Update provided on Super League and NRL partnership as Rhodri Jones issues latest including timeline for decision

Rhodri Jones, Managing Director of RL Commercial, has provided an update on the partnership between the NRL and Super League.

After a collaboration between the two was the talk of the early rounds, things seemed to settle down around April, and with Andrew Abdo quitting as NRL CEO in May, it was uncertain as to where the talks were at.

A deal between the two would see the competitions come closer together, and would allow both sides of the world to continue to grow the game.

However, Super League representatives travelled to Sydney for the NRL’s Magic Weekend back in May to enhance talks, and it is believed that NRL representatives are over in England for the Super League Magic Weekend, which saw a record attendance, something that will only be a positive for the eyes of the Australian competition.

Jones spoke to Sky Sports at half-time of the game between St Helens and Wigan Warriors, and provided the latest on where the conversations are at, and a timeline of when the next part of the talks can take place.

“We [Super League] had an update with them [NRL] this week. We have delivered back to them what we believe is the foundation of a strong partnership proposal.

“They’ve concluded their TV broadcast negotiations, which is one of the things we understood when we were in Sydney.”

Commenting on a potential timeline, Jones added: “They’ve got [State of] Origin on Wednesday, the culmination of that series, so we’d expect to hear back from them over the next, kind of, 10-14 days.”