The Greatest Game

The BBC have taken a relatively slow news week in the sport to hop back onto 2008’s big topic - Super League franchises - with a vox pop from RFL Chief Executive Nigel Wood revealing that the top flight would only expand if there are enough quality applications.

Inevitably, rumours have been circulating that this announcement ties in with the reported meeting with Toulouse representatives at Red Hall this week and that the French application may not be up to scratch with the levels the RFL expects.

The key quote from the Beeb article from Wood is that, “subject to standard, we will be moving to 14 but that is not carte blanche on accepting inferior applications.” Of course this is the case, and the only thing it does confirm is that the RFL is serious about only allowing in clubs that have done the groundwork and are ready for promotion to the elite.

And the only club outside of Super League that realistically ticks the boxes is Salford City Reds. Widnes join them if they recover sufficiently from their financial debacle at the close of 2007 but Celtic Crusaders and especially Toulouse simply have not had the time to prepare for such a leap.

Celtic are nearly there, but one cannot help but think that another three years to develop their fanbase and facilities will leave them hungry and primed for a licence in 2012. Toulouse on the other hand have only been preparing for a year - it took Catalans Dragons three years to prepare and still they took time to settle in to Super League. With another three years of preparation, and following the example of Catalans, Toulouse will be ready.

Indeed people talk about economic pressures on the issuing of licences and that clubs such as Salford, Castleford, Hull KR and Wakefield do not fit the ideal of big sporting business whereas clubs in Wales and France do. One thing that should be highlighted is that the Sky TV deal for rugby league in Britain will run until the end of the 2011 season. That would indicate that the RFL know that the expansion sides need time to prepare and are willing to give them a further three years to get ready. I would say that is wise, but people will still want rushed expansion - and that is more likely to do more harm than good.

A portion of an interview I conducted with Castleford coach Terry Matterson recently for a larger piece on the Tigers has appeared on the excellent independent Castleford website www.castigers.net. The interview has been split into two parts, with the first half available to read here and the second half available to read here.

For the same piece, I also interview Tigers Chief Executive Richard Wright, a portion of which will appear on this site this week.

After a long, long break Super League XIII kicked off at the weekend with a fantastic game between champions Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR - the team irritatingly referred to as ‘the survivors’ by Sky’s Eddie Hemmings- and, as predicted in The Greatest Game’s betting tips last Friday, the ’survivors’ gave the champions a real run for their money, eventually succuming to a 20-12 loss.
Hull KR are unlikely to hit the top 6 this season, but the game just showed what a season we are in for. Power, pace, passion - the three ‘P’s’ that sum up our game were all on display. Throw in nail-biting late rallies, length of the field tries, slightly controversial, game-swinging refereeing decisions and a sold out crowd and the money Sky have put into the sport in the latest TV deal seems to be paying itself back already.

Highlights from the top flight on television next weekend include new boys Castleford taking on Challenge Cup finalists Catalans Dragons (Sky Sports 2/HD2 Saturday 9 Feb 6pm) and highly fancied Warrington taking on already injury-stricken Hull FC (Sky Sports 1/HD1 Friday 8 Feb 7.30pm).

For the full week’s programme, visit the RFL website.

Staying up past bedtime last night, it was interesting to see league getting a mention during the New York Giant’s shock 17-14 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII as BBC pundit Mike Carlson compared one of the biggest sporting events on earth to the greatest game.

Of course, Carlson was trying to give British viewers a good comparison between the games but the mere fact he knew what league was is a positive sign. Given the BBC’s amateurish coverage of the sport over the past decade and the fact they once compared the sport to Shinty (me neither) it is unlikely that they will have been in a position to tell him much about the game before going on air.

Not that this is a sign that league is conquering the globe but for what is essentially still regarded as a regional sport by the national press and the BBC, to have any mention is testament to the ongoing growth of the sport. The USA in particular is a key demographic, mainly because of the similarities between league and American football and of course the valuable pull of Russell Crowe.

And after Crowe’s South Sydney - Leeds match-up in Florida two weeks ago, that game has been receiving coverage as far afield as Malaysia and South Africa as well as significant coverage across the state of Florida. Perhaps the next step is to increase coverage of Super League and the NRL in the States, to get a broadcaster signed up. Echoing a point already made, celebrities and publicity are all well and good, but the rugby league community needs to push the sport more in the US and more support for organisations like the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) would be a great start.

With the season about to get underway, The Greatest Game is launching its weekly betting predictions. We are using imaginary £10 stakes and will tot up our winnings or losses across the season.

Only one game is played on the opening weekend of Super League XIII and it sees last season’s champions Leeds Rhinos taking on much strenghened Hull Kingston Rovers.

Sky Bet have offered some pretty generous odds by giving KR a 14 point start. Looking at the signings they’ve made, and the fact they’ll be out to prove last season’s survival wasn’t a flash in the pan, I’d expect KR to take the game to Leeds right from the off.

My primary concern to backing KR would be their lack of game time, especially with the number of new signings on board. Having friendlies cancelled due to poor weather has only allowed them to give new boys Castleford a beating in the off season. Leeds on the other hand have been out hammering Featherstone, Hunslet and Oldham - not the most challenging opposition but opposition nonetheless.

Leeds have also just jetted back from their match in Florida with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, whether lingering jetlag and the excitement of a World Club Challenge match-up with Melbourne Storm next week will upset the efficiency of the Rhinos is unknown, but the travelling is hardly the best preperation before going into a tough showdown with a club with big aims for the coming year. It is also yet to be seen what impact new coach Brian McClennan will have on last season’s unchanged Super League winning squad.

So both teams could be a little stiff coming into the first game of the season, but I fully expect KR to give Leeds a battle at Headingley. I don’t expect them to defeat the Rhinos but I feel Leeds won’t have enough in the tank to overcome the 14 point start. For the contingency bet, I feel that Leeds will be able to sneak past the 14 points but not much further past and cannot envisage them running away with the game. Therefore the contingency goes on Leeds winning by 21-25 points.

Bet, week 1

£10 on Hull KR (+14) to win @ 10/11
Potential return: £14.09

The Greatest Game 2008 Betting Statistics

Bets made: none
Money bet: £0
Money won: £0
Money lost: £0
Season kitty: £0

Skybet

Disclaimer: you can make bets on our predictions but we will not take any responsibility for any losses you sustain: sensible gamblers only bet what they can afford to lose.