IMG Gradings confirmed

[Exiled Wiganer]

One thing I would draw out is that our sport is already a big sport. If you look at the number of people who pay to watch us, and the scale of our biggest events, you will see that we are around the 5th biggest spectator sport. We are looked down upon because union happens to be bigger (“only” twice as big by that measure). Football absolutely dwarfs everything. When union went professional - 30 years ago? - there were predictions that we would inevitably cease to exist. I think back to when I started watching at the end of 70s, and look at our world cups, and the number of teams who get 5 figure crowds now and am amazed how far we have travelled.

If we stop thinking of ourselves and allowing others to describe us as a small game, that would be a step to making our game the second biggest sport everywhere in he north.

[Ipinwigan]

The whole problem with the IMG gradings, is that anyone who knows about the current state of Rugby League would have been able to tell you which 12 clubs will be in Super League.

None of the other clubs in the lower leagues are anywhere near good enough to be in.

It's been a complete waste of money, not really surprising, given the RL's track record.

Toulouse?

Your having a laugh, they wern't good enough last time.

[nathan_rugby]

The whole problem with the IMG gradings, is that anyone who knows about the current state of Rugby League would have been able to tell you which 12 clubs will be in Super League.

None of the other clubs in the lower leagues are anywhere near good enough to be in.

It's been a complete waste of money, not really surprising, given the RL's track record.

Toulouse?

Your having a laugh, they wern't good enough last time.

Last time when?

[Ipinwigan]

Toulouse?

Your having a laugh, they wern't good enough last time.

Last time when?

2022 for one season and then relegated.

[nathan_rugby]

Your having a laugh, they wern't good enough last time.

Last time when?

2022 for one season and then relegated.

Completely slipped my mind that they were in the 2022 season!

Looking at the league table from 2022 was a nice reminder that Warrington finished second bottom.

But back to the original point - on the basis that Toulouse weren't good enough last time, that will mean Wakefield, London, Bradford, Widnes etc should never get promoted via achieving an A grade?

[Ipinwigan]

Last time when?

2022 for one season and then relegated.

Completely slipped my mind that they were in the 2022 season!

Looking at the league table from 2022 was a nice reminder that Warrington finished second bottom.

But back to the original point - on the basis that Toulouse weren't good enough last time, that will mean Wakefield, London, Bradford, Widnes etc should never get promoted via achieving an A grade?

Are any of them likely to get a grade A, it can't be about off field marks, it's got to be about the on field team and how well they are going to perform.
Wakefield were absolutely miles ahead of all the others this season, and if they recruit well, they should be competitive next season, and with a decent following as well, certainly better than London, which is like flogging a dead horse.

[Mike]

2022 for one season and then relegated.

Completely slipped my mind that they were in the 2022 season!

Looking at the league table from 2022 was a nice reminder that Warrington finished second bottom.

But back to the original point - on the basis that Toulouse weren't good enough last time, that will mean Wakefield, London, Bradford, Widnes etc should never get promoted via achieving an A grade?

Are any of them likely to get a grade A, it can't be about off field marks, it's got to be about the on field team and how well they are going to perform.
Wakefield were absolutely miles ahead of all the others this season, and if they recruit well, they should be competitive next season, and with a decent following as well, certainly better than London, which is like flogging a dead horse.

I guess if you knew you were definitely going to be promoted before you started the season any club has a good shot at building a championship winning squad because you know you'll be operating at a larger budget next season.

I can see you want a straight on field promotion and relegation with all the financial issues that brings. Fair enough. I would say though if we'd had that this year I doubt London would have gone down. The squad they had was a championship squad because they knew they were going down before the season started. Even a couple more players in that team and they finish above Hull this season.

[josie andrews]

IMG rugby league update after company sold in multi-billion dollar deal

Rugby league’s 12-year strategic partnership with IMG remains unchanged despite the company being sold as part of a multi-billion dollar deal, Love Rugby League has been told.

TKO Holdings, who run the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment, has agreed to purchase three businesses from Endeavor, the parent company of TKO.




https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/im ... ollar-deal

[moto748]

One thing I would draw out is that our sport is already a big sport. If you look at the number of people who pay to watch us, and the scale of our biggest events, you will see that we are around the 5th biggest spectator sport. We are looked down upon because union happens to be bigger (“only” twice as big by that measure). Football absolutely dwarfs everything. When union went professional - 30 years ago? - there were predictions that we would inevitably cease to exist. I think back to when I started watching at the end of 70s, and look at our world cups, and the number of teams who get 5 figure crowds now and am amazed how far we have travelled.

If we stop thinking of ourselves and allowing others to describe us as a small game, that would be a step to making our game the second biggest sport everywhere in he north.

Crowds up. Viewership up. Apart from that though...

You can easily say that's nothing to do with them and would have happened anyway. And I think that would be pretty accurate at this point. IMG's strategy needs to be judged over 5-10 years, not 12 months IMO.

I don't really understand how people believe major, positive changes can happen overnight - AKA "get a better TV deal". OK, how? Ask more organizations? "BT Sport/BBC/ITV/Channel4 will pay more if only someone thought to ask them"... None of that stuff cuts it for me. You have to grow demand, grow viewership, show that growth over a period of time and only then will a bigger TV deal follow, ideally with multiple broadcasters wanting in on the action.

Anyway, Im starting to come round to the belief that what's wrong with being the sport we are now? We've got enough to maintain professional squads. The players still make a living they are willing to play for. Seems fine. Expansion seems to be blocked at every turn, so lets just enjoy what we have and who cares if anyone else wants or doesn't want to watch. Its our thing why not keep it under the radar and keep it a relatively hidden gem in the north and a few other regions that make it more special than something like football.



Fully agree with Mike (above) and Exiled here. And for all the moans about the standard of SL, I think the fact that we do compete as well as do against the Aussies, as both Wigan and Saints have done lately, is an enormous credit to the strength of our game.

[moto748]

I'm actually a bit surprised that Union gets twice the crowds we do, but I guess they put on a fair few of these big set-piece games at Twickenham that attract big crowds. I used to live near Bath, and The Rec is tiny, and I daresay plenty aren't much bigger..