I think its harsh on Halifax who have been plowing the league over the 3 years, But i feel its hardly fair to slate widnes as they also have had success getting to 2 NRC finals.

I think another contribution is that halifax have been plowing 110% into their first team were as widnes have been focusing on nurturing youngsters and have more to offer in that department.

I believe both clubs deserve to play in super league for different reasons..

as for the matter of Hunslet, Don't take anything away from them. They played very well against an under performing widnes side, But its hardly fair to make an arguement out of one game, Shocks happen and thats what sport is all about.

I'd measure succes out of trophies, Fax have 1 as do Widnes, Fev & Batley. Barrow have 2!

Would you say Saint most successful side last 5 years because only they reached 5 finals?

Tbf it's another thread that turns into Leythers blaming the world for the state of RL and acting sooo hard done by even though they lag behind other clubs anyway and have contested 1 final since relegation.

If they had a shot at SL they'd all change their tune on 'success'!

No the measure of playing success is how many ticks you have in the RFL s boxes

Fax have 2

Not me I don't want a licence

The Championship is more competitive. But it will never have, the quality it had before the salary cap was lowered.

This quality was, admittedly, at the bigger, wealthier Championship clubs; the clubs which have a genuine and decent prospect of making a go of it in Super League. Most of the Championship clubs are quite happy to be in the Championships and see Super League as a likely financial graveyard for their clubs. They really have no ambition at all to go any further. There is nothing wrong with that option. The fact that we now have £100k less to spend means that all clubs are fairly equal and the clubs who feel they can afford better players can no longer do so. It makes it more difficult for them to bring in more fans, if they are struggling against much smaller opposition. This loss of attendance has several knock-on effects for any club placing a future licence bid.

It makes it harder for them to be successful on the field and hit the minimum attendance and turnover figures. If we still had a £400k salary cap, an ambitious club could stay largely pro and be in a better position to gain the success they need to grow and meet the necessary metrics for application. It is only going to get worse in the Championship without P&R, so I really can’t see crowds improving. If the Championships are to become nothing more than feeder clubs, then this could get drastically worse. Make no mistake; lowering the salary cap is a downgrading of the Championship, imo. It will probably mean that no heartland Championship club will be in a position to out bid a SL club again, or be regarded as a worthy replacement for even a poor, struggling SL club.

If what Starbug is saying is true, and there will never be another heartland club admitted to SL again, then it really doesn’t matter I suppose. Certainly, lowering the cap will help make this a [ifait accompli[/i.