The Super League’s new chief executive, Robert Elstone, said he and the leading clubs remain committed to replacing the Super 8s play-off structure with a more conventional one-up, one-down system next year, despite resistance from a number of clubs outside the top flight. The major change will be made public soon.
Since returning to the sport from his role as the chief executive of Everton several weeks ago, Elstone’s primary task has been negotiating a solution with the Rugby Football League and clubs at all levels of the professional game about the ideal league structure.
In a series of public spats lower-level clubs have argued they had failed to receive adequate consultation on the game’s future and were intent on resisting any major changes.
Elstone insisted on Tuesday that everyone has now been involved in discussions that are reaching a positive conclusion. He said: “We’ve had talks with the RFL, which are drawing to a close. I think they will deliver a solution that will work for Super League, the RFL and the game as a whole.
“I’m hopeful that those conclusions will be in the public domain in the very near future and they need to be. It can only be within one or two weeks’ time. That’s the intention and the desire from both the RFL and Super League.”
When asked if he was confident any changes would receive widespread approval, he said: “We’re hopeful we’ll find something that works for everybody. The view on Super 8s and Qualifiers was made very clear. The format was well-intended but the full consequences weren’t thought through. We can see the weaknesses in it and that’s why Super League is committed to changing it.
“One of the game’s flaws has been its propensity to chop and change and look for the panacea in a fixture format that isn’t there. We owe it to the fans and all stakeholders in the game to deliver something that’s sustainable in the long term.”
The prospect of at least one club being relegated from Super League this season is a distinct possibility but Elstone said it is unclear whether a parachute payment, given to Leigh 12 months ago, will be available.
