I think it’s fair to say that running a rugby league club isn’t a profitable business. In the last twelve months alone, London Skolars had to withdraw from League 1 because of financial issues, and Newcastle Thunder came perilously close to joining them, only managing to compete in League 1 this season with a vastly depleted squad and budget.

Worryingly, this isn’t just a problem exclusive to the game’s third tier, as Championship sides are starting to inch ever closer to oblivion, in part due to the payment gap between the top and second tiers, with Featherstone admitting their financial struggles earlier this year, and more presciently, the recent and ever-expanding crisis at Whitehaven.

The situation became public a few weeks ago, when a 24-minute-long video statement which was posted to the club’s social media pages by club chairman Les Messenger asking the community to ‘come to the aid’ of the club who were: “in dire straights”, owing money to players and staff totally approximately £14,000. Tellingly, it was also revealed that the board of the club was down to two people. The board was later bolstered in the last week with the addition of former directors and volunteers to try and keep the club afloat.

Following this call for aid, there were responses from a few of Whitehaven’s fellow championship clubs, with Bradford Bulls holding bucket collections for the Cumbrian club at their game against each other earlier this month, as well as making their own donation, with their own financial plight not too distant a memory, the Bulls know only too well the uncertainty Whitehaven were facing.

Not that the troubles stopped there for the struggling side, as things seem to keep going from bad to worse for the intrepid club. Firstly, following his side’s 28-24 win over Doncaster, head coach Jonty Gorley announced his immediate resignation from the club. In a post-match interview with BBC Radio Cumbria, the coach stated: “That’s my last game today, mate.” Further adding: “Things have happened in the club since Thursday and I’ve thought about it long and hard. As much as I want to stay at the club because of the lads, which I’ve done for god knows how many weeks because we’ve had busted bodies and 16 players. The news over the club in the last couple of days, I just can’t stay at the club now. I think it’s untenable. How do I put it, as much as I want to stay I’ve got my standards and I’ve got my morals and I’ve got to be true to myself. Basically, I can’t stop with the club, it’s as simple as that.”

Following this damning indictment of the times from their now former head coach, voluntary team manager Des Byrne posted his own damning letter of resignation to the Whitehaven RL Vice Presidents Facebook page (which can be found in full here). Among the devastating statement were claims that directors had openly discussed sacking the volunteer following the head coaches departure. The club, for their part, have released their own statement wishing Mr Byrne all the best and calling the rumours “unfounded”, but it can’t be argued that the public relations damage had already been done.

The recruitment of rugby league legend Kyle Amor as head coach for the remainder of the season seemed to be a small diamond of positivity amongst the rubble, but this too soon turned to sand as his playing team are now refusing to fulfil the club’s upcoming fixtures citing unpaid wages and issues with the club’s board, the team has “unaniomously voted” to refuse to take to the pitch. As well as this, several members of the backroom staff had departed the club due to these issues, with their new coach stating in a video posted to social media: “Unfortunately, by the time I got here, I’ve landed with no performance staff, team managers and I’ve had a conversation with a group of players who are fully united in that they will not play any remaining fixtures in this season for Whitehaven Rugby League unless some drastic measures and conversations can happen between them and the board.”

“It’s been well documented over the last couple of years the troubles the club has had. This is just another season and another piece of evidence where the organisation at board level down to the playing staff is broken.

“A lack of trust there between them all, and unfortunately without one you can’t have the other. That’s where we’re at right now. Disappointing but I understand it from everyone concerned with where they’re at.

“They were all pretty unanimous that’s what they were doing. I’m not sure if it can be resolved: I hope it can, we’ll just have to watch this space. But for right now, it seems like.. that’s it.”

Following this the RFL has contacted the club seeking answers after this shocking revelation surfaced with a spokesman for the RFL saying: ““Having become aware of the latest developments at Whitehaven through the media on Tuesday evening, the RFL has contacted relevant officials seeking an explanation, and impressed on the club their obligation to fulfil fixtures – and the severe sanctions for failing to do so.”

It seems as though the club is in a spiral of crises right now, with one devastating blow landing not long after the last. This isn’t the first time the club has struggled with their finances either, a similar situation happened last season with some players appealing to the community to support the club in posts from last July. There seems to be a cycle developing at the club, and not just there either.

It is undoubtably a difficult time for many rugby league clubs, and these developments for Whitehaven shine a stark light on the financial burden running a rugby league team, with no broadcasting revenue, is to many. In a landscape where very few Super League teams make a profit, what chance do semi-pro teams have? The rugby league community are quick to point out how crucial the part-time teams are for developing players, but they are offered very little in the way of support from the top, and as a result, their running has become unsustainable. It would be naïve to think that these problems are exclusive to Whitehaven, and a I fear a greater reckoning for the wider game lies in our future if we do not seek to remedy the situation.

No doubt many will point to the incoming changes brought about by IMG as a catalyst for these problems, but the fact is that they existed long before IMG came into the picture, and will only get worse when said changes are enforced, and the cost of living remains as high as it is. What is to come of Whitehaven RLFC? Well, I fear their survival may prove to be a parable for the game as a whole. Will they be just the next domino to fall? Or will the game rally round and manage to resuscitate the stricken club? It remains to be seen, but we should all be taking notice, because it could very well be our clubs next.

Written by Nathan Major-Kershaw (Site editor & Hull KR fan)

Sources: https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/24504285.whitehaven-rlfc-issue-plea-hitting-financial-dire-straights/, https://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/2667/bulls-to-hold-fundraising-for-whitehaven, https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/rugby-league-boss-resigns-minutes-after-win-citing-untenable-issues-96085/, https://www.facebook.com/WhitehavenRLFC2010/?locale=en_GB, https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/championship-clubs-players-refuse-to-fulfil-remaining-league-fixtures-as-crisis-deepens, https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/23647703.whitehaven-rl-reaches-dire-straits-plead-support/