By STEVE MASCORD
A MEETING in London tomorrow has the potential to be mentioned in the same breath as the George Hotel in terms of historical significance – but in all likelihood won’t achieve anything we remember in a month.
ARLC chairman Peter Vlandys and chief executive Andrew Abdo will gather at a secret location in the capital to meet with Super League clubs over what has been termed for a couple of years now as “NRL Europe”. Tellingly, they will now be joined by Rugby League Commercial chairman Nigel Wood and the new RFL CEO Abi Ekoku.
rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads has been speaking to a host of sources from across the game over the past two weeks to assess the state of play in the NRL’s interest in becoming involved in the British game. No one was willing to speak on the record.
We approached the NRL for comment but have yet to hear back.
Two absences from London are going to have a big impact on the direction of talks: South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly and his Wests Tigers counterpart Shane Richardson.
The pair has enormous experience in the British game and in the case of Richardson has drawn up a detailed plan for a 10-team NRL Europe that includes Catalans and Toulouse. Richardson also told this publication earlier in the year that V’landys and Abdo should not deal with a Wood-run RFL.
The reason for this is simple: the two CEOs advising Abdo and V’landys wanted the top clubs to come to the table and, if not accept Richardson’s plan completely, make their own proposal for NRL funding (the RFL, by the way, would be funded from TV moneys to a greater degree than it is now – guaranteed. This was a genteel revolution at worst).
Ownership of the new entity was discussed. You’ve read percentages being bandied about.
Instead, however, the RFL board was deposed and powerbrokers such as Leigh’s Derek Beaumont and Leeds’ Gary Hetherington led the successful push to bring back Wood. Leigh is not wanted in NRL Europe so Beaumont’s move made sense but Hetherington’s role in circling the wagons in the face of what Richardson saw as progress angered some Down Under.
So much so that Hetherington’s new club London Broncos were cut from the NRL Europe blueprint. This political power play was something of which Grant Wechsel and Darren Lockyer were completely ignorant when they took over the Broncos. They are now keen to have a strong relationship with League Central in Sydney while Hetherington deals with the RFL and Rugby League Commercial.
The game in Britain has a reputation for fleecing naive outsiders with enthusiasm and money – Hetherington will be essential in preventing that from happening to a Broncos administration with boundless – the word was coined by an audience member as Adam Hills spoke at a club function last week – “ausitivity”.
But with Richardson and Solly not making the trip, any biases or preconceptions they have will also not be represented.
Abdo and V’landys have been happy to deal with Wood despite Richardson’s advice. They appear unwedded to Richo’s 10-team plan (although the French component is a non-negotiable). They are expected to take a blank-sheet, neutral approach to tomorrow’s summit, asking what they can do to help rather than sweep into the room like a pair of Che Guevaras.
The fear is that the RFL, Rugby League Commercial and the majority of the clubs will see this as a green light to attempt to test how much money they can get from them, rather than make tough decisions in the interest of the sport. It’s like asking the turkeys if they would like the option to vote for Christmas at some stage.
Of the big clubs the NRL would like in any competition, St Helens are currently perceived to be the most militant and resistant.
On the other end of the spectrum is a team that is increasingly filling the role Brisbane played in the advent of the original Super League 30 years ago: a team with similar gravitas: Wigan.
Wigan abstained from voting on Super League going to 14 teams next year and they sent a legal letter to the RFL reserving their rights over the decision. Owner Mike Danson, not used to being condemned, has faced uncomfortable interactions with other clubs over his continued dialogue with the ARLC regarding NRL Europe and some we spoke to even characterised the Warriors as the outcasts of British rugby league right now.
At the Brick Community Stadium they want to move ahead to a better competition – and the other clubs regard their eagerness as treacherous.
If Wigan were to ‘jump’ at today’s meeting and take others with them, we might be comparing the gathering to the George Hotel. But there is absolutely no indication that is going to happen.
Instead, the Aussie pair needs to be wary of Wood’s persuasive and finely tuned negotiating skills, which could fill that blank sheet of paper very quickly with detail that favours his administration and many clubs that would not play in NRL Europe anyway.
The concern is that rather than engaging in a war with the new RFL administration or sparking a split, PVL will just walk away.
And as Warrington and Wigan were told in Vegas: V’landys doesn’t need to do this – he could just go buy another hotel instead.