London Broncos boss Jason Demetriou believes that Super League would be a “joke of a competition” if they continue to give clubs unequal levels of central funding.
His Broncos side are favourites to go up to the top flight next year, in what would be the easist decision for the RFL to make – London go up, and are happy, nobody gets relegated, so they are happy.
However, with the governing body rejecting the initial offer from the NRL in terms of financial backing and a TV deal that is still uncertain, questions are rightly being asked around where the money will come from to sustain an extra team in the competition.
Already in Super League we have 12 teams on full funding, whilst York Knights and Toulouse Olympique have a share of the distribution having been named as the 13th and 14th team last October.
Demetriou, whose side have only lost once all season and will take on Doncaster RLFC in week two of the play-offs, believes that if his side do go up, it is only fair that they are on the same funding as every other club.
“I don’t have any views on anyone going in with funding or no funding,” he said after his side’s win over Swinton Lions. “I mean, what are we talking about here? Why are we talking about teams having less funding?
“You may as well just call it a joke of a competition. What Toulouse have done this year is phenomenal. What Sylvain Houles has been able to do, finishing close to seventh on half the funding and pay for teams’ travel.”
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Demetriou stressed that, for the integrity of the game, there is a need to have everyone on the same amount of funding.
He continued: “It’s about time the game started getting even and treating everybody the same. If you’re in Super League, everybody splits the funding. If not, then that’s how it is.
“I just don’t see how any club can justify a team being in and having less funding, you know? It’s nearly bankrupt York this year.
“If the funding’s not there, and teams can generate their own revenue, fair enough. But to say that teams should have less funding or no funding, I think is just lacks integrity of the competition.”
London Broncos boss talks double red card after brawl in Swinton win
This weekend was supposed to be London’s week off, with their top-of-the-table finish giving them the right to rest before entering the finals. However, due to their involvement in the 1895 Cup Final, their fixture with Swinton needed to be moved to September, allowing for the Final to be played on the bank holiday weekend.
The game was a dead rubber, with the Broncos fielding a reserve side and Swinton already knowing they had missed the play-offs. That didn’t make it any less intense, though, with tensions flaring and both sides boiling over in the final minutes of the game.
Asked about the incident and the two red cards that followed, Demetriou said: “It was… yeah. I think the crowd loved it. It was a bit of fun.
“I haven’t seen a little dust up like that for a long time. It got a bit loose in the end, but the game was played in good spirit other than that.
“…The second blow-up was instigated solely by them. The players were separated. Jonesy [Will Jones] was actually getting treated for cramps, and he [Jordan Brown] came over and attacked him, and the boys have defended themselves and defended their teammates.
“I think there’s a lot more handbags than actual punches thrown, other than the two of them. ‘Jonesy’ is not in the full-time squad, but hopefully he’s okay because he’s got a reserve grand final to play as well.”
It has since been confirmed that Swinton prop Brown has landed himself a three-match suspension, whilst Jones has been referred to a tribunal.
