Group demands greater voice for players

The Super League players' association has called on the sport to learn the lessons from the fall-out that followed the financial crisis at Bradford by implementing a series of reforms.

1eagu3, formed in July 2011 to represent the views of Super League players, has warned that the trauma experienced by the Bulls players this year could be repeated if preventative action is not taken.

Although the Bradford players were not directly affected by the redundancies imposed by the administrators at Odsal, a new report highlights the difficulties caused by the uncertainty and confusion.

Dr Martin Littlewood, of Liverpool John Moores University, conducted one-to-one interviews with 10 of the Bulls players and 1eagu3, which commissioned the report, outlined its proposals for action at press conferences in Warrington and Bradford.

Bradford were the third Super League club to go into administration in two years and 1eagu3, which has almost 300 members, believes they may not be the last in the current economic climate.

"The problems suffered by Bradford could happen to any club within Super League," the association said in a statement.

"No club is immune to financial problems. If a club experiences financial difficulties, then the players should not be an afterthought when resolving those difficulties.

"Super League is the most vibrant and exciting elite sporting competition in the country yet the men who make it such a spectacle feel under-appreciated, under-valued and under-represented.

"It is clear that the players at Bradford could have received better support during that period.

"If the sport is to make progress with player satisfaction then these lessons should be learned and changes made to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated."