1 It is the RFLs primary role to make the sport more attractive and bring on board sponsorship/TV rights/new players/coaches .... etc. It is a business and they are the executive decision makers of the business.

2. Aussies don't have dedicated stadiums but they manage to arrange a programme in advance. Look at the British Lions RU for example

You're making excuses for a poor management group who have, and continue to, under perform.

Sadly if what has been put on twitter about this press conference is true the this is just another Koukash hissy fit. Lashing out at pretty much everyone with no real coherence.

It's disappointing that he has become almost the perfect shield for the RFL, conflating real and pressing issues with paranoid incoherent nonsense.

For once I agree. He's like a kid throwing a tantrum.

I'm seeing the updates and I would agree; classic unfocused lashing out, having been on the wrong end of a decision. He would have been better served sticking to the idea that the RFL have failed the game in a commercial and marketing sense - it would at least then have been coherent.

Now he's just back to being perceived as a clown - which is pretty much how he should be perceived.

It's not even that he just couldn't stick to one issue. If he had complained about the RFL fsking up the SC, fsking up the marketing and financials, the tv deal etc then people would listen to him but it can never be the rfl aren't good enough or are going the wrong way it's always a conspiracy. When it's not the RFL being out to get them it's hetherington, when it's not hetherington it's Les Catalans, when it's not Les Catalans it's toulouse. Then from somewhere for no discernable reason and with no discernable link it's Toronto.

His underlying idea of SL going it's own way isn't terrible. There is sense and a debate to be had about it because the game is failing in some important aspects, but it won't break away without Leeds and it won't break away to dump Les Catalans and pull up the draw bridge on Toulouse and Toronto so why surround the issue with all this froth and nonsense.

Well if we can manage to get Fly Emirates on board, there's certainly interest out there. We don't even have the biggest fan base in the league..

He can make a good point in one breath and then come across as a complete tool the next.
If he can back up any of those claims with proof (the RFL using incorrect dates and figures during tribunal, RFL discussions with another club who broke cap but no action taken, Salford offered money by RFL to reschedule a fixture to help a bigger club), then fair enough.
But then why start having a go at Catalans, citing their lack of developing French talent as an issue? I'd say Catalan have brought through some French talent already, that burden doesn't lie solely with them anyway, and Salford aren't exactly running a top tier academy themselves right now. Quite the opposite, actually.

Curious as to who this other club breaking the cap in 2014 was though...

Much of that responsibility falls on the clubs as well, and they're failing.

We have clubs giving tickets away like confetti, we have clubs that can't attract supporters to fill their premium seats, who haven't invested in corporate hospitality and who market themselves as a "budget family day out".

The sport is talking to supporters who believe that £20 to see a play-off semi-final is some kind of rip-off, who will only attend international games if they can find a discount code, and who and moan about any attempt by clubs to improve their commercial revenue (just see the faux outrage whenever Leeds launch some form of special edition playing shirt).

That's not to say that it's wrong to market the sport in that that promotes "family value" - there is clearly a niche for that kind of market - but in in that context, it's no surprise that the sport's sponsorship profile includes payday loan companies, skip hire firms, budget car brands and canned mushy peas.

The RFL has actually done some good work since the Stobart disaster, but it needs to do more. However, the clubs (with the odd exception) need to be a lot stronger in this area as well. When we have clubs putting their prime shirt sponsorship up as a raffle prize, we've got some problems.

Sports sponsorship is about buying access to an audience and at the moment, the RL audience is not one that blue-chip companies want to invest in trying to attract. That's something that all of the game's stakeholders need to work on, not just Red Hall. There's a reason why Sky's Rugby Union coverage is sponsored by Land Rover and not Ladbrokes.

so why do catalans get 9 overseas players?

Couldn't agree more.

MarwanK is right, most sane adults know he is right, the fact that he is a bit of a throbber & has 'as yet' not offered up alternatives is largely irrelevant.

The RFL are killing the game we love for so many Clubs & supporters of Clubs, how can anyone not back him ?
Only the 'protected' Clubs would stay away from this challenge.

I for one hope that he addresses the inequality of a system that allows different rules on salary cap, overseas quotas & P&R restrictions imposed on heatland Clubs for the benefit of development area Clubs based on geographical location.

While it was successful for Catalan it came at the price of 6 years direct entry to SL & exemption from relegation, thus it cost a British RL Club a place in SL.

We have seen it all before with various guises of the London Club & the Welsh & French too & we will see it again with Toulouse Olympique & Toronto Wolfpack.
I would guess that the Cumbrians & the Oldham, Swinton & Batleys of this RL Family would love the same amount of protection & investment by the RFL in their futures.

I firmly believe rhat the RFL are not only incompetent but are actively & negatively impacting on the futures of Clubs like Barrow, Sheffield, Oldham etc.

It really is time for the RFL to wake up & smell the coffee.

Substandard TV deals, substandard structures, substandard vision & substandard leadership creating a substandard RL competition *when compared to Oz*.

Expansion? YES ! But not at any cost.

It isn't a business, not in any regular sense. A business' leadership doesn't have to deal with its own departments making public outbursts or having seperate agendas. In a business it does what the top tells it to, the top is where ALL the power is. That's not the case with RL.

