Champions League in Rugby League

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foreveratiger

New member
Sorry guys now its there on the forum , worked out how to use it thanks to all and sorry for the inconvienience… Just a thought guys , do you think a Champions league in Rugby League would work e.g The top 4 NRL teams and top 4 super league teams in England , would play in the champions league it would be played over a 2 month period once the grand finals have been played , each group would have 4 teams being 2 nrl teams and 2 super league teams making up a group. Then the top 2 from each group would progress to the semis then play to make the final and then be crowned world champion. i think this would be an awesome idea as i think 5 and a half of off season is way to long , it also gives fans to see the talent coming through from England. I know you would need some big major sponsors to fund such an event , i think players would be allowed to earn extra dollars and gives clubs something to srive for during the season for a top 4 birth , What you guys think would it work???????
 
@foreveratiger said:
Sorry guys now its there on the forum , worked out how to use it thanks to all and sorry for the inconvienience… Just a thought guys , do you think a Champions league in Rugby League would work e.g The top 4 NRL teams and top 4 super league teams in England , would play in the champions league it would be played over a 2 month period once the grand finals have been played , each group would have 4 teams being 2 nrl teams and 2 super league teams making up a group. Then the top 2 from each group would progress to the semis then play to make the final and then be crowned world champion. i think this would be an awesome idea as i think 5 and a half of off season is way to long , it also gives fans to see the talent coming through from England. I know you would need some big major sponsors to fund such an event , i think players would be allowed to earn extra dollars and gives clubs something to srive for during the season for a top 4 birth , What you guys think would it work???????
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No problems ForeveraTiger we all have been there mate
Back to the issue
If we were going to ask our footballers to play for an extra 8 weeks I would much prefer them to play complete home and away rounds in the NRL itself
The other issue is as was seen during the super league days when trialled the NRL teams belted the ESL teams and belted them big time
But it is a very good idea and is worth looking at
 
Bear in mind that after the four nations, the english players get a couple of weeks off then start pre season training in november for friendlies in january. So not a lot of time. The top 4 in super league now are far better than the standard previously tried, as the WCC shows, there's not been a lot in the last 3, and there won't be much in it in february. So only stumbling block is whether english clubs would release their players from pre season to play. And financing it of course.
 
i would consider replacing the english in this idea with PNG/Tonga/Samoa/Fiji, would give those nations a good run out and be competitive for the nrl sides. How much they would get out of it tho is debatable.
 
Rusty wanted to follow this exact formula and host it in Las Vegas, to grow the game in the US. I feel that a champions league format is essential to the growth of the game, because at the moment it is an extremely unbalanced 2 horse race.

The game needs to grow exponentially in PNG, the Pacific and England. I feel that a champions league would provide serious exposure to the game.
 
@watersiders said:
Rusty wanted to follow this exact formula and host it in Las Vegas, to grow the game in the US. I feel that a champions league format is essential to the growth of the game, because at the moment it is an extremely unbalanced 2 horse race.

The game needs to grow exponentially in PNG, the Pacific and England. I feel that a champions league would provide serious exposure to the game.
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I agree..I thought Rustys idea was exciting and with a little tweaking could well become a reality.

With the Australian market saturated by that dull heap of crap called afl, lifting revenue will be hard. However, there is a lot of money to be made in septic land of this great game. The yanks are a violent people and RL is a violent sport. If promoted properly with the best sides from here and the ESL in a round robin tournament, I think interest would be peaked over there.
 
Yeah I liked Rusty's idea as well. The trouble is, as Happy pointed out, it's a few extra weeks added to the year and added to players who already complain about player burn out.

What if, clubs were invited and if they just asked for volunteer players to send?
 
well you tell me that the players that qualify for the Champions League and get told that they could earn an extra e.g $50,000 for playing in the champions league , i bet you they wouldnt be complaining about fatigue its there career , its about maximising there income. As for coaches its about managing your complete squad of 25 players not your 17 if this was to occur. What about the Premier League in England (soccer) there season consists of 46 games regular season, on top of that they play Champions League if they qualify, F.A cup, Carling Cup, plus internationals as well, they play mid week games and all, they only have 2 and a half months off a year its all about being professinals and coaches managing there complete squad. League players complain about fatigue they play 24 games in a season and have 2 byes through out the year. Sorry but i think its about growing our game as best as we can and giving players maximun oppurtunity to maximise there income.
 
