A leading NRL voice has given his assessment of the likelihood and necessity for an NRL takeover of Super League, revealing that a number of English clubs are already jostling to be in a position of favour with the NRL by approaching teams about possible ‘associations’.
With the English game in its current state of uncertainty amidst huge changes at the RFL and club-commissioned ‘Strategic Reviews’ taking place, it seems that there has never been a better time for the long-rumoured NRL intervention to take place.
Australian Rugby League Commission chief Peter V’landys has previously explained that NRL involvement has to be requested and reports from the Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Chammas have indicated that could have happened with a ‘secret meeting’ between Wigan and Warrington owners, Mike Danson and Simon Moran, and a number of NRL officials, including V’landys, taking place in Las Vegas.
Chammas’ report also revealed that the NRL would consider investing in a 33% stake on the proviso that they gain “complete administrative control” from 2028, meaning that the NRL would be shaping how Super League is ran.
Gus Gould, one of the leading voices in the sport Down Under, has backed those suggestions when appearing on Channel Nine’s 100% Footy show, calling for the NRL to run both Super League and the international game, whilst revealing details of what he has heard so far.
NRL leading voice gives update on Super League takeover
“100%, I made that recommendation to the NRL Commission six years ago,” responded Gould when asked if the NRL should invest in Super League.
“Covid got in the way and all of a sudden they had different priorities but I said that that the international game of rugby league needs to be controlled by the National Rugby League (NRL).
“You can’t wait for the international board to do it. They’ve got no power, they’ve got no expertise and they’ve got no money.
“We need English Super League strong and the way to do that is to get the NRL involved, if not own it.”
Gould currently works as the General Manager of Football at Canterbury Bulldogs, the NRL’s only unbeaten team in 2025, but he has held plenty of roles in the sport from player to coach, to director, to consultant, meaning he is a man whose opinion carries immense weight – as does his insider knowledge.
Revealing some of that, he explained more with Gould seeming to indicate that talk of sister clubs or ‘associations’ had already been had, noting: “There have been a lot of behind-closed-doors conversations for some time now around UK Super League and I know in club land that a number of NRL clubs have been approached about associations with Super League clubs across there.
“The prominent owners over there have got disillusioned with the current administration or the way the game is managed over there and they are the ones that have made the approach to the NRL that ‘We need a new administration, we need a new concept and we need something else to take to a new broadcast deal’, because they’ve got a very poor broadcast deal at the moment.”
How London Broncos are ‘key’ to possible NRL takeover
One of the key reasons why Chammas reported 2028 as a milestone moment in any potential takeover deal is that Super League, NRL and international rugby league’s broadcast deals are all up for renewal in 2027, meaning that there’s a chance a united front could maximise the deal.
However, Gould pointed to a stalling point on a broadcast deal, adding: “Key to that is the London Broncos situation because to have a valuable broadcast situation they’d need a very strong London and at the moment, London has always been a failure.”
He would confirm that a number of Super League clubs are already “pre-empting” NRL ownership, before asserting his own view that it would be a wise move by the NRL.
Gould explained: “I think there are a few little factions across there that are pre-empting what is possible and trying to position themselves for it but there have definitely been conversations between UK Super League clubs and NRL clubs around taking a stake or a relationship.
“I think it’s up to the NRL to do it and I think it’s a really good move for the NRL to take administrative control of the UK Super League.”
Concluding, he added: “I’m buoyed by the fact and I think it’s a bit of a signal that we’re doing the Kangaroos tour to the UK this year.
“Then broadcast-wise, they need to get their game strong, then they need to put pathways in, then they need to get it funded and we need to make them strong again. The UK Super League is very very important to world rugby league.”
Wiganexpat
April 9, 2025 at 10:28 pm
I reckon that Peter V’landys has done more for this sport than any other individual in the history of our game (and I include Maurice Lindsay in that). If he can be persuaded to take over Superleague then give it to him.