This is quite remarkable. I vaguely remember watching this late at night with my dad as a nine year old. How you found this footage is beyond me. Most of the footage from this dark era in our game will never see the light of day.

I’m sitting here stunned, watching this debate/argument, and Gus siting there in silence. How times change.

This was crazy to watch when you consider that what Super League were doing was EXACTLY the same as what Kerry Packer (main backer of ARL of the time as well as Ch9 boss) did with World Series Cricket 20 years prior

Peter Sterling, as usual, was the voice of reason. Was able to ask questions without getting overly excited and agitated (Hadley, Fulton, Vautin, I'm looking at you). Had this been moderated solely by the old Parramatta 7, a lot more questions would've been addressed that night.

This is rare I’ve been waiting 25+ years to see. Always loved when the panel got heated, always made thrilling viewing

Rumor has it he is still waiting too answer the question for the vision of super league 😂

I was a 20yr old when all this was happening.But even though I was a Sydney tiger supporter and backed the ARL through this debacle,I still didn’t mind watching a super league game.I even attended the super league grand final at anz stadium between the broncos and sharks in 1997.And thanks for this footage bought back a lot of memories and loved the footy show.

Thankyou very much for the upload.

Been looking for this for ages Bloody legend

I’ve been waiting years to see this. Thankyou!

Great to watch, I was 11 when it started, you did a great job finding this footage

If this is what I think it is, then I've found the holy grail!

Damn this cant have been easy to find. Cheers mate.

I’ve been looking for this for years! Thanks for posting! Subbed 👍🏽

I have this on VHS and watched live, Watch phil Gould he was awesome

Absolutely brilliant 👍👍👍

Reckon there will be a movie made about this

It is disgraceful that a wealthy corporation ripped off those simpletons from the ARL.

Bob Fulton is a legend of the game.

I remember this as a kid being so pro-ARL but watching it now I cannot help but think the Super League guys were completely right.

1997 was the year i didn't watch rugby league. This shit was very close to killing the game i love. I miss the winfield cup days because players played for the love of the game and not money

Interesting watching this with hindsight. As a neutral Brit, this is the most biased talk show I've ever seen. The first thing to point out is that The Footy Show aired on Channel 9 which was owned by Kerry Packer and who had thrown his weight behind the ARL. For that reason alone, you were never going to get a balanced debate. Secondly, with the exception of John Ribot and Chris Johns, every panelist they wheeled out were supporting the ARL. As a presenter of the show, one would expect that Vautin remained relatively impartial but he couldn't stop himself from betraying his old Manly allegiance to Arthurson and Fulton (kudos to Sterling for remembering his role, asking the right questions and keeping his head). Having said that, Ribot kept complaining about being interrupted but you get the impression that even if he were given an hour, he wouldn't have been able to articulate what Super League's 'vision' was. Arthurson reading out the fax from Maurice Lindsay stating 'The British rugby league has denied it has formed a summer Super League' competition shows how deceitful Lindsay could be. That's exactly what Britain did!!!!!

Super league might have never really worked out. But it was the best thing that happened to the Game. For years before this started the Old Boys at the ARL said there was no more money to pay the clubs and therefore the Players. Super League comes along and signs a few players on big money contracts. Then the ARL all of a sudden starts offering contracts with big money and then goes around and offers All Players and Coaches and Some club staff loyalty money for staying loyal to the ARL. And these payments were on top of the contracts that they had signed. Some of the one off loyalty payments were up to $300000. Dollars and that was back then which is a bucket load of money. The point is there was always money at the ARL and the old donkeys had to cough it up to keep some of the players. It might have split the game for a while, but look at what the players get today. Not just better money but benefits during and after their playing days are over. The way Ray Hadley carried on during this discussion was an embarrassment. He didn't know any of the contracts or the numbers and all he did was yell to try and make himself look good. The bloke is a dead set flog. And to the old muppets on the ARL board you were nothing but greedy pigs. At least now the players and coaches and club staff are treated alot better.

A great historical bit of footage. I too was stunned at Goulds relative silence. The debacle was good for the game in the end, but some friendships certainly suffered. I bet if Ribot looks back at this clip he would wonder why the hell he turned up!! Thank god it did not last more than 2 years. I remember going to Mt Smart to watch those super league cross over games vs the English sides. They were awful games.

