I was recently listening to an episode of the Hyper-Thetic RL Podcast in which author and Labour historian Anthony Broxton talked about the 1992 Rugby League World Cup and how the marketing machine used Martin Offiah as the saleable commodity to entice people to Wembley Stadium for the showpiece final and how it appeared to work as over 60,000 gathered under the twin towers to see The Lions come agonising close to grabbing a first World Cup for twenty years.
It got me thinking about how (as a Rugby League mad child) in the 1990s, Martin Offiah was almost unavoidable during the decade. The Wigan winger featured regularly in the papers, on the cover of magazines, as a panel member on A Question Of Sport. He even had a guest spot in Emmerdale. Nowadays, us in the Rugby League fraternity would kill for someone of such stature within our game. Thankfully we may just have found one, Dom Young.
For those unaware, Dewsbury-bonn Young has been tearing the NRL apart scoring tries for fun and setting new club records for Newcastle Knights as well as lighting up last year's World Cup for England. Young's star is set to shine brighter in 2024 when he begins a four year contract at Sydney Roosters. The fact he's based in Australia shouldn't deter the Rugby League authorities in Blighty from utilising his potential to put bums on seats and shift (yet more) replica shirts. Think of Jude Bellingham, arguably England's best footballer at the moment, he plies his trade with Real Madrid but that doesn't seem to prevent him from being destined to adorn the walls of Sports Direct to shift boots and be on the cover of EA Sports FIFA FC (whatever they're calling it) for years to come.
We're very much in the digital age, there's no longer need for fans of 13-man football to head down to their local video rental shop to watch highlights of the antipodean action. All you need to do these days to watch NRL highlights and tries is turn on your Sky TV or head to Twitter as the tries are uploaded within minutes of them happening. This is where the advantage lies in maximising the potential to shift tickets to this year's test series against Tonga.
While it may not be the Ashes or the Baskeville Shield, this year's international series still should pique enough interest to near enough sell out each of the three tests but with Young featuring on the poster campaigns and viral social media marketing, the game once again might just have their own ready-made marketing tool especially with IMG looking at ways to get the game further into the public consciousness. If it's high octane speed and breathtaking tries the public want, here's your man.
Get him behind the bar of the Woolpack before the Union crowd get hold of him!
