New structure guarantees thrills claims RFL

RFL chief operating officer Ralph Rimmer believes that the new structure of professional rugby league will make the sport more exciting than ever.

Every game now takes on extra significance in the restructure, with the mantra of ‘every minute matters’ bvery much the guiding concept.

“You’ve got plenty of action right from top to bottom, plenty of thrills and spills” said Rimmer.

“And you’ve got jeopardy throughout every point of that competition.”

Rimmer also welcomes passionate debate on the issues, as it helps to build the sport’s profile. There will also be a considerable chunk of marketing power devoted to promoting the new structure.

“We need people to be out there arguing, as rugby league fans are very good at doing, and debating it,” he added.

“There will be some sceptics out there. We want people passionate about it, saying it’s terrible, saying it’s great, we just need people talking about it.

“This is a launchpad for that. We’re at a point where people are really beginning to focus on it. We intend to put some marketing shoulder behind the wheel, and develop a fantastic launch for 2015, which will take us into a completely new era.”

Rimmer also believes that incentive is inherent to the way the new system will function, at every level of the pyramid.

“There are nuances to the model all the way down, which comes back to every minute matters,” he said.

“There is an incentive for each of the teams in the top four positions to achieve a higher place at every point.

“There is incentive all the way down the model. So every game that is played will mean something in one way or another.

“What we’ve tried to do is produce the framework which will produce the most compelling option.”