[quote="satanicmills"]
Just noticed that the actual quote isn’t in the post here, not sure why. Sorry about that Satanic.
Re catchment areas, not sure of the answer to your question SM, which is a valid question in the short term, but I think the point Derek is making is, it is not a controllable for clubs, and not relevant if the goal is for rugby league to become a greater force and a more widely watched sport.
Re “slagging off” other teams, he uses specific club situations in relation to how IMG have applied points to date, to more clearly illustrate his points, but also clearly goes out his way to say that he is not being critical of those teams, but how certain grading applications benefit their situations in a non balanced way, compared to other areas. He also is very clear to say that he is not being critical of IMG either, just pointing out where he can see some areas that need tweaking to create a fair playing field for all (or spread sheet comparison !).
Re finances, I am confident that this is not Derek pulling numbers out of the air. He is talking about what has been, and will continue to be, some significant financial commitment to get us in the Grade A picture. This won’t have been done by him on the back of a cig packet, hence taking sometime before responding (even after he returned from his trip), and his clear confidence on how many points can be added in the financial area.