“The problem is our players are so…” – Brian Noble explains what players need to change to make rugby league more watchable

As IMG come in to ‘re-imagine’ rugby league, many have had their say on what they need to do to improve Super League.

One common thing is the suggestion that Super League needs to create it’s own stars and personalities.

This is the thought of former Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors boss Brian Noble who has suggested that player interviews are part of the problem in creating stories with players being too humble and not wanting the lime light.

Noble explained: “Guys like Ali Lauitiiti and Lesley Vainikolo were icons. You have to bring stars to the game, we create our own stars. Do we tell that story enough? Those guys from Leeds, Bradford, Wigan and Saints, local lads. Do we big them up enough?

“The problem we have is our players are so good, so humble, they dodge the lime light. We couldn’t get a Leeds player saying they want to smash the hell out of a Bradford player. They do it and they want to but they don’t like talking about it.

“We have to find a way of promoting the game. We need to generate stories and that’s IMG’s first job.”

He also has suggested a radical new structure for Super League.

He said: “I am a bit of a radical. I am a big believer in blowing it up and starting again like they did in 1996. Have two different competitions, have 10 in each conferences and a shared division where the hopes and aspirations of everybody can be sorted, because that would be a competitive right.

“Pick your fixtures, so it doesn’t matter what conference you’re in and then have a play off system.”

This of course takes inspiration from American sports and would be a radical departure from what we currently have.

It does seem that IMG are interested in a new structure or at the least licencing.