Rugby League Super Bowl

[RoosTah]

Hey guys, I know I've brought this up in a prior thread, but I just wrote an article on it and thought I'd post it to get the debate going here:

World Club Challenge could be Rugby League’s ‘Super Bowl’

I had a busy weekend â€" I attended the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) for the World Club Challenge (WCC) on Saturday night and came straight back the following afternoon to watch the Waratahs open their 2014 Super Rugby season. Suffice it to say I was reasonably pleased all up.

But while I was happy with seeing strong 6 try victories to both my teams, it was the World Club Challenge that has lingered on most in my mind. Here was a game that has received the barest of publicity and featured an NRL team that is derided having fans that generally don’t get out in numbers to see their team.

Yet for all that, over 31 thousand people filled out the SFS on Saturday night, and it felt like quite a bit more. People can quibble over the predictability of the result, but from where I was sitting the game was a brilliantly successful event, with plenty of passion, skill and aggression on show from both teams and plenty of passion and noise in the stands.

It certainly got me thinking: why can’t we do more with this? Why shouldn't this game be a bigger deal? It’s a match that has been increasing in importance to Australian fans over the past 10 years, a fact reflected in our recent domination of the fixture; we have now won 5 of the last 6 WCC matches after a long period of Super League domination in which we insultingly sent weak squads out.

The problem with the WCC has never been the idea itself, but rather that it was poorly executed from the outset. The very fact that it is at the beginning of the season after many players have come and gone from the championship teams makes a mockery of the ***le it bestows on the victors.

But in spite of its halfhearted execution, the attempt to bring the NRL and ESL together appears to be increasingly gaining traction, with reports that Souths and Brisbane already airing their interest in an extended World Club Challenge top 6 playoff series. It’s an interesting idea, but personally I think that there’s a much better one: an NRL v ESL ‘Super Bowl’. Of course, we can’t call it that (the NFL is notoriously litigious regarding the use of the name ‘Super Bowl’), but you get the idea; an ultimate final that definitively decides the best Rugby League Club in the world.

A couple things would need to be done to make this happen: first, you would need to rationalise both the NRL and ESL to ensure that they finished on the same weekend, and then you would shift the World Club Challenge to two to three weeks after the NRL and ESL Grand Finals to make it a genuine championship match. Perhaps it could be renamed the ‘World Club Final’ or ‘Super Grand Final’ (someone in marketing can think of something short and attention grabbing I’m sure).

Whatever you call it though, the match could be alternated between the UK and Australia each year, and if successful the NRL/ESL could even look at shopping it around to non-heartland locations like London or Melbourne (Origin does alright there).

As an event it would serve as a point of difference for Rugby League, help strengthen the profile of the game in both the UK and Australia, AND it would crown a genuine Rugby League Club World Champ. All it would require is for both the NRL and ESL to get fully behind it, and with strong TV deals funding both governing bodies now there’s no reason why this can’t be done.

Discuss

 

[Saints1]

Would you be interested in me uploading that to the portal as a guest column?

 

[RoosTah]

Would you be interested in me uploading that to the portal as a guest column?

Yeah absolutely - would love to get the debate going on it and have it front and centre .

Cheers Dan!

 

[Saints1]

Good man - thank you for the content.

Uploaded as a TRF article.

 

[FCBayernDM]

I quite like the idea, it could become the marque event of the club Rugby League season (akin to the Champions League Final in Soccer) and be something that really raises the profile of the Super League and the NRL.

 

[TRF_melon]

With regards to the top 6 playoff or similar, implementing it would be near impossible due to TV rights. The TV rights for the NRL and ESL run out at the conclusion of the 2017 and 2021 season respectively.

The only way an idea like this would be feasible would be if the regular season were to be shortened and I highly doubt either league or broadcaster would agree to this.

However, attempting to harmonise the seasons would certainly be a goer if a 'super-bowl' idea was to be explored. The NRL would have to lead the way during the next TV rights negotiation and have the ESL follow years later, with a start in 2022.

I highly doubt either competition would be willing to give more than receive for the 'good of the game'.

 

[RoosTah]

With regards to the top 6 playoff or similar, implementing it would be near impossible due to TV rights. The TV rights for the NRL and ESL run out at the conclusion of the 2017 and 2021 season respectively.

The only way an idea like this would be feasible would be if the regular season were to be shortened and I highly doubt either league or broadcaster would agree to this.

However, attempting to harmonise the seasons would certainly be a goer if a 'super-bowl' idea was to be explored. The NRL would have to lead the way during the next TV rights negotiation and have the ESL follow years later, with a start in 2022.

I highly doubt either competition would be willing to give more than receive for the 'good of the game'.

With the SB concept I'm not so sure you know. The seasons already line up pretty well - this year the GFs of the NRL and ESL are a week apart, so you could do it this year pretty easily if you wanted.
In addition, the NRL was apparently genuinely surprised at how well the event did. Supposedly they had assumed that it would be a money loser for them and expected a fairly empty stadium, so when the SFS was around 75% full with over 31k it took them aback a bit, and from the reports in Fairfax I've read it sounds like they're going to give this more weight next time (even a suggestion they put it post GF).

To be honest I can't understand how they didn't see this... I'm a Roosters fan and there was no way in hell I was going to miss this game - first match against the English champs in Aus in 20 years and my team was involved. Not often you get a chance to see that, so why would you miss it? Seems a lot of us felt that way, and the vibe of the game was definitely akin to a finals match.