What a hatchet job from some of those ARL crocodiles.. "let me finish" says Bob Fulton, while talking over the top of John Ribot

Ribot owns norths leagues club in brisbane, so he ended up ok all this work to last 1 season

Gus Gould was spot about the Super League watch at the end of this debate

World Record!! I’ve never seen Phil Gould remain silent in front of a camera for 20:49 How did he morph from that humble man into the most opinionated and belligerent person involved in rugby league in Australia???

Chris Johns represented the players well. They tried to shut him down but failed. Ribot had more business brains than the whole ARL stooges. The game needed to move ahead and players deserved more money.

Poor Adam Ritson.

I mean Super League won the war in the end, as Sterling said the game was heading towards a professional build but I think super league forced the hand of it all, players were shafted when it came to representative payments & the ARL were also pretty greedy when it came to distribution of the gate, but Packer saw the writing on the wall and bought into super league, the ARL’s unwillingness to make the game completely professional undid then, because not long after Packer bought in the game merged to the NRL we know today and Fox rules supreme in Rugby League coverage

Super League bosses were delusional. They actually thought they could go toe to toe with the Premier League and the NFL.🤣

So on that set there was Fatty, Arko, Bozo and Ribot....Too Manly( Pun not intended/intended). No wonder the game couldn't find it's identity.

The way they treat Ribot is absolutely disgusting. The ARL were so good at manipulating the public into thinking that they were the battlers being hard done by.

I write this in jest, as this time in rugby league caused my love of this game to wane. I remember being heartbroken as a kid seeing all this happen. But, if they wanted origin type games every week....they needed to have ARL vs Superleague teams. Then have the best of each side play off. In writing that, I did see this split the game. Big corporate moguls wanting to line their pockets because they owned satellite TV. Even as a kid, I akways thought my favourite player Big Mal, retired just in time.

Always take the money to better set up ure family in the future & life after footy.

Vividly remember watching this as a 13 year old kid and Hadlee attacking Ribot. Kids in the playground bullied me for being a Penrith fan because we went to Super League, a few weeks after this debate. There was so much bitterness. I’m glad it happened because I bet if we stayed with the ARL we would have merged.

Throwback 95!

Name a player that will play for the love of it I thought so, money 💰

Chris Johns what flog

I remember this, my team Manly stayed loyal to the ARL.

If you’re interested in this then then I recommend the Rugby League Digest’s Super league podcast. 100 episodes of quality. And gees Hadley gives me the shits.

If Super League did not come, the game would’ve ripped the players off and paid them peanuts. All of sudden there was money no one saw before.

Arko is the most diplomatic man the game has seen. Ribot looked out of his depth.

Super League wanted games in China what a joke.

The ARL acted so insecure and most of the public. Super League may have had some corruption behind it with Murdoch, but they identified sports business earlier and that there was a market there that could financially benefit the game also

Arl: Where are you going to get the players from!?!?! Super league: Well, we will steal them from you by offering them more money. Pretty much the super league? Lol

The arrogance of John Ribot ....

Wow Adam Ritson :(

After 30years I forgot how much of a propaganda campaign this show was for the ARL funded by Kerry Packer. Fast forward 30years and everything they argued against is currently happening and working for them. 1) players paid money 2) games played all across the country not just in Sydney 3) lack of international RL 4) Game run by media organisations

Funny how the Channel 9 panel rip Ribot a new one on this show, but none of them stayed with the ARL exclusively. They all had no issue commentating on both Super League and ARL during the 1997 season.

funny ken autherson claiming people are deceitful and crooked, he was the most untrustworthy person ever and he’s the reason everyone went to super league

It shocks me that John Ribot ever agreed to go on this show

Rip Bob Fulton

Packer's dogs accusing other side of greed. Funny

Peter Sterling was the greatest rugby league player of all time if Peter Sterling says something about rugby league he knows what he's talking about

Love him or hate him, Gus made good points.

In hindsight it's obvious Super League was largely in the right of it. Ken and the Sydney crew ran the ARL like their personal fiefdom, with a deep aversion to new ideas. Yeh yeh, it was all about Pay TV; who cares whether Packer or Murdoch get the TV rights. What's important is what's in the interests of the game. Clearly the game was better served by a more professional, national competition, with a more global appeal. Andrew Johns was on a measly 20k per year at the time. Guys worked 2nd jobs to get by, while the administrators lined their pockets. There were a preposterous 11 Sydney teams, and every year the Grand Final to this day is still played at Sydney regardless of the teams who make it. Complete amatuer hour. The NRL only got a new Brisbane team in 2023, which is insane given that Sydney still has 9 teams, and old heads like Gould still moan we're doing too much for Queensland lol. Thank goodness they're finally expanding in the right way, and focusing less on 1 city. Night finals, video refs, interchanges, more dynamic rules, all of it and more came from the Super League. The old ARL administration was a joke. They didn't even have a competetive process when taking bids for TV rights, instead Ken would just give it to his mate Packer, denying the players a fortune.

