Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kevin Walters will join St Helens after October's World Cup
ByDan RoanSports editor- Published14 minutes ago
Australia and incoming St Helens head coach Kevin Walters has backed a potential partnership between Super League and the National Rugby League (NRL).
Last month Super League clubs rejected a £35m investment offer from the Australian Rugby League Commission, which plans to help grow the European competition's revenue.
Talks over a potentially game-changing deal have been ongoing since last year, but a fresh offer is yet to be made.
"I don't think Super League is in need of help, that's not what I see", Walters told BBC Sport.
"But I do see a great partnership between the NRL and Super League [and] I feel that will benefit both parties.
"There's so many Australian and New Zealand players playing in the Super League…it's been a great competition and the NRL…reaching out and offering some support, and also possibly some sort of ownership, would be beneficial for the game."
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Figure caption,Kevin Walters backs potential Super League partnership
In July the NRL struck a new seven-year broadcast deal worth around £400 million annually to its clubs.
"The game is very rich now in the NRL, so I can't see why that wouldn't transfer into Super League as well", said Walters.
"The new broadcast deal smashed all sorts of records, so it's nothing but a positive if the NRL can get involved in Super League. Both competitions will benefit highly."
Walters was speaking during a short trip to St Helens, the club he will join after leading hosts and holders Australia into the World Cup next month. Saints chairman Eamonn McManus has said that the NRL and Super League should be working together to help grow the game as a global sport - instead of one organisation taking over from the other, insisting it is "not a matter of picking at a carcass, taking over a weak sport."
The RFL has said it is "genuinely interested in exploring a mutually beneficial and financially fair partnership with the NRL, which we firmly believe would unlock the significant added value benefit of creating a single global entity for the sport."
A former head coach at NRL side Brisbane Broncos, Walters guided the Kangaroos to a 3-0 win over England in last year's Ashes tour.
When asked how much of a gap there was between the two leagues, he said: "Physically there's no gap. It's just possibly a little bit of the speed of the game, but the talent is certainly here. It's a very strong competition and very well respected in Australia. Ask some of our players how tough those games were…it was a tough series."
Eleven NRL stars have been named in England's preliminary World Cup squad, and Walters believes he can help stem the drain of talent from the Super League to Australia.
"Certainly that will be part of my mantra, to keep our best players here. One of the attractions of the NRL is you know you're playing against some of the best players in the world. The second one is the financial rewards. I feel like Super League can can lift its numbers financially for player reward…and if [it is] more rewarding here, I think more more players will stay.
"I've watched a lot of World Cups in the last 30 years, and this one will be the most competitive of all...I feel the English side will be as strong as it's ever been."
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Having won four consecutive Super League titles between 2019 and 2022, Saints have suffered a decline since, finishing third, sixth and fifth in the table over the past three seasons. They have also endured a torrid current campaign, with injuries heavily contributing to them being in danger of missing the Super League play-offs for the first time.
"This has been a great club for a long time" said Walters. "It feels a bit surreal for me to be the next coach of Saints next year. It feels good.
"I wouldn't say it's fallen a long way. It's fallen off its perch a little bit, but that's not to suggest it's not fixable. I feel very confident if we get the right people involved in the club we can get success very quickly."
When asked how big an overhaul was required, Walters added: "Not reconstruction…it's just a little bit of tinkering of some players and staff, and I feel like we can get on the right path pretty quickly. My first senior coaching job at the Brisbane Broncos, they finished last, and within three years we got to a Grand Final, so this to me is not as big a task.
"The history that this club has was very appealing. It just felt right the right decision."
