Welcome to Super League 2.0: well, the latest version of it, at least. For what has felt like an eternity, rugby league has repeatedly tried to reinvent itself. Super League and the switch from winter to summer was the biggest switch, in 1996, but since then there have been plenty of other iterations, all with the aim of broadening its appeal.
Somewhere at the Rugby Football League’s headquarters there is a room filled with marketing gimmicks – licencing, Super 8s, Every Minute Matters – gathering dust but this season maybe there is cautious optimism that things are changing. At the very least, 2024 provides the most intriguing glance into Super League’s long-term prospects with the full rollout of IMG’s revolutionary plans for a sport that craves mainstream attention more than any other.
