Super League coach points to key flaw in pundit’s controversial NRL takeover idea

Willie Peters says switching back to become a winter sport would take something away from the product Super League has to offer. The Hull KR boss’ comments come after NRL pundit Matty Johns outlined his belief that changing the Northern Hemisphere game back to winter should be something the NRL consider should they go ahead with their proposed investment into Super League.

The talk is that the NRL are keen to buy a stake in the Northern Hemisphere game with talks ongoing about how the two competitions can work together to provide the boost Super League needs. There’s been a lot of suggestions around what the NRL could do with a controlling stake in Super League and what they would look to implement.

However, switching the sport back to winter is a new one, with Johns making the point that it could lead to the two leagues sharing players. Australians regularly made the move over to England before the summer era began and English players featured down under, too, with the difference in seasons allowing stars to spend time on both sides of the world.

Johns used Hull KR as an example with the pundit outlining how he would like to see the likes of Tom Trbojevic move over to east Hull for a short stint at the end of the NRL season, while Super League’s best could in theory go the other way, too.

Peters sees some merit to the point Johns was making and agrees with the notion of thinking outside of the box. However, the Australian is more than aware of how testing winters in England can be with the change diminishing the product and style of play.

Willie Peters on Matty Johns’ Super League switch idea

“I can understand where Matty is coming from there,” Peters said when asked about the comments in his press conference earlier this week. “What they’d try and do is get some NRL players over here and vice versa and sort of bring the competitions together a little bit.

“I’m all for growing this competition, there’s no doubt about that, I’m all for how we can make our competition better. We have a wonderful product, I keep saying that, and the players are doing their part.

“It’s obviously up to other people to make sure the game keeps growing and we’re getting better. Matty Johns is a very smart, intelligent man in terms of rugby league and he’s creative with his ideas.

“There’s merit to what he’s saying but whether it works or not is not up to me but I certainly agree that we need to keep growing the game here and thinking outside the box.”

He added: “I don’t think you’d get the same product and it wouldn’t be as free flowing as it is now. I think that’s what makes our game enjoyable to watch over here. It’s a different product and a great product, there’s nothing wrong with the product here at all.

“It’s getting better and better and the competition is getting tighter and tighter because most people now are spending cap and you can see Castleford over the last couple of weeks have been bringing players in to strengthen their team. Teams are always looking to strengthen their roster because they want to go after it and that brings healthy competition and close games.

“I think summer rugby is great because of the product. I think when it gets to the real heavy grounds, the style changes. If you look at Salford, teams aren’t playing like that in the NRL, they play with a free spirit and their style is totally different to anyone else.

“Obviously there’s another side to the game which is defence and teams over here now are focusing more and more on defence, I’ve certainly seen that. But you still want the attack and that’s what the average punter enjoys watching, is free flowing attack. Going back to winter would take that away, but I understand what Matty is saying and I certainly understand his points.”