An open letter to Super League chief Nigel Wood In the interests of addressing complaints from rugby league fans about the lack of coverage in i, here follows an […]

In the interests of addressing complaints from rugby league fans about the lack of coverage in i, here follows an open letter to Nigel Wood, the chief executive of the Rugby Football League and Super League.

Dear Mr Wood,

As head of rugby league in England and of its pre-eminent competition, you will be no doubt often dismayed ahead of the final round of a riveting Super 8 series that the only time the sport gets extended coverage in many media outlets is when a player bothers a dog in a drunken rampage, plays on despite a horrific injury or commits some betting or match-fixing offence.

The i newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

This is not through some sort of anti-league conspiracy. Far from it.

I can only speak for our own sports desk, but we would have loved to cover in more detail the dramas of the season.

From Leeds’ surprise demise to the point that last year’s title winners have been reduced to fighting for their Super League status in the Super 8 qualifiers, to Rangi Chase’s inspiring return to the field, or the race between Denny Solomona and Danny Houghton for the Man of Steel there has been plenty to talk about this season.

But it isn’t easy, in a media world where staff numbers are shrinking as quickly as budgets, to cover a sport which, like many others, exists in the shadow of the all-pervading juggernaut which is football.

May I suggest that if the Super League were to make a few changes, the coverage could increase dramatically. Changes such as these:

Make sure games end earlier

It’s all very well having a dramatic night’s footy on a Thursday or Friday, but if the match doesn’t finish until after 10pm, there is a grave danger that it won’t make the first edition of a newspaper.

And if you are talking online, the millennials at the helm of websites tend to want to slope off before then to attend craft beer evenings, post-rock concerts, or whatever they are into.

But if kick-offs were moved back – even to 7.45pm – or referees were told they needn’t refer every decision to the TV official, then the action will finish in time for everyone to digest.

Give us pictures

The days of media organisations sending photographers to matches or paying for images outside their regular agency subscriptions are long gone.

And nobody is going to run a 600-word match report – or preview, interview, or analysis piece – without a decent image.

Strike a deal with a major agency, as the Premier League and Football League do, or make sure there is a snapper providing free-to-use pictures at at least one major game every round.

County cricket does so and its coverage is increasing accordingly. Which brings me to the next point…

Take the County Championship’s lead

County cricket too struggles for sunlight under the football umbrella. But it has taken the initiative of spoon-feeding sports desks with information.

Before every round of matches we get an email of things we should look out for and after every day’s play we get a summary of what has happened.

Of course you may be happy with the coverage rugby league gets. But the fans are not and they have told us so.

It must be frustrating for all rugby league supporters to know there are 13 men smashing into 13 other men on a regular basis and nobody is recording it for posterity.

If you were to put even one of my suggestions into practice for the 2017 season, the column inches will increase.

And it wouldn’t take a player doing something illegal, immoral or unfathomable to do so.

Yours in sport,

Matt Butler