Rugby Union clubs in England are dying. It turns out spending yourself into oblivion isn’t a smart way to ensure your survival. With English Rugby Union now openly talking about the need for major changes to the structure of their sport, the business model, and rationalisation of clubs, it begs the question, could the RFL…
Presented by Palmerbet In this episode of the Fergo and The Freak Rugby League podcast Andrew Ferguson and League Freak complete the survey put out by IMG as they look to get some sort of return on their investment and guage what supporters of the game are thinking. The survey was supposed to take 15…
Over the years I had written about some of the the ridiculous “sponsorship” deals that have been signed in British Rugby League. From the RFL negotiating to get officials the use of free cars under the guise of “development sponsorship” to the famous Stobart deal which saw Super League give away its title sponsorship for…
In some terrible breaking news, the Toronto Wolfpack have withdrawn from the 2020 Super League season amid rumours of players not being paid and the request for a £200,000 loan was rejected by opposition Super League clubs. The news means that the likes of Sonny Bill Williams as well as other high profile Wolfpack players…
With the very transparent campaign being waged against the game by the media I thought it was time to provide something that news services don’t value much these days. Facts. There are a lot of questions the media asks of the sport that they never want answered. Things like “Where has the money gone?” and…
In episode 2 of Fergo and The Freak Andrew and League Freak talk about the history of Rugby League expansion in Australia, the loss of clubs, what clubs could be relocated to new areas and which areas are ripe for expansion. You can now subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Spotify, otherwise you can…
When ever I read about a concept that I initially hate the sound of, I stop reacting. I stop reacting and start to actually think about things from the other side of the argument. News today that the NRL is starting to openly talk about moving the Newcastle Knights, a club they own, to Ipswich…
NRL clubs have made a move to oust Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman John Grant after Grant, along with NRL CEO Todd Greenberg, promised clubs a funding bonus, and then backpedaled on that promise due to other areas of the game needed the money more. The clubs not only want Grant removed, they also want…
It would be very easy to sit back and suggest that what we are seeing happen to the Parramatta Eels right now is the result of terrible management of a club that has been a bit of a basket case for close on 30 years. That would be missing the much bigger picture though. In…
You hear it all the time. Rugby League players are just greedy. They just want to get as much money as possible and don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Let me tell you right now, players have NOTHING on Rugby League clubs who have proven they will happily watch the game being torn…
Do you remember when the Gold Coast Titans first entered the NRL? They were a new team with a new name, new jerseys, a new stadium, a new centre of excellence…the future looked bright! They gave their new coach a long term deal because he was going to lead this new team of players to…
I remember seeing pictures on TV of a packed Balmain Leagues Club on Grand Final day. I remember the spirit the Tigers had. The Tigers had a special group of players at the time, players that their supporter base really connected with. The Balmain Tigers went close, as close as you can get, but ultimately…
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has this week warned fans of the club to expect similar results until the club is able to attract Origin quality players to the squad. Isn’t it his job as coach of the side to attract players of said quality? Isn’t it also his job to turn talented youngsters into Origin…
Now that Nathan Tinkler has given up control of the Newcastle Knights Wayne Bennett is effectively allowed to leave the club under the terms of the contract he signed. When Bennett joined the Knights, his contract was with Hunter Sports Group, not the Newcastle Knights themselves. The deal stated that if Tinkler left as owner…
News Limited is reporting that a phone owned by Newcastle Knights owner Nathan Tinkler was used to send abusive text messages to players, many of whom were not being paid by the club. Tinkler, who will not be owner of the Newcastle Knights for much longer, is fast becoming one of the most hated people…
Coach Wayne Bennett and fullback Darius Boyd are among those at the Newcastle Knights who have not been paid thanks to Nathan Tinkler and his Hunter Sports Group. A lot of people have been critical of Boyd’s form this season, but if he isn’t being paid, I can completely understand why he would have better…
Cast your mind back to the early days of Nathan Tinkler’s interest in the Newcastle Knights. You couldn’t go a couple of days without some former Newcastle Knights player saying what an amazing opportunity it was for the club to sell the farm to Tinkler and his Hunter Sports Group. Tinkler played his purchase of…
News Limited is reporting that members of the Newcastle Knights board are concerned that club owner Nathan Tinkler will not come up with a promised $10.3 million bank deposit by March 31st. News.com.au is reporting that Newcastle Knights Chairman Nick Dan sought a meeting with Hunter Sports Group this week only to find himself being…
It is news that didn’t make any headlines at all but that should really be of concern to all Newcastle Knights supporters. According to the News Limited, Newcastle Knights were not paid on time this month. While players have since been paid, my experinece is that when you hear about these delays in players payments,…
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the Balmain Tigers need to raise $4 million within 2 years or risk folding, putting their joint venture with Western Suburbs at risk. The $4 million the Balmain Tigers need to come up with is from a loan the NRL gave the Wests Tigers joint venture. This loan came…
As a Rugby League supporter, your support should not be unconditional. Your time and entertainment budget is very valuable. You should never, ever forget that. The London Broncos are a terrible joke at the moment. A franchise that is directionless, under funded, poorly managed and who does not belong anywhere near Super League. Let me…
They have few players, hardly any staff, no ground to play at, and now the London Broncos intend to enter administration. Welcome to Super League! The London Broncos demise comes as no surprise to me at all. I wrote about it back in July. I knew this was coming! That a bloke on the other…
Investors in the Cronulla Sharks property development may be willing to provide an advanced payment to the club of up to $10 million, a figure that would allow the club to pay off its current bank debt and that could be used to pay any possible fine that comes out of the ASADA investigation. The…
The Bradford Bulls have been issued with a winding up order that the club says is the result of a misunderstanding. The Bulls failed to pay players wages a couple of months ago and are rumoured to have not paid last months wages as well. Now the club have been issued with a winding up…
The Bradford Bulls may be in financial strife once again with rumours swirling that players and staff have not been paid their wages for the last month. This is basically the same thing that occurred last month when players found that their wages had not been deposited into their bank accounts only to have the…
Andrew Webster of the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the Wests Tigers need a $1 million cash injection to survive. The good news is that the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture is ready to step in and provide the funding, but only in exchange for the controlling votes on the Wests Tigers…
Bradford Bulls owner Omar Khan has put £900,000 of his own money into the Bradford Bulls to cover a recent cash shortage according to the Telegraph and Argus. Bradford Bulls players had not been payed last months wages. At first the club said it was a very short term issue caused by an administrative error,…
Update: Bradford Bulls owner Omar Khan has come out and admitted the club is having financial issues. He has said will now not be making any payments to players until the 8th of August. He has also said that the club is not going into administration. Of course, we have heard all of this before….
It was only a few months ago that the Salford Reds looked like their days were numbered. With debt of around £600,000 hanging over their heads and a winding up petition issues, the prospect of the Super League season kicking off with just 13 teams seemed like a very real possibility. In stepped Marwan Koukash,…
An investigation by BBC Inside Out has found that Super League clubs have a combined debt of around £68.5 million. Sports Finance expert Rob Wilson explained the situation as “There are too many teams generating insufficient turnover and generating too much cumulative debt”. Incredibly, the Rugby Football League’s director of standards and licensing Blake Solly…