Luke Keary doubles down on Super League criticism as RFL governance attacked

Former Catalans Dragons half-back Luke Keary has admitted he regrets how he delivered his high-profile criticism of Super League earlier this year – but insists he stands by the points he made.

Keary ultimately spent just one year in the south of France with Catalans, with his biggest moment coming in an interview away from the field when he questioned the standard of the game in Europe.

He has now returned to Australia to begin his coaching career with former club Sydney Roosters, but appeared on James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast earlier this week. Unsurprisingly, Graham asked him about the comments Keary made while in Super League – and he admitted he could have worded it better.

Keary smiled: “I got myself in a bit of trouble being a bit too honest. It was the way I said it and how it came out. It was a mistake. The conversation was silly but I stand by the points inside it.”

Keary then reiterated he has not changed his mind about how aspects of the game in Europe could be made immeasurably better with some small changes.

He said: “A lot of people reached out who have watched that game over there and they could see where I was coming from. I’ve watched the Super League since I was a kid, and you admire it from afar but I had no idea about how it was run or the RFL or anything like that.

“It was just a huge shock what was going on and what wpeople were putting up with. How Catalans are being treated, it came to a head in that interview. I regret how it came across but things inside it, they were right from my point of view. A few things need to change for the betterment of the game but there’s so many small wins they can have.”

Keary then questioned certain decisions made by the governing body and those in power in rugby league in Europe – including how voting shares are distributed, with club executives having a defining say in matters like structure rather than a central body making the decisions, as is the case in Australia.

Keary also admitted he was surprised to see how Catalans – and Toulouse – were treated differently to other teams.

He said: “There was a lot of talk in the background about restrictions around them (Catalans) on paying for teams’ travel to come over (to France). They’ve financially handicapped them a little bit.

“Even Peter (V’landys) said with Toulouse coming in and not giving them that share of funding so they can’t play to the salary cap straight away. It’s not centrally funded, it’s not centrally governed either.

“Over there they, the clubs, all get votes. I met (Kris) Radlinski from Wigan when they came to Catalans, a really good fella. He was talking about the vote (for promotion) saying he didn’t have the information to make an informed decision about whether to proceed.

“It was concerning they came up with that so quickly and everyone was so confused. There’s a lot of head-scratching things about when people can vote.. it’s a bit all over the shop.”

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