Team to be removed...The 1 with least amont of league points scored over the 3 years...team to come up...The 1 with the most league points scored over 3 years.
Isnt rugby league a competitive sport no more?

If toulouse come in bottom half of Co-op league over 3 years, would you still want them in super league?

Rugby league is becoming a joke...bring back relagation and promotion

Why not Wigan easy 2 points you boys and both Cas and Wake bring away fans than you.

think it's due their crap grounds and the fact that some folk think wakey bluffed their way to a licence with promises of the 'new ground'.
when you say expansion team, are you including catalans... who finished 3rd last year?

And what abot Catalan Dragons...who, simply just walk into super league and cant be relagated JOKE

Lets walk in toulouse now plz

Prepare to have your head bitten off! I agree with you on many levels, but I think some teams like the Crusaders need time to strengthen just Les Cats did, I wouldn't mind seeing the exclusion from relegation thing come into play, which would once again make the bottom of the league much more exciting.

Surely if you are going to throw a team out, it means you are replacing that team with a stronger one? Do you seriously suggest Tolouse or Widnes will fair better than Cas or Wakie in 2 1/2 years time?

All the "Calder" teams together would be more likely though. Fev will NEVER get in super league.

Teams like Barrow, Fax and Leigh are knocking on the door from the championship.

Wouldn't mind seeing teams from Scotland and Ireland join the league, whilst they expand the championships with more teams from down south.

so toulouse wouldn't have made it to a grand final thus making them ineligible to apply for a licence

The RFL will have no problem in bending the rules to get Tolouse in.

strange how people are complaining about lack of promotion/relegation from super league to the championship and the fact that 1 club (toulouse has immunity), yet nobody complains that no club can get promoted into championship one and that ALL championship one clubs have immunity from relegation.

I think I'm the only one who has posted so far who at the moment, doesn't actually think any teams will be added, or replace any of the current clubs. The only way I can see it happening is if a club goes bust or if Salford don't get their new stadium. I would say Cas and Wakey too but I feel they will end up showing their worth in areas such as crowds and performances. I know things can change, but at this stage I'm not totally convinced Salford can judging 2011 performances tbh)

I think I am speaking on behalf of everyone on here when I apologise to the people of Bangalore and Uzbekistan for comparing them with Keighley.



I think the smart money is on Toulouse as there would be little point in them being in the Championship to not get them up to somewhere near Super League standard. Having them in the Championship beyond 2012 is a none starter.

Widnes I don't know about. They have looked pretty poor in the Championship. Imagine how bad they would have been in Super League this year. At least they seem to be giving a few more young players a go this year. An advantage of having them would be the Cheshire derby matches but even that would not emulate Wigan/Saints and Hull/HKR in success.

There is a good chance that a team may drop out after three years and be replaced by Toulouse.

In the long term Gateshead, Sheffield and Doncaster will provide the best options. A United Cumbrian team is viable but it would require the intervention of a major backer or the RFL to make it happen and work.

Coventry, Ireland (Limerick/Dublin), Edinburgh, Barcelona etc, etc remain pie in the sky until someone actually comes out and says I want to start a championship team.

I predict that Super League will stay at 14 teams until at least 2015.

i agree, but id swap salford with wakefield. the rfl semm hellbent on a 'manchester' team (somone should give them a map of the area). i heard from one of the people in charge of the licensing process that wakefield were a little fortunate to get in and that the promise of a stadium played a big part.

Added to that there are better amateur sides out there than a lot of the Championship 1 sides as the 4th round of the cup keeps showing us. I am disappointed that none of the conference teams (the old NL3 and the National Conference) have been able to make the step up to become professional clubs. Where are these new teams going to come from if no one wants to do what Celtic/Skolars did and give it a go.



They made the same promise to get into Super League in the first place. Makes you wonder how long they will get away with it. Hopefully this new stadium is more than just a drawing and a press release like the last two.

The RFL will have no problem in bending the rules to get Tolouse in.

100% True

Have catalan got 1 extra oversea's player then anyone else



As "Therailwayendisuponus" Stated. The RFL will have no problem in bending the rules to get Tolouse in.

The rfl should be aiming for at least one top amatuer to step up into championship 1 every francise period, there a few clubs (bramley, nottingham, london storm etc) that arent a million miles away and with the right backing could make the step up.

The stadium is worth no more than a couple of points in the criteria. Currently Wakefield (last year and this) look to be gaining the point for competitiveness. Cas also this year.

No team can be kicked out solely on the basis of the ground. The criteria is designed to give a balance to assessing a clubs value to the competition, so yes Belle Vue may be poor, but that club is winning the battle on many more fronts.

Undoubtedly the licencing process has given some clubs, hopefully Wakefield included, as kick up the backside. Lets hope that all current SL clubs can prosper and the league can be expanded slightly, to incorporate the best club from the Championship.

as a st helens fans are you sure you want to post that.

ive been to KR.

widnes will certainly be stronger next time that probably 3 current SL clubs across all the francise criteria, as will toulose or close to it.

Certainly not. Catalans are already in SL, I was referring to future expansion teams. I have never had a problem with Catalans being in SL as I class them as a heartland team, albeit French heartland. They are from an area where RL is an established part of the culture and, as such, were always going to be a success. My only criticism is the number of Aussies they are allowed, not primarily because it is unfair but chiefly because I don't see how it helps the development of the game in France. Still, so long as the maximum permissible number is reduced each year (will it be?) then no problem.

Despite all the hoo haa about the plethora of criteria, there is a possibility that on-field performances (remember that criteria?) could still play a major part. Let's use Halifax as an example (just because they have started off the strongest this year).

2009 NRC winners, Challenge Cup finalists, Championship GF winners.
2010 NRC winners, Challenge Cup Semi-finalists, Championship GF winners
2011 NRC finalists, Challenge Cup Semi-finalists, GF finalists.

.............. and let's say the East stand gets completed and crowds in 2011 now average 4,200.

OK - the Challenge Cup stuff is fanciful and highly unlikely - but just say that the above did happen. How difficult would it be for the RFL to refuse a license based on the above events happening? We'd still be one of five clubs in Yorkshire, our crowds are still un-proven beyond 4,200 and we'd still be classed as a previously failed club. BUT, how difficult would it be to ignore those on-field results?

You're off the mark there. What really matters most is how various alignments could boost the TV contract and media coverage the game gets. The current TV contract gives each SL club about £1 million per season; if the average ticket price is £15, that equates to over 5,000 paying fans per home game. The key to the game's future is driving up the value of those TV rights, pure and simple.

If they add more value to the TV contract than a team that performed slightly better, then yes put them in. RL needs the alignment that will maximize that revenue, boost the international game and raise the sport's profile.

Probably not, lets face it any sport who can exempt ANY team from relegation while the others have to fight it off will do what they like.

I'd like to see the next 6 years be devoted to developing a club in the mindlands who can compete at SL/championship level. you have the teams in the heartlands and now Crusaders and Quins in the south but whats in the middle. something around birming/coventry would fill out the map nicely.