Rugby league legend Adrian Morley is in support of the NRL’s rumoured interest in buying Super League.
According to a series of reports, the NRL are keen to purchase a stake in Super League and take control of the competition’s future plans. The Australian competition sees the importance of the game in the Northern Hemisphere and many believe the influence and knowhow of those down under can help get Super League back on its feet as financial difficulties continue across the competition.
It’s something that plenty of fans have been calling for for some time, but Morley believes such a move could had a hugely positive impact on the game in Europe.
“I think it would be an amazing move,” the former Great Britain international, who spent a chunk of his career representing Sydney Roosters, said on the Bye Round podcast. “Super League needs a boost, it needs a shot in the arm and the NRL are on that (positive) trajectory.
“I’m sure the NRL and the Australian rugby league people feel it’s really important that there’s a strong competition in the UK.
“They wouldn’t be a charity case, they’d do it financially and if they can incorporate the TV deal over here, I’m not sure how it works, the business model, but any injection would be great and to work with a successful business like the NRL, I think it could be amazing for Super League.”
Adrian Morley raises the possibility of Super League mergers
Asked what changes need to be made in order to make Super League work moving forward, Morley brought up the contentious notion of mergers.
“I remember when Super League came to the fore in ’95/’96,” he added. “There was talk of mergers, there was talk of big city clubs and there was a massive backlash from the rugby league community, the likes of Featherstone, Castleford and Wakefield, they wanted them teams to merge. It would be interesting to hear from the people who voted against that and say ‘now would you have gone down that route’?
“It does need a big shake up. Salford, there’s talk of them merging and being called Manchester. It makes sense commercially because then you’ve got the whole of Manchester to tap into. Maybe getting big cities involved rather than your small towns.
“I’m with you, it’s not great to see the sport we both love in the position it is, it’s terrible.”
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Everyone In RL
April 21, 2025 at 1:50 pm
Morley just as brain damaged as Goulding. No mergers.
Eric T Cat
April 21, 2025 at 2:27 pm
Mergers? Ok, let’s merge Wigan, St Helens, and Leigh…when half the readership calms down you’ll see how that’s a non starter. Last time Hull KR opted for over a decade of near oblivion than merge with FC, FC merged with Gateshead, their near neighbours in a rugby league hotbed. It’s a total non starter.
If the NRL comes in then consolidation is the first step. Get clubs on a stable footing. Next take the fight to Union, club Rugby Union is dire, offer them a route to establish new clubs to compete in the Championship , alongside existing clubs, with a view to expanding the Super League to 14 clubs within 5 years. Use a grading system like the IMG one, to ensure survivability and sustainability. The Midlands, around Leicester, Northampton, to Coventry area should be a target, i,e., growing the Midlands .Hurricanes. Target the Bristol, Bath, Gloucester area. Get investment back into Lindon, maybe two clubs to create a rivalry. Hit the Northeast hard, build on the energy that surrounds
Magic Weekends, or is it just a road trip of hardcore fans?
We need something, we need someone with a plan, with a vision, and the talent, ability, and backing to make it a reality. There must be change. One thing I would do is break the power base that certain clubs, real or perceived, have over the sport.
mamau
April 21, 2025 at 4:38 pm
You are hitting some good points. There are already clubs in cities like Sheffield, York, Doncaster, Midlands, Newcastle. Investment into these periphery clubs will already make the sport much stronger. I know football is not a fair comparison, but if small cities in football heartlands can have multiple clubs, I see no reason to suggest that for RL to grow, then small community clubs in the Championship or L1 need to die, merge, or be replaced with some corporate entity from Australia
Johnny
April 22, 2025 at 7:00 am
No mergers
To bring fans back and I mean thousands get rid of
Kendle l moore Cullen smith wood
The games bent and corrupt
Wiganexpat
April 22, 2025 at 2:06 pm
I don’t think that the NRL are that keen on merging clubs but they would want the competition thinking a heck of a lot bigger and more strategically than what they do today. They are likely to reduce the size of Superleague at least initially but they will want the clubs that remain to think about developing bigger catchment areas. So Wigan might start playing games in Manchester and Saints might look to develop Liverpool. Warrington maybe try taking on Cheshire. I think that smaller clubs like Salford and Leigh are gone and I think they would want only 1 club in Hull. They are likely to want a team in London, retain Catalans and may want to bring Toulouse in. Relocation might be an option for some clubs but that would need to come from the clubs themselves. A Superleague divisin 2 might be a possibility for those clubs that lose their place. The funding for a lot of this would come out of whatever TV/Streaming deal the NRL can pull off. Whilst much of that might sound unpleasent, we have to face the reality that the alternative is even worse.