Quote ="Worzel"Before you anti-Australian/NRL start bashing me up, please read the article in full and note this particular statement from UK born Dave Smith. Super League needs to serious start embracing the business model the NRL has to take this game forward. Obviously it will require tweaks and adjustments to suit the British sporting culture of SL. "It doesn't make good business sense to be so dependent on one thing - we need to de-risk the game from the five-year media rights cycle,'' Meaning: the game needs to STOP relying on television income alone! SL needs a Dave Smith ASAP! Maybe it is time for an RFL Commission to be appointed to run the game and not the clubs any longer? Maybe it's time for certain things to be more centralised like merchandising and media? Some useful stats the RFL can only dream of right now, however this could change. KEY STATS Participation: Record 171,071 registrations in weekend club rugby league Mini footballer registrations: 42,019, up 5.6% since 2012 NRL digital network: 3.1 million unique browsers per month, up 41% since 2012 Social media: 4.7 million followers on Twitter and Facebook, up 30% since March Crowds: 15,900 per game; down 2.9% since 2012 TV ratings: 870,000 per FTA game; down 3.8% since 2012 [url www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6789889864[/url'" The NRL has 143,423 followers on Twitter and 624,803 'likes' on Facebook. Not sure where you're/they're pulling those figures from. I'm guessing it's a collective rugby league total, but that's extremely ambiguous. Sonny Bill Williams has 336,398 on his own... Agreed on most things. Especially the need for a neutral body made up of business people. Letting the clubs vote on the title sponsor is a joke. That's the governing bodies job, to make decisions for the good of the game, not for a clique of needy clubs.

Quote ="Worzel"Before you anti-Australian/NRL start bashing me up, please read the article in full and note this particular statement from UK born Dave Smith. Super League needs to serious start embracing the business model the NRL has to take this game forward. Obviously it will require tweaks and adjustments to suit the British sporting culture of SL. "It doesn't make good business sense to be so dependent on one thing - we need to de-risk the game from the five-year media rights cycle,'' Meaning: the game needs to STOP relying on television income alone! SL needs a Dave Smith ASAP! Maybe it is time for an RFL Commission to be appointed to run the game and not the clubs any longer? Maybe it's time for certain things to be more centralised like merchandising and media? Some useful stats the RFL can only dream of right now, however this could change. KEY STATS Participation: Record 171,071 registrations in weekend club rugby league Mini footballer registrations: 42,019, up 5.6% since 2012 NRL digital network: 3.1 million unique browsers per month, up 41% since 2012 Social media: 4.7 million followers on Twitter and Facebook, up 30% since March Crowds: 15,900 per game; down 2.9% since 2012 TV ratings: 870,000 per FTA game; down 3.8% since 2012 [url www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6789889864[/url'" The NRL has 143,423 followers on Twitter and 624,803 'likes' on Facebook. Not sure where you're/they're pulling those figures from. I'm guessing it's a collective rugby league total, but that's extremely ambiguous. Sonny Bill Williams has 336,398 on his own... Agreed on most things. Especially the need for a neutral body made up of business people. Letting the clubs vote on the title sponsor is a joke. That's the governing bodies job, to make decisions for the good of the game, not for a clique of needy clubs.

RFL/SL has a pathetically low profile on social media as a part of the bigger issue of a poor media profile overall. The game needs an serious overhaul and rebranding. Super League is a tired brand and too generic.

A quick (and maybe not accurate so happy to be corrected) look at FB shows
London Broncos 6,013

.....amazed they keep up the pretence


Salford 9,327
Widnes 4,377
Wakefield 2,089
Castleford 13,576
Catalan 3,229
HKR 9,613
Hull FC 19,323
Saints 17,336
Wigan 32,797
Leeds 52,310
Bradford Bulls 10,810
Giants 5,128
Warrington 27,279

215k and change......across 14 SL clubs.

The RFL deliver 9,311 and Super league 76,000.

RL representation in the UK on social media is less than poor but the clubs that have made an effort look similar to the clubs with most fans and the clubs with a chance of profitability. Leeds have without a doubt embraced the potential of social media with both arms as have the NRL themselves, both individually as well as collectively.

Perspective:
MANCHESTER UNITED = 38,500,000+

(all of them can't be from Essex can they?)

Just an observation but paying silly contracts to past it, never were, never will be, pension seeking crocks from the southern hemisphere is not conducive to money being kept in the game in this country.

I still wonder why clubs think it is different and cost effective, especially when their accounts are negative in either debt, turnover, balance, profit & loss or a combination or even all.

But then all I know is 99p is not £1 but neither is £1.01, a concept I suggest is beyond some.

Just to add the Twitter followings:

Leeds - 43.3k
Wigan - 34k
Warrington - 22.5k
Saints - 22k
Hull FC - 17.6k
Hull KR - 13.1k
Wakefield - 11k
Bradford - 10.9k
Huddersfield - 10.9k
Castleford - 10.1k
Salford - 10k
Widnes - 9.7k
London - 8.3k
Catalans - 4.9k

RFL - 19.7k
SL - 44.3k
England RL - 26.6k

RFL referees - 9.6k

If they were average attendances, directors of Super League clubs would be doing all they should, after 17 years of all that SKY money.