Ahh was PSV who played their reserves. PSV won 3-0. Ajax nearly played their reserves in the FINAL in 2002. Sadly the Ajax reserves lost their semi-final match.

But how could they do that? The first team would need about 25-30 players registered for the cup, otherwise we could get left short due to injuries or a reserve might find good enough form to make the squad but be inelligeble. If there were no injuries however, there would be 8-13 lads who couldn't make the first team but were ineligible for the reserves.

The Northern rail cup could be a good starting point.

Format it a little different so it's a pool based comp like the champions league or RU European cup.

That would guarntee you'd get a few games at least.

At the start of the season, both sides name a 25 man squad with the proviso that 5 from each can play in both giving each a 30 man squad.

So, for example, Charnley, Marsh, Mellor, Logan and Tuson are named as the 5 1st team members that can play in the reserves. Therefore if Wigan were knocked out then Wigan reserves could only call on those 5 for the next round.

That's a good way round it actually

Do we really want them playing potential SL opposition tho?

Championship sides are one thing but SL players are whole new ball game.

Maybe they just don't enter the CC, but I do think them playing in the Championship would be a good move.

Would you make the league bigger or drop some teams down?

I suppose it would help the young lads out more £££ wise cause they get sweet fa atm

Depends how many SL teams enter a side I guess.

Say 4 sides put the youth teams in make sl up too 16 teams and add 2 onto the nl1 league

Then you have got the cap situation i'm quite sure people would kick off about it and if the younger lads was training full time they would want a decent wage dont get me wrong i like the idea but it just seems like there are pros and cons to the whole thing

Please no! We're just about getting to a level where there are no easy beats in super league.

Great idea but the "reserves" title won't be run by the RFL.

What would work are feeder clubs. The precedent has been set by Crusaders who have South Wales Scorpians who basically are their feeder club. They recruit from S Wales but their aim is to get younger Welsh players through to play for the Cru.

We could do the same quite easily. A feeder club could be set up in say Chorley. The "Chorley Warriors". Very much a Wigan feeder club but they could also recruit from North Lancashire and Cumbria to play there. Groundshare with the soccer club as done previously.
Wigan fans would watch and has been said they could be coached by SW and if in the Champ or Champ 1 it would be at a higher standard that U20s.

Although in the Champ, I'm not too sure whether they should be in the C Cup or in Champ play offs. Champ 1 play offs but not the Championship. To do this agreement would have to be gained from the other clubs at Chamionship and Champ 1 level and I don't think that would happen if feeder clubs were to compete in play offs. In the end full time players from Feeder clubs would be playing part time players from the other divisions. Other clubs and the RFL may well not like that.

Great idea though!

No no no no and no!!!!!!!

It's time clubs like Cas, Wakey, Quins etc. put together a better system so that their younger players can be just as strong as the rest so we can have a competative reserve league.

That result against Barrow was firmly based on pumping money into our young talents, training them with the first team, giving some of them more first team experience..... putting teams in the championship would be a step backwards IMO.

If any teams should go down to the championship then it should be the smaller clubs who can't keep up.

I have been calling for this for years. We need to cut back to a 2 division structure and have feeder/reserve teams playing in the division below SL.

There are many many quite frankly awful players in NL2 and we are diluting the talent even though we do not have enough bodies to go round anyway.

The traditionalists will of course moan, but some clubs should not have a professional status.

Feeder teams is the ideal way to go, with possibly the stronger reserve teams making up some of the numbers. Look at the other countries and sports that employs this system, Spain and Germany in football are arguably the most technically gifted in the world, the Australians are far more technically gifted in rugby league.

The entire system needs an overhaul right from grass roots.

So do we just force a load of Championship clubs to move down for the greater good of a afew young players in super league?

Can't do it with the current franchising system in place. The compeition becomes a farce if the league below who are meant to aspire to be in the top league is half reserve teams.

What are clubs in nl1 & 2 doing atm?

I'll tell you what they are doing signing all the rubbish being chucked from sl clubs but the good young lads get snapped up off big side, There is loads of good young players coming through but they get 1 shot and if people dont like what they see bye bye this would be perfect to give everyone coming up a chance to show what they can do

Like i said before there are pros and cons but the pros outweigh the cons

Like I said they way to do it is by making sure smaller clubs are putting money into their youth so that the whole reserve league is strong.

The second league in any sport is always going to be made up of people who couldn't make the top league. The whole football league is made up of lads who couldn't get onto premiership first teams. Most of the premiership is overseas players.

The championship clubs need to develop their own players as do the smaller super league clubs.

But that is the point they have bugger all people coming to the games no money and are just surviving for the sake of it. We need to concentrate our efforts on SL and a feeder division.

The key to developing players is giving them the right pathways, a feeder comp including some strong reserve teams would significantly improve the chances.

Some of the clubs in the lower divisions offer nothing but history and that is what they should be remembered for not limping on to what will be the same predictable end in the future. Why prolong the agony and allow our game to suffer?