Latest News

A Super View

If you fancy a game of football this weekend that doesn’t involve disorganised rucks or mauls, the English Super League might be your best option.


However if you unfortunately were not born in the UK you may struggle to access live coverage of what I and many others consider to be a League competition worth following.


Sick and tired of being limited to delayed telecasts of the ESL in the land down under and unable to find any live games being shown on pay television in February, I did what most Aussies do best.


I rebelled against this restrictive access to invaluable football content and did the only hardcore thing I could do. I shopped around.

The creative strategist inside me plotted the novel and convenient idea of listening to one of the three Friday games on BBC radio through my PC while I relaxed with a cup of….you guessed it…English Breakfast tea.


But it seems drinking English breakfast tea doesn’t give me enough blue blood deserving of live access to BBC radio broadcasts of Super League games.


My adventurous but hardly original fallback plan delivered me the same result that Wigan experienced against both Wakefield and Hull FC…absolute frustration.


My temperature reached boiling point when I was advised that “some clips and highlights packages are not available outside the UK because of rights reasons.”


They were obviously not referring to the rights of the thousands of fans around the world who want to hear English Super League games live online.


Oh, wait a second. I forgot. We don’t have any rights. Silly me. That bump on the head I took in a scrum while playing for the 14’F’s rugby team in high school must be affecting my memory.


From ex-patriots living down under to die-hard fans who want to follow both an NRL and ESL team, there is huge audience building opportunity amongst Rugby League fans outside the UK.


This really is one of those situations where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.


On the one hand you save money by restricting bandwith usage and this therefore helps the broadcasting balance sheet. That’s responsible in a time when many in the media are losing their jobs.


BUT in the current economic climate advertisers are either throwing the baby out with the sink or they are cutting their spending while getting more demanding.


According to MediaCom Australia business director Scott McCaffrey: “Clients are expecting much more, not just in rates but in value as well.”


Obviously many businesses believe that extra value will be found online which partially explains why annual spending of online advertising was up by 27 per cent from a year ago in December.


That is of course while we see traditional forms of advertising falling off a cliff at the very same time.


By enabling international web browsers to access live coverage, some advertisers can develop new markets for their products and possibly generate more revenue and brand recognition.


It’s an exciting time to be a Super League fan as we witness the post World-Cup growth of the game in France and Wales.


All should be allowed to experience this carnival type atmosphere in all types of media formats in a period when we have the technology to market the game better than ever before.


Choice is just as appealing as content in this day and age of globalised digital media. The game owes itself the chance to expand beyond its traditional borders.


I had a fairly obvious issue with the early stages of the 2009 Super League draw.


Lining up the Celtic Crusaders against the Leeds Rhinos in the ‘welcome back' fixture of the season was pure genius in terms of taking a historic moment and nullifying the excited interest in seeing what many consider to be the re-birth of a strong and long overdue Welsh presence in the greatest game of all.


Who the hell thought putting the new kids on the block up against last year’s titleholders in their very first game was a brilliant stroke of marketing? NEWSFLASH…it wasn’t.


Down 22-nil at half-time, credit must go out to the brave men Aussie coach John Dixon sent out into battle. They diligently listened to their coach at half-time which is why the second forty ended up being a 6-all draw.


Sadly you have to play two halves of concentrated footy to beat Leeds.


The Crusaders proved they know how to learn quickly from their mistakes and that’s encouraging for the upcoming round.


But they deserved an opportunity to play in a more competitive contest before their new found fans so as to create a bigger promotional buzz in the lead-up to their first home game which is on February 21.


Clearly rugby league didn’t do as much as it could in the planning stages to get the Welsh off to a better start.


Rugby League can’t afford to waste opportunities like this in an economic climate where businesses are closing not opening. I hope somebody reads this and takes notice.


THIS WEEK

Three Australian coaches get their chance to kick off their careers with their new clubs in the right direction.

Former St George-Illawarra coach Nathan Brown will have his hands full trying to restore the powerhouse image of Huddersfield who have been missing in action for far too long.

Ex-Kangaroos international Kevin Walters will test his newly acquired second language in charge of French outfit,Les Catalans Dragons. I'm not sure if there are any interpretors on the coaching staff but we'll soon find out if there needs to be.

Mick Potter will look to bring the best out of a St Helen's outfit still shattered about sending former coach Daniel Anderson back home without another title on his CV after their heartbreaking loss to Leeds in the Grand Final.

Round One
February 13-15
Fri: Hull FC V Wigan
Fri: Leeds V Wakefield
Fri: Salford V Celtic Crusaders
Fri: St Helens V Warrington
Sat: Catalans Dragons V Huddersfield
Sun: Bradford V Hull KR
Sun: Castleford V Harlequins
Back