Buy a house for $200k... The good old days.

Super League? We are still stuck with an asset rich(?) cash poor club that seems to be bailed out numerous times in the 70's, 80's & 90's who only got a place in Rugby League due to St George winning 11 straight. Norths went over 90 years of fiscally responsibility providing Rugby League and were told they were they didn't meet a criteria because bad weather delayed a move to the Central Coast by 12 months😔 "Super League" and the NSWRL of the late 60's have a lot to answer for.

I must say he kept his cool I would of tipped the desk over lol

Who is the player in the flanno?

Arthur Summons couldn't have put it nicely - two 'mickey mouse' super leagues

Go Bo Zo

Ray Hadley what a grub

Reebs, too good

What a ripper

Money Talks.

Well well well have times changed every player is chasing money these days rugby league would of been more beneficial in the long run if super league had taken over clubs salarys would of been higher and players would stay at there clubs instead of selling out and chasing cash at other clubs.

The only time Ray Hadley has been useful in his life.

The good thing about this Broncos started this shit now they have there karma wooden spoon and currently second last and hopefully for years to come

At the time the GB (RFL) and NZRL signings were rumours coming in from London and Auckland within a week they were true with regard to Auckland (the Auckland Warriors having a large chunk of the NZ test team at the time) with regarding to the RFL four of it's top clubs Wigan, St Helens, Warrington and Leeds between them having a large chunk of the Great Britain test team

You caused the divide artho.

Chris Johns has no skills or abilities after League. He cannot hold or is not employable. So he is jumping around about rights. Well about players like Gary Stevens & John O’Neil who still had to work during the week while their playing games. I’m sorry those players deserve rights & fairness. But remember the clubs cannot pay an extraordinary amounts of money. Where is the league going to get the money, and compressing the clubs so the amount of monies is not shared amongst 10 clubs in Sydney but 4. Then guess what happened we got clubs resorting to self interest and survival. To the point where Penrith Panthers, Cronulla Sharks & Bulldogs having the right to remain as Sydney clubs over teams like Western Suburbs Magpies, North Sydney Bears & Balmain Tigers, who are the teams that formed the game. They have automatic immunity to remain as Sydney clubs. The other teams that joined Super League had one option, either support foundation clubs as feeder clubs or relocate.

why couldnt ch9 packer and the arl have been transparent and share the broadcast ch9 had 2 games per week plus finals and orgion, and the rest of the game could be on fox, fast foward now they are on fox, all fox wanted is to show rugby league on fox

This was a hatchet job.

this didn't age too well did it? Robot was always a grub

If those old farts got offered $600k what would have turbo got offered

The funny part is John Ribot was correct all the way along.

Poor old Ribot getting hammered

bread and circuses

Ray what is the vision of the arl every player would be stupid to knock millions of dollars, but again why cnt the arl and ch9 come to the party and share the boardcast deals. a soccer player at that time could be with any 2nd tier comp in europe could earn millions of dollars

Imagine how big Rugby League would be on the global stage if Super League stayed

So, what did we learn?....

Thus ruined the game for me. The talent was spread way too thin. Some real mediocre teams in both camps. Really killed it for me. In retrospect, the ARL bought it on themselves and more money for players was a good thing. We all pay tk watch now anyway.

SuperLeague was great, you only have to look at the Develpoment of the EPL over the past 25 years. What rugby league could have been.

John Ribot saved rugby league in Australia

I thought Superleague was fantastic, I remember going to Auckland to watch Warriors Vs Bradford Northern, a Brit club playing a Kiwi club in the world club challenge , it was awesome. It had my vote

Ribot was so full of shit. If it wasn’t ALL about money Murdoch wouldn’t of had anything to do with it. Super league nearly ruined the game for good.

It's not rare dude

It was always about pay tv, foxtel was relatively new(3 years old maybe) and what better way to increase your subscribers by making them pay for something that was free, then optus jumped on board ,foxtel competitor, and nothing has really changed, if u want to watch footy you gotta pay

Ribot.what a corporate stooge.chris johns too.