As Bramley says the RFL have limited power over determining the RL market for sponsors due to those conflicting agendas. If the RFL wanted to change the type of person who watches RL to one that is richer, they can't just go and do that because clubs agendas are different. The RFL is obviously trying to expand our market hence the internationals in London and now Liverpool & Coventry. But they're one off games, the regular bread and butter is SL. Which has, on the whole, a market that sponsors aren't too bothered about.

Of course you get some, like at Warrington but it also depends how much money they're putting in. I'm sure a blue chip company would take the SL sponsorship of you offered to them for sod all. But we can't afford to turn down money either.

As for Australia, the NRL are in a far stronger position to negotiate and, crucially, have set schedules for their big games. As we do over here. We know when the Cup Final and Grand Final are going to be each year. It's the games we don't know are actually happening until relatively late. And then we're negotiating with football clubs. Liverpool aren't going to shift a home game for us so they need to wait until they know it's available. Same goes for Ricoh etc etc.

I'm constantly amazed at the attitude that somehow the RFL are all to blame for the lack of decent sponsors. The sport is to blame. We bankrupted ourselves in the 80's & 90's and STILL haven't recovered. We have no money, small support and a poor market for sponsorship.

You could put the RFU's negotiating team in at Red Hall and it would make no difference whatsoever.

What will is altering the make-up of the sport so that more areas of the country are involved and aware of RL. And of course increasing awareness in the heartlands would be beneficial too whenever the clubs decide to pull their fingers out. We call it the heartlands but it's not an indication of strength in that area, it's just where we're least weak.

You do understand what he seems to be suggesting? I might have this wrong from the headlines but he's talking about a new league set up by the 12 SL chairmen. There doesn't seem to be a place at the table for the Championship or other clubs.
"He said that the future of Rugby League lies in the hands of the competition’s 12 chairmen, saying he’s hopeful of arranging a meeting within the next fortnight."
I'd be careful about what is and isn't being suggested.

It is a business in every sense. Until we stop pretending that sport is magically different from every other business and our sport is different to any other we will never make any headway.

Not having somewhere to play organised early enough to sell the games property isn't unfortunate circumstance it's just bad business.

Not having value to Blue chip sponsors isn't some conspiracy or bad luck it's bad business creating a bad image through bad decisions.

It's no wonder that blue chip companies don't want involvement with a game that thinks marketing begins and ends with tickets for a fiver and a free beanie hat or some soup.



The RFL is the centralised leadership of the game. What is the sports failure is there failure. That's what they are taking millions of pounds out of the tv contract for. If all they are responsible for is to put on the cc final and organise referees then we can do that for a hundred grand.

There is a point at which we can no longer blame what happened 35 years ago.

I don't think that's what he meant. I took it as it's in the hands of the chairmen to vote no confidence and force through change

Although I do agree he hasn't considered anyone outside of super league, as is so often the case

But not for what's consumed in meetings... those biscuits aren't going to pay for themselves.

If the other Chairmen ever vote to support a breakaway league with Koukash at the forefront, I'll bare my arrse on't Town Hall steps. Doubt many would even bother turning up to such a meeting.

One issue MK did raise that I wasn't aware of was when he mentioned that SL clubs pay Catalans expenses when they come over here. I could understand us doing that for the first couple of seasons in SL but surely they are established and viable enough for them to pay their own way? Other than that, he needs to pick his dummy back up and get on with running his club.

Great post Smokey.

With tonight's news on Widnes being guilty of having 14 players on the field not once but twice in the same game.
I'm looking at the end of the regular fixtures and hoping Widnes finish eight just a couple of points above other clubs and see who misses out on the top eight and who goes in the middles.

He specifically said that he isn't interested in heading anything, and that he considers himself a novice chairman who would default to more experienced CEO's.

Wigan, wire, saints Leeds, Catalans, hull and hudds won't support Koukash.
I doubt Widnes would and probably not Cas.
That leaves Salford, KR and Wakey - even though he's completely ignored the championship clubs in his rant they would probably be interested in joining him- shame he peed off Bradford and Leigh they would probably have joined him.

Zzzzz

"According to our sources, there is only two clubs completely opposed to breaking away in any form. Widnes and Leeds are believed to be those two clubs, with Koukash's advances already finding favour with several disillusioned chairman. As usual, interesting times ahead in rugby league." www.loverugbyleague.com/news_220 ... ip-36.html?

"According to our sources, there is only two clubs completely opposed to breaking away in any form. Widnes and Leeds are believed to be those two clubs, with Koukash's advances already finding favour with several disillusioned chairman. As usual, interesting times ahead in rugby league." www.loverugbyleague.com/news_220 ... ip-36.html?

Of course Widnes don't want to break away - they just got off lightly with fielding 14 players (twice).

This sport is becoming a joke day by day.

I agree it the doc. We need change why continue on this downward spiral, as a sport we are struggling. We need a big change but don't think the chairman running it is right, we need new innovative people in and need to push forward. Would to see a champs league with the nrl but omg a better salary cap will help this