@foreveratiger said:
well you tell me that the players that qualify for the Champions League and get told that they could earn an extra e.g $50,000 for playing in the champions league , i bet you they wouldnt be complaining about fatigue its there career , its about maximising there income. As for coaches its about managing your complete squad of 25 players not your 17 if this was to occur. What about the Premier League in England (soccer) there season consists of 46 games regular season, on top of that they play Champions League if they qualify, F.A cup, Carling Cup, plus internationals as well, they play mid week games and all, they only have 2 and a half months off a year its all about being professinals and coaches managing there complete squad. League players complain about fatigue they play 24 games in a season and have 2 byes through out the year. Sorry but i think its about growing our game as best as we can and giving players maximun oppurtunity to maximise there income.
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Comparing soccer and rugby league isn't a good model
The premier league players miss some of the games during FA Cup .Carling Cup etc have far bigger budgets playing lists etc
Soccer does not have the heavy contact the NRL does
 
@happy tiger said:
@foreveratiger said:
well you tell me that the players that qualify for the Champions League and get told that they could earn an extra e.g $50,000 for playing in the champions league , i bet you they wouldnt be complaining about fatigue its there career , its about maximising there income. As for coaches its about managing your complete squad of 25 players not your 17 if this was to occur. What about the Premier League in England (soccer) there season consists of 46 games regular season, on top of that they play Champions League if they qualify, F.A cup, Carling Cup, plus internationals as well, they play mid week games and all, they only have 2 and a half months off a year its all about being professinals and coaches managing there complete squad. League players complain about fatigue they play 24 games in a season and have 2 byes through out the year. Sorry but i think its about growing our game as best as we can and giving players maximun oppurtunity to maximise there income.

Comparing soccer and rugby league isn't a good model
The premier league players miss some of the games during FA Cup .Carling Cup etc have far bigger budgets playing lists etc
Soccer does not have the heavy contact the NRL does
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.(The heavy contact) most of the players play in 20 minute spells except the backs . They have 12 interchanges . Your body gets accustomed to the hits . As for Premier League players missing on some games its all about resting your players when required its managing your squad. Im sure that these players would be in for it if they were to earn more dollars , thats why for this to work there would have to be some massive sponsors. Off season is way to long and the 4 nations thing is a joke
 
I think the only way you could fit this in would be for the NRL and ESL to shorten their seasons, giving more time for extra competitions like this. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Imagine if the NRL regular season was 20 weeks, then the finals get played out. The regular season would be wrapped up in mid July, grand final in mid August. Then give the teams a couple weeks off to rest up and sort out the admin side of things. Then you have the Champions League for another 2 months, bringing everything to close in by the end of October. You would have the excitement of finals football going for 3 months instead of 1\. The regular season is shortened, but that increases the importance of each game. Look at the NFL which only has 16 rounds. You don't get the mid-season drag…

If you have the 2 pools playing separately in Australia and England, that would give prime time games in both markets. The final of the Champions League could alternate between countries.

It could be great, if given a go. It could really help both the NRL and ESL, and bring the standard of the 2 comps closer together.

But sadly, I doubt we will ever see something as visionary and daring ever given a proper go...
 
@Juro said:
I think the only way you could fit this in would be for the NRL and ESL to shorten their seasons, giving more time for extra competitions like this. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Imagine if the NRL regular season was 20 weeks, then the finals get played out. The regular season would be wrapped up in mid July, grand final in mid August. Then give the teams a couple weeks off to rest up and sort out the admin side of things. Then you have the Champions League for another 2 months, bringing everything to close in by the end of October. You would have the excitement of finals football going for 3 months instead of 1\. The regular season is shortened, but that increases the importance of each game. Look at the NFL which only has 16 rounds. You don't get the mid-season drag…

If you have the 2 pools playing separately in Australia and England, that would give prime time games in both markets. The final of the Champions League could alternate between countries.

