“Super League needed to freshen up, and that’s probably putting it modestly.” Barely five minutes have passed since the Dictaphone was switched on, and it is clear Robert Elstone is in no mood to mince his words. For months, the Super League chief executive has promised a revolution for British rugby league’s elite competition amid a backdrop of boardroom politics but you sense the 54-year-old finally feels as though he is making progress as 2019 begins.
Last week Super League unveiled its self-titled “new beginnings” for 2019; a series of law changes aimed at revolutionising the image of the competition. Interchanges have been reduced, while shot clocks designed to speed up games and golden point extra-time are being implemented for 2019 – but Elstone’s plans for change do not end there. “Super League will be different in 2019, that’s for sure,” he explains. “But you’ll see a much better-looking competition in 2020 and the years after that. That’s a guarantee.”
Expanding Super League’s global reach is high on Elstone’s agenda, underlined by the possibility that the traditional Magic Weekend could have an international flavour to it sooner rather than later, with Barcelona a likely venue for the event. In May, Catalans will host the reigning champions, Wigan, at the Camp Nou and while Magic will have a new home at Anfield in 2019, Elstone admits that the success of that game in Catalonia could set the stage for all 12 clubs to play in Barcelona at some point.
“If that worked, then it would increase the chances of Magic going there without question,” Elstone says. “I think Wigan playing Catalans there is the most incredible development we’ve had for years. It’s a huge statement and it creates huge traction beyond our traditional circles. Super League has to get out of its own bubble, and the Nou Camp helps do that. It’s not lost on me that our sport has a rebellious soul, and was founded out of injustice. If there’s one region of the world that captures that, it’s Catalonia.”
As the former Everton CEO begins to share his vision for a sport he began watching on the terraces of Castleford over 40 years ago, it is not difficult to see the strains of the first six months in the job showing. Most of that period was spent entrenched in a public dispute with prominent lower-league clubs about a restructure of the leagues in 2019, which was successfully achieved in September, with confirmation that the Super 8s format would end in 2018.
Despite that victory, Elstone is in no mood to stand still. Next month he will move a new-look team of staff – many of whom have been poached from the RFL – out of the governing body’s headquarters in Salford into the centre of Manchester, emphasising the differing directions of the two parties moving into 2019. Talk of a split between Super League and the RFL is not wide of the mark.
“Getting a group of people focused solely on Super League is well overdue,” Elstone says. “I don’t think the competition got the focus that it should have had. A big part of all this is about giving the competition accountability. We’re accountable for our actions now so there’s a spotlight on us we’re conscious of, but one we’re excited about. We need to break out of our bubble and aim big for this competition.”
Part of Elstone’s vision includes, by his own admission, looking to Australia’s NRL for inspiration. “I’ll no doubt be branded an NRL sycophant,” he smiles when explaining why Super League has emulated the NRL in adopting golden point extra-time. “The drama of a period of time to decide a winner excites me,” he says. “There were a number of variations on the table, including golden try rather than golden point, but aligning ourselves with the NRL was the major factor.”
Other significant changes will follow in 2020, including the introduction of two referees per game rather than one: a law amendment again inspired by the NRL. “We came close to doing it in 2019, and had club approvals and budgets signed off, but it was just too late,” Elstone says. “I’m pretty confident you’ll see it in 2020 though. With the changes to speed the game up, it will put undoubted pressure on officials in 2019. We have to listen to referees and give them more help in-game, and a second referee does that.”
The Man of Steel award will change from an end-of-season dinner to a week-by-week voting process that is made public throughout, while the World Club Challenge will also receive a “long-term focus” as part of Elstone’s plans for overhaul. Yet despite all that, Elstone concedes the challenge of giving Super League increased profile in a world where everyone is fighting for attention will be a difficult ask.
“We don’t have enough recognisable stars at present, and that’s high on our agenda,” Elstone says. “Getting cut-through in the modern world is harder than ever, but we think we can get our players out there with third-party endorsements and commercial deals now that Super League has proper focus. We have to stand together and acknowledge the future of the competition is in our own hands. The game was at a crossroads in this country, and it was time for Super League to take action. Thankfully, there are grounds for real optimism now we’ve done that.”