I have to say though, they need to dress it up a lot more, and the trophy seriously needs to be replaced with something much more iconic and significant. They also badly need to up the prize money - the Roosters got a paltry $42k out of their win, which is pretty pathetic.

 

[FCBayernDM]

It could be a good thing that GFs are a week apart, each has it's own weeklong build up. The World GF could be scheduled 2 weeks after the 2nd GF (in that country), so that the other GF winner has an extra week for traveling and acclimatization.

As for upping the prize money, there'd need to be sponsor interest in that as doubt the NRL or SL will be willing to pay it themselves.

 

[RoosTah]

It could be a good thing that GFs are a week apart, each has it's own weeklong build up. The World GF could be scheduled 2 weeks after the 2nd GF (in that country), so that the other GF winner has an extra week for traveling and acclimatization.

As for upping the prize money, there'd need to be sponsor interest in that as doubt the NRL or SL will be willing to pay it themselves.

You never know. The NRL was happy to pay $2 million in what was a bit of a gamble in their 9s tournament, and they're not exactly short a buck at the moment, so with the success of the WCC last week it's possible that Dave Smith and his board could put a bit more into a future event.

 

[Saints1]

I'd love for there to be a Super League 9s.

 

[DUCKMAX]

I think the idea of making the WCC a "Superbowl" like spectacle could really create a huge boost for League. I know from experience that plenty of people tune into the Superbowl simply because its the Superbowl and thus generates a huge amount of attention for the sport worldwide. I think the RFL really need to explore the idea of making the WCC into the "Big Game" for League or sign it over to the RLIF and see what they can do with it.

 

[Saints1]

All about DAT marketing isn't it - hype generates hype?

 

[DUCKMAX]

Of course! If the RFL can market the match as the biggest thing in Rugby League, the greatest players in the game going head to head, not to be missed awesomeness and all that jazz people are going to get interested. You make something sound like its the best thing around and people will believe it if its convincing enough.

 

[Saints1]

I think a 9s competition would be very popular - and I've seen a lot of people suggesting the same thing this past couple of weeks.

 

[RoosTah]

I think a 9s competition would be very popular - and I've seen a lot of people suggesting the same thing this past couple of weeks.

The 9s really was a runaway success wasn't it? In a lot of ways I thought of it as league's ODI against the T20 of 7s; there was plenty of action, but the game retained some structure and didn't have quite the level of 7s silliness.

But definitely they should expand it to include the ESL, and I think that it has the potential to grow the profile of the game immensely.

 

[FCBayernDM]

The NRL (and Super League) may well have hit a gold mine with 9s, staging an international 9s tournament may be the thing that exposes RL to the world. Think of Union's success with 7s in the US and Asia

 

[UilamOsa]

It would be a great idea. Not too sure if logistically it would be possible.

The other important thing would be having it in the same YEAR because technically, both teams are last years champions.

That's not to slight those teams but importantly, how many of the Wigan Warriors from last year played?

The hype* with the Roosters can be partially played to the fact that they had lost only 2(?) players from their general team list and only 1 from the team that played the GF, which was RTS. So fans are already established to the winning team and not welcoming some wholesale replacements. And where is the reward for those that played in the GF.

I don't see the value in another tournament for the top 4 or 3 from the previous year's comp - during the pre-season - unless it were a knockout only.

And YES to a SL 9's. The NRL 9's was an awesome family friendly (except for the guy that got removed from the stadium in front of us, and the streaker who didn't make it past the 22) environment.


*plus the fact that they are that good.

 

[RoosTah]

The NRL (and Super League) may well have hit a gold mine with 9s, staging an international 9s tournament may be the thing that exposes RL to the world. Think of Union's success with 7s in the US and Asia

I actually think the 9s has the potential to be a better way to grow the appeal of the League than 7s for union, as it retains the 'highlights' reel feel of 7s, but it still feels like Rugby League, whilst 7s doesn't really feel like Union in the same way - more like touch footy.

It would be a great idea. Not too sure if logistically it would be possible.

The other important thing would be having it in the same YEAR because technically, both teams are last years champions.

That's not to slight those teams but importantly, how many of the Wigan Warriors from last year played?

If you read the whole article that is precisely the point I make, but yes Wigan were missing 4 players - two of whom were critical to their success (especially Tompkins)

The hype* with the Roosters can be partially played to the fact that they had lost only 2(?) players from their general team list and only 1 from the team that played the GF, which was RTS. So fans are already established to the winning team and not welcoming some wholesale replacements. And where is the reward for those that played in the GF.

I don't see the value in another tournament for the top 4 or 3 from the previous year's comp - during the pre-season - unless it were a knockout only.

And YES to a SL 9's. The NRL 9's was an awesome family friendly (except for the guy that got removed from the stadium in front of us, and the streaker who didn't make it past the 22) environment.

*plus the fact that they are that good.

Agreed on both counts. I don't see the value in a top 4 ESL-NRL cross over at this stage. First I'd like to see the WCC:
1. Moved to 3 weeks after the NRL/ESL GFs
2. Rebranded. 'The World Club Challenge' lacks punch - even something like World Club Championship Final would sound more impressive, but ideally something shorter
3. Given a new and impressive trophy. The current one looks like a lower grade cup and makes a joke of the whole thing.
4. Have at least $1 million in prize money for the winning team. The winnings of about $40k this time were a joke.
5. Given intense NRL promotion - this year's game got almost nothing, but we had a pretty packed SFS regardless. It needs to be show more respect.