nowhere in RL are competition placings decided behind closed doors in a boardroom. Bar disciplinary measures all points and placings are decided on the pitch. Like almost all sports RL doesnt decide which competition you play in solely on your playing performance.

if its not up to the RFL to protect clubs from themselves and they shouldnt try, then there is no need for the salary cap. Which doesnt protect clubs from themselves and never can as it has no relation to a clubs ability to spend that amount. It is simply an arbitrary figure

If they only thing we can sell the championships as is a place where you can get out of one season if you are lucky then there is no point in them.

nowhere in RL are competition placings decided behind closed doors in a boardroom. Bar disciplinary measures all points and placings are decided on the pitch. Like almost all sports RL doesnt decide which competition you play in solely on your playing performance.

This is a silly, pedantic response Smokey. You know exactly what is being referred too, you recognize exactly the point being made. Who is in the Superleague and who is not is clearly not decided on the pitch. Call it franchising or any other name, it still amounts to the same thing.

Do clubs need to live within their means? Yes. Do facilities need to comply to a minimum standard? Yes. Is the long term future of the game healthier for the ever widening financial gap between SL and the rest? No. Has copying the Aussie system improved the standard of SL & improved the international game as was claimed? No. Like football, is self interest helping the rich getting richer ultimately leading to narrowing competition & dominance of a small number of sides? Unfortunately, yes.

Agree entirely with League Fan on this point, rugby is the business.




I really do find it bizarre that people really do think that regarding what is on the field of play is secondary or tertiary to everything else.

In fact the ONLY thing that prevents the game being played anywhere is something that can be called a "ball".

It really is that simple.

The GAME is the key to everything else not the other way round.

You can always fight as long as you make them some cash, true enough!

So, how does a team join the NBA, NFL or MLB?

they are two hugely different things. But yes winning one game doesnt earn you promotion to SL as before. This is a good thing, it stops clubs which are too weak to compete in SL being in SL.

Who decides 'their means' are? Surely it should be left to the owners of the clubs to decide how much they can spend.
obviously. But that isnt a very ambitious or growth orientated judgement. RL needs to get away from simply scraping the minimum to pushing excellence.


explain your reasoning. If we had an SL the size of the NFL and the semi-pro game as nothing more than a feeder league wouldnt the game be healthier in spite of a much much wider gap between SL and the rest?

you are judging it far too early. We havent had one full cycle yet. We cant make a full judgement on franchising for at least another 12 years or so.

The game has always been dominated by a small number of clubs. Others have had limited success but some clubs are just bigger and more successful. Its the same in all sports.

unfortunately, whilst a noble sentiment it doesnt pay the bills

I didn't say there wasn't. The phrase you used was "competition placings" and both of those sports decide their placings by committee. Boxing even occasionally chooses it's champions without a match even having taken place i.e. Lennox Lewis's first title.

Well start at "Framing the Future" and then progress.

Oh that was totally ignored

Sorry about that

NEXT!!!!!

Ignored?

Castleford , Wakefield and Celtic all entered SL without passing the minimum standards required at the Time , unless you accept that the RFL reduced those minimum standards to allow those clubs to enter

So why bother having minimum standards if you aren't going to enforce them

They say rules are there to be broken , in RL the rules are designed to be broken , by the RFL

Which minimum standards didn't they meet?

Cas , seating

Wakey , covered area and seating

Celtic , capacity , despite claims that they had 10,000 on watching Bon Jovi or Brian Adams

what are the minimum standards regarding seating/ covered areas ?

dont think i have ever seen official requirements.

IIRC Cas and Wakey had a short term exemption based on plans for new stadia.
I'd thought Celtic's stadium was OK?

It was , when they introduced ' framing the future '

8,000 capacity

4,000 covered

2,000 seated

The seating one was changed to 1,500 in 2005 to accommodate Wheldon roads return to SL

These requirements didn't apply to clubs already in SL , just to clubs applying to get in

So how long is ' short term ' ?

5 years ? , 10 ?

Brewery field is worse than both Cas and Wakey

same old story then.

the goalposts move all the time. this alone is the reason they lose all credibility.

So we're saying the criteria were changed (perfectly reasonable) rather than ignored.

Crusaders don't play at Brewery Field.

Yes Cavey, because it's only in the business of pro RL that "goal posts" move. We're completely unique

In answer to your question about how teams get into the NFL, richie as best i can tell its a closed shop. 'new' teams seem to have only ever been formed by the merger of existing ones, it doesnt seem that truly 'new' teams have ever been admitted.

So you set ' criteria ' that clubs have to adhere to , then change them because ' some ' clubs don't

Pathetic

So why bother with them in the first place ?

Ok , if you want to pretend to be totally THICK

Celtic Crusaders were allowed into SL playing at BREWERY FIELD by the RFL

You really are making a good attempt at being a total pillock

Have you ever thought the RFL have watched the news and realized there is a recession ?? and then maybe taken the decision that consolidation was needed rather than bankruptcy of the sport just to get new shiny stadias.

I genuinely believe the game needs time to settle again, time to focus on improving the overall product and the international game, not closing the door on areas that are doing ok just they don't have enough seats or cover.

Well what normally happens is the minimum standards goes up

In RL it appears they are going down

However shortly , when they all have nice new stadia , they will then go up , until some dodgy millionaire gets a call from Nige asking if they want a SL club in Dublin/Edinburgh/Birmingham , then strangely they will change back down to suit whatever stadium is available to said millionaire

Were we in ' recession ' 6 years ago ?

That is when the RFL were messing about with the minimum standards to suit their needs and save their embarrassment