yes but my point is that in theory if Leeds could/wanted to, they could sign Nikorima and Tuamalolo (sp) - and they are talking about making it three. The purpose of the cap was, I think, a) to level the playing field and b) stop clubs gambling on success and going bust in the process.

It’s just worth bearing in mind the knots clubs tie themselves up in trying to comply with the cap (and of course some will try to cheat it), and the significant costs of administering it from the clubs and the governing body.

Personally I’d just rather than not have it at all than have an opaque, administratively burdensome process which has forgotten its original purpose.

Re: Relegation : Wed May 29, 2019 9:33 am  

Brodie123 wrote:

The problems are no one at the RFL are good enough to Market SL none of them have the relevant experience, knowledge or expertise to market this great game. They are not prepared to take the necessary risks that are needed to take this game to the next level. The English premier league walked away from the football league and have never looked back they are now the richest league in world sport with everyone wanting to buy a piece of the action. Someone needs to take a risk, long term growth will come from the UK not Canada and the US. Scrap the Salary cap or at least increase it by doubling the cap. Clubs with small crowds they need to market themselves not rely on the SKY money why should teams with an average crown of between 4k and 5k hold back teams with crowds of 12k plus. Its time to take some risk take the blinkers off market SL properly and let the teams who can afford it buy better quality players from the NRL and not having to settle for the cream of the crap brigade.
for those who simply say that any increase in the salary cap would be paid into the players pockets, well I do not mind paying top quality players good money, but to pay good money to mediocre players then the clubs only have themselves to blame.
I have spoken to a number of SL CEO's they are desperate to keep the Salary cap and it just so happens to be , these guys run the teams with the small crowds, these are the same people who are keeping SL in the doldrums and are responsible for the teams buying players from the NRL at the lower end of the scale.
All this does by keeping the Salary cap is dragging everyone down to the bottom of the barrel and we can see that this year on the pitch.

Well said Brodie agree completely. They are dragging everyone down

Re: Relegation : Wed May 29, 2019 9:56 am  

I know what people are saying, but it's important to take a game-wide rather than club-specific view here.

Leeds are probably the richest club in SL, so of course these suggestions play right into our hands and give us a competitive advantage (in theory).

Clubs who aren't as sexy, and are bringing in 3-5k crowds, are going to find it impossible to compete.

I'm not sure which side of the fence I'm on. Maybe you could remove the cap with a franchising system, where other financial checks and balances can be made. If you go down this path though, make no mistake it would be curtains in the top flight for some big name traditional clubs.

Maybe we're coming to a point where the game needs to decide which is the lesser of two evils - try to compete with RU and NRL or remain community and tradition focused. I don't think we can have our cake and eat it unfortunately.