BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Former Super League general manager Blake Solly says the European competition needs an injection of funding and dynamism to “get moving again”, and that the NRL is the perfect partner to provide that.
Solly is the CEO of South Sydney but spent seven years working for the RFL before departing the organisation in 2016.
He has thrown his support behind the NRL getting involved with Super League, insisting that the Australasian competition wants Super League and the England national team to both get better.
“I think the NRL should [invest in Super League],” Solly told the Chiming In podcast.
“There’s a lot of great people and great clubs involved in the game there. It needs an injection of funding and dynamisim, particularly Peter’s [V’landys] dynamism.
“I think it’s probably been held back by self-interest, and that’s understandable, these people are passionate about their clubs and their investments in their clubs. But it just needs a circuit breaker to get moving again.
“It’s got a great opportunity, you only need to have a look at the ticket sakes and the interest in the series between the Kangaroos and England last year. Sellout three great revenues really quickly, there’s some imagination and some great people like Simon Moran, Eammon [McManus], around the game.
“I think it just needs that circuit breaker of the NRL coming in, taking management control.
“They’re not there to asset strip or do anything thay’s going to hurt the game, they want Super League to be strong and they want the England national team to be strong.
“They’re the right partners to go in – not some private equity company that’s just fattening it up for a sale in five years.
“They want the game to be strong in a 100 years time.”
Solly expects a lot of cross promotion opportunities and club partnerships being struck, along with NRL games being held in England, if the NRL does take a stake in Super League.
“If the NRL is managing the competition, and there’s momentum or some excitement about it, of course all of us would look how we can help individual clubs over there,” he said.
“The Super League is a sleeping giant, but it’s going to take time. It won’t be an overnight success.”
