Super League set for crunch NRL investment talks at Magic Round in Brisbane
Super League chiefs will hold crunch talks with NRL counterparts early next week in Australia as investment into England’s top flight rugby league competition nears.
Rugby Football League interim chief Rhodri Jones and RFL chair Nigel Wood are heading to the NRL’s Magic Round in Brisbane before the next discussions on Monday.
Australian rugby league is looking to secure an investment into the Super League in a move that is seeing widespread support from the majority of chiefs in England and France.
Morning Wire understands that Monday’s talks in Australia could “shape the future of global rugby league” with a joined-up NRL and Super League capable of steering the club game for decades to come.
Super League crunch talks
The two leagues already cooperate on the season opener in Las Vegas, which features matches from both Super League and NRL. Monday’s crunch talks are set to see knowledge sharing and the next phase of negotiations, which could be concluded within months if not weeks.
Details which remain uncertain are the size of the stake the NRL and its overseeing body could acquire in rugby league in England and France, and how much influence that shareholding buys the Australians.
Jones and Wood will head to Brisbane, where eight NRL matches and a women’s intra-state match will take place, armed with a dossier demonstrating the rising popularity of rugby league in England.
More than 1m fans watched the Challenge Cup semi-finals last weekend, while attendances are up 13 per cent.
But Jones has said that there are other investors interested in the league, besides the potential NRL backers.
Leeds Rhinos and St Helens are both top of the Super League with Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants at risk towards the bottom of the ladder.
Second-tier side London Broncos are looking to get promoted, having been revived by a consortium of Australians fronted by Brisbane Broncos legend Darren Lockyer.