Hi all,

Didn't know where to put this so thought to put it on here.

Anyway, I am at University doing a Sports Journalism degree and currently undergoing research into what I want to do for my 3rd year dissertation, and I thought instantly about focusing on rugby league. However the topic is still not nailed down yet.

Just wondering if anyone else has down rugby league as a dissertation subject?

I'm toying between a few topics:

Effect of the 'Americanising' the sport (playoffs, salary cap etc)
The affinity/inferiority with Australia and where it has stemmed from
Difference in coverage in England/Australia
Lack of a media coverage in the UK restricting rugby league to being a minority sport
The whole licensing situation
and finally, the what seems to be constant financial troubles of Super League clubs

Love to hear people's thoughts/advice on routes to go down etc, and all comments are welcome! Cheers everyone.

The "Americanisation" aspect might be interesting, though a quick warning that RL had playoffs as early as around 1905.

The media angle could be good too. There's plenty of examples of RL being marginalised in the national media and plenty of other sports too. Especially with the demise of regional editions of the national newspapers, the UK media has become incredibly London-centric so sports (and other issues) that aren't important/popular in London are very much ignored.

I'd go with either of those 2, but then I've only thought about it for 5 mins so dont blame me if its a rubbish idea

There are a few interesting observations you can make regarding RLs status as a minor sport. The quality of media and administrators for a sport that is not based in London makes RL unique.

Also the minority status of RL results in a player drain. The players tend to go where the money is. NRL and Rugby Union are taking players that would not have been going 30 years ago. This like other sports professionalism and exchange rates can have a large impact.

The Americanisation of the sport is more the Austrialisation of the sport from the NRL, which itself is Americanised so it is a second degree of Americanisation.

Coverage in NRL is mainly free to air but is over advertised due to looser laws regarding it. Revenue is also generated through gambling, again due to liberal laws in that area.

Regarding Licencing see above about poor level of administration and socialist mentality in the north of England as evidence of the anti-authority mentality of RL clubs and fans.

I'd focus on the dangers of any sport with international aspirations taking an insular and blinkered approach rather than an open, "willing to learn" approach, with particular reference to Rugby League in the UK.

Great Britain last won the Rugby League Ashes v Australia in 1970 and also won the Rugby League World Cup in 1972. After that, there was something of a player drain from the UK to Australia (Phil Lowe, Mal Reilly, Cliff Watson etc).

The error was that GB sought and won an "international transfer ban". We here in the UK then thought all was rosy whilst, unnoticed, the Aussies went to the USA to learn from American Football.

Result? The Aussies came here in 1982 and we didn't know what had hit us. We lost the Test series 3-nil and the Aussies won every match of the tour. British Rugby League has arguably never recovered. The only slight improvement of late has been as a result of British players and coaches exposing themselves to the top level of Rugby League in Australia.

The lesson is not be become blinkered and insular with a 'closed shop' approach, but to have open eyes and open minds and learn from other globally successful sports.

AustrIan Rugby League, like Australia generally, still tends to look to the USA for inspiration. Eg considering the NRL adopting a game of 4 quarters with more time for TV advertising etc.

Could the answer as regards the future success of British Rugby League, be to watch, work with and learn from Soccer? The most successful global sport in the world, something Australia doesn't really have and a game where the English Premier League arguably sets the global standards.

I did journalism, graduated in the summer. Did my dissertation on the upcoming changes to Super League.

On the back of a beermat was it?
Go to the last page of the SPOTY thread......you'll see a map that pretty much explains why the media consider RL a minor and regional sport

...

I like your ideas. Mostly administration and media based so I wonder as a journalist if comparing sports is the best way to go. Focusing on rugby league would be interesting for a RL fan but comparisons with other sports (football being the most likely) gives you more breadth and allows you to vary your examples and conclusions depending on which way your research goes.

Just to throw in another angle for you, you could also do a dissertation on what makes a great player great. Lots to work with there.

Good luck either way

If a journalism degree, I would have thought a dissertation on the marginalisation of the game by the national media. Compare the exposure it gets by comparing it to other sports and separating it into regions. For example, compare it's participation and spectator and viewing figures in the industrial north against other sports. David Hinchcliffe MP wrote a very good book called Rugbys Class War. Gary Schofield's Rugby League Masterpieces is also very good.

Fundamentally, it's an issue of class, so it takes it beyond sport.

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