It was in the depths of winter, when rugby league was far from the forefront of most people’s minds, when someone prominent within the game made a remark to me. The sport has been gearing up for its most important season in modern times under the leadership of IMG, with more buzz than ever in the weeks leading up to the new Super League campaign, more publicity and coverage than the sport has ever had, and the undoubted feeling that the mainstream attention rugby league has craved for so long was finally arriving. “This buzz is like nothing we’ve experienced before,” they said. “But you watch: we’ll find a way to mess it up. It’s the rugby league way.”
Three weeks into the new campaign those words weigh on the mind. The IMG buzz has given way to an unhealthy amount of infighting among administrators, players and supporters but, more importantly, utter confusion is casting a shadow over what should be the beginning of a bright new era for rugby league.