It could be great, if given a go. It could really help both the NRL and ESL, and bring the standard of the 2 comps closer together.

But sadly, I doubt we will ever see something as visionary and daring ever given a proper go...
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i agree Juro , im all for expanding our game. But agree that something like this would never happen . I have experienced games in England , ive been to Old Trafford , Elland road, Goodison Park and i tell you the atmosphere created over there , you get goose bumps. Bottom line is dont think this would ever happen.
 
great idea… the only way to grow the games to the point that it will attract major sponsorship dollars is a worldwide competition, either through Internatonal Football or an Intercontinental Competition.

The biggest stumbling block in my eyes is the RLIF... It isnt a real governing body!
 
The gap between the 2 leagues is too large for it to be taken seriously in my opinion. The WCC in 1997 was a complete farce and this could well go down the same road.
 
Yeah its been tried before, back in 97 I think. Superleague and the ESL wen't head to head in an expanded World Club Challenge. They played in Australia, New Zealand, England and France as well I think. It was stretched out over a few months. I think they lost a fortune on it, crowds were poor and the ESL clubs got towelled up 90% of the time. Did the Mariners end up winning the comp?

It's an idea worth revisiting though. The NRL All Stars game has shown that with meticulous planning and good management new concepts can be successful.
 
@Danos said:
Yeah its been tried before, back in 97 I think. Superleague and the ESL wen't head to head in an expanded World Club Challenge. They played in Australia, New Zealand, England and France as well I think. It was stretched out over a few months. I think they lost a fortune on it, crowds were poor and the ESL clubs got towelled up 90% of the time. Did the Mariners end up winning the comp?

It's an idea worth revisiting though. The NRL All Stars game has shown that with meticulous planning and good management new concepts can be successful.
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Yeah thats a good example Dano the NRL ALL STARS with good management its possible . But this would be a massive funding event as the 4 Nrl teams would need alot of money to be funded , as the 4 teams would need to travel to England or visa versa theres alot of plane tickets to be purchased.
 
Anything like this would require a shortened season. There are already enough complaints that the season is too long, and i think anything like this would be extremly unlikely to happen for that reson alone. Its a good idea though
 
Interesting idea but 2 months is way too long for a comp that would struggle to capture the interest of supporters. Unless the prizemoney was monumental you'd get second string teams. I do like the idea (along Rusty's lines) of having something a bit bigger than the current one off game though. I could see maybe 4 teams competing for the WCC (you'd presume 2 from ESL and 2 from NRL) plus 4 teams competing for a second teir cup (say for argument's sake the USARL winner, French league winner, PNG champions, NZRL champs). Play it over a couple of days in Las Vegas (or wherever) as a straight knockout. The first games could be 20 minutes a half midweek and the final a full game on the weekend.
 
@Danos said:
Yeah its been tried before, back in 97 I think. Superleague and the ESL wen't head to head in an expanded World Club Challenge. They played in Australia, New Zealand, England and France as well I think. It was stretched out over a few months. I think they lost a fortune on it, crowds were poor and the ESL clubs got towelled up 90% of the time. Did the Mariners end up winning the comp?

It's an idea worth revisiting though. The NRL All Stars game has shown that with meticulous planning and good management new concepts can be successful.
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The Mariners got to the final and lost to Brisbane.
 
a champions league could work but personally id rather see two things happen first. 1) a full home and away draw where everyone plus everyone twice its fair. 2) a knock out comp where the 16 teams get drawn randomly where the loser gets knocked out. With a reasonable prize pool we could see some very intense games and some youngsters could be unearthed. could also extend the comp to include all under 20s teams so its 32 teams. And the draw should be like the FA cup where you dont know who you're playing until after the round is complete and create a real interest in the draw and the games
 
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