what about the detriment to the teams that don't merge and therefore don't get double funding and don't get a guaranteed place in the championship? how are they supposed to compete on a playing field more uneven than Batleys!?

If, as you say, the SC is 40% of income, the surely it wouldnt be difficult to only count half the double income for SC purposes and as such it wouldnt really have an affect on the team they could put on the field.

that, unfortunately is where the salary cap is not clear. depending on what the rfl define as "income" we could see some clubs operating on much bigger salary caps than others. if they decide to include directors loans/donations in the income, it's feasible that we'll end up with a situation where clubs are relying on directors financial input more and more to sign players and remain competitive and we've all seen what happens when the directors money runs out.

So they kept that one out of the main statement , not like the RFL to keep something controversial quiet is it ?

So Martin , what's the chances of Bramley throwing their hat in the ring ?

based on what i've read so far both in the press and on here we should be merging with hunslet and so we'd have a good chance.

Merge

well not many folk are against it. by the looks of this thread. does everyone thing their club is safe.

the release or league express talk about community clubs, how can you have a community based club if you're serving three or four communities?

how can you have player pathways when super league clubs snap up all the kids? and even when there were defined areas that they should stick to they ignored it.

these proposals could spell the end of rugby league as we know it. the greatest game in the world, we all know that. but the teams in yorkshire and lancashire have served their purpose and now are no longer needed. its all about expansion and where the next franchise from super league is coming from.

weren't regional teams banded about in 1995 before super league? wasnt there uproar at that point. wheres the anger gone? has it turned into apathy? or are people truly no longer interested in the batley, dewsbury, workingtons of our game?

if the mergers come about and you have combined teams of batley/dewsbury, wakefield/featherstone, doncaster/sheffield, rochdale/oldham/swinton, etc what happens to the clubs identity? where does the proud past of the gallant youths go? or the stories of swinton past. does these clubs become another raft of feeder clubs, to feed the feeder clubs that provide superleague with players? as the are in australia.

who knows? but where do we the fans fit into this? do we fit into this? are the RFL expecting to bring in a new wave of supporters from (and no disrespect to these teams) Coventry, Nottingham, bristol, edinburgh, glasgow, dublin etc?

My views on mergers are still the same now as they were in the 90's; in that they don't work unless you follow the Gateshead/Hull model and play at one of the teams towns, at that clubs ground, wearing that clubs kit. Any team who agrees to merge was probably on the brink of dissapearing anyway

yes,it has to be a question of 'Hobsons Choice ' I feel - something is better than nothing...........

Its gone because the majority of the clubs being suggested as merged are already in , or will be shortly in SL , and the rest of us dont matter

I wonder if the merger has to be of two existing championship clubs?

Coventry Bears merge with Coventry Dragons and hey presto, they're in the championship, with double funding too.

There's probably some truth to that...but don't get big headed

That was my take on it as well , otherwise I just dont see where these ' new ' clubs will come from ?

TBH, the only successful sports mergers I can think of are of teams moving into the professional ranks (UTC and St Ésteve to form the Dragons in SL and Inverness Caledonian merging with Inverness Thistle to enter the Scottish Football League as Inverness Caledonian Thistle – but they are the only two successful mergers I can think of: in general I have grave doubts)

St George -Illawarra Steelers?

Wests Tigers seem to be doing ok

I left out the Australian ones because, tbh, I don't know enough about them to comment.

Dagenham & Redbridge merged and have turned two ordinary outfits into a pretty good club - their success has been impressive I would say ?

I wasn't aware that Dagenham and Redbridge was a merger - though I suppose the name is a bit of a clue

Redbridge themselves were also a merger between Leytonstone/ilford and Walthamstow. And as you might have guessed, one of those two clubs was also formed by a merger....

Rushden and Diamonds were another merged professional football team of recent years.

mergers almost killed RL in australia

if our game wasnt so strong they almost certainly wouldve

mergers are wrong 99% of the time

RL is about traditions, you cant really merge two heartland clubs

a merger of wakey and cas would be a plastic club

with saints in the nrl they basically took over illawarra, who got nothing out of it. there are still disgruntled illawarra fans today

the tigers is a more happy merger but i dare say either balmain or wests could get similar crowds on their own if their finances were good

they told souths to merge, they refused and after court action were allowed back in, and they currtly have amongst the highest sydney crowds

manly went into a disasterous merger with norths, and when it failed the manly club got stronger on their own

Who actually mentioned anything about merging Batley/Dewsbury or Wakey/Fev?

As far as I can see these four are/would already be competitive in the Championship, and meet the new criteria.

and why would Hunslet want to merge with Bramley ?

That combination was used by me to illustrate a point.

Apart from double funding, I can't see any reason.

Why would Hull want to merge with Gateshead or Huddersfield with Sheffield?

maybe 130odd years of RL tradition would be a suitable reason for staying independant ? or do you share Henry Fords words that 'history is bunk' ?
Shouldn't anything possible be done to maintain the traditional clubs ?