https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... -to-action Looking likely. A good decision or designed to save Toronto? Just expand the league, get rid of the stupid loop fixtures and teams like Bradford might have a chance of getting back. I don't want to be biased just to Bradford but they would be a brilliant addition back in super league with their history and crowd potential along with the multitude of local derbies. I used to look forward to playing Saints and Warrington (and i still do really) but it's getting a bit repetitive knowing it could be 4 times a season including the challenge cup and magic weekend.

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... -to-action Looking likely. A good decision or designed to save Toronto? Just expand the league, get rid of the stupid loop fixtures and teams like Bradford might have a chance of getting back. I don't want to be biased just to Bradford but they would be a brilliant addition back in super league with their history and crowd potential along with the multitude of local derbies. I used to look forward to playing Saints and Warrington (and i still do really) but it's getting a bit repetitive knowing it could be 4 times a season including the challenge cup and magic weekend.

Bradford (a) was one of my "look forward to" fixtures (as long as the weather was decent)

Toronto were told weeks ago they would not be relegation this year.

Seems fair enough. I’ve always fancied a top league of ten, with teams playing each other 3 times but that’s not going to happen, so to get rid of the make believe loop fixtures, I wouldn’t be against going to 14 teams for 2021. It’s who those teams would be that you love to fall in to place. I think to see Toulouse in the top league would be great and it would allow them to build a rivalry with Catalans. A strong Bradford would also be amazing for the game. This sport Isn’t big enough to have a big City side, capable of pulling in 15,000+ crowds sat in it’s second tier.

Are people looking through rose tinted specs while talking about Bradford,they’ve gone under more times than a professional diver and haven’t been strong for a long while.

Probably about 4 years ago

I cannot see all fixtures being completed unless we play on towards Christmas so I could see the loop fixtures being axed. Not much chance of all clubs getting enough home games to break even and a cup run will be out of the question.

You would have to be a miracle worker to get 15000 and upwards attending at Dewsbury (the capacity is less than half of that) which is where Bradford now play. The Bradford of 1997-2005 is not the Bradford of 2020. As things stand presently they are a mid table Championship club and may well be that for a while. They need to be given time to recover and build steadily, not be rushed back too hastily because of what once was. Their troubles over recent seasons all happened despite the success they had and those big crowds. The financial problems that brought down Bradford had its roots during their glory days. Though not clubs with a history of recent success (i.e during the last 25 years) or such large crowds in that period clubs like Leigh, Featherstone and London (despite their low support) should be ahead of Bradford at this time.

I agree about Toulouse.

IMO, if you were engineer 2 teams to be promoted at this time, Toulouse & London would be the 2 to come up.

Leigh are the other side not far off Super league.


I think a 14 team league makes perfect sense with home and away play each other once. 13 home fixtures, plus play offs plus challenge cup

The problem is that good sense from a sporting integrity point of view is not the same as good sense in a Sky/sporting economic point of view.

So Toronto are not to be relegated simply because they are not up to Super League standard?

I bet some of our own clubs wish the same could apply to them!

what like huddersfield, Salford, Workington and Crusaders?....oh wait

Oh come off it. It’s not a conspiracy to save Toronto. The season isn’t likely to start again IMO. Even if it does Toronto and Catalans will have to play all their “home” games in the UK with travel restrictions putting then at a disadvantage. It’s not ideal, far from it, but is a fair course of action.

Even reducing the number of home games from 14 to 13 reduces the income by over 7%. Are we expecting an across-the-board salary reduction of 7% to compensate for this reduction, or will the ST prices remain the same for one less game - effectively a 7% rise on top of what the clubs would be hiking them up by anyway?

They wouldn't have gone down anyway

I never said it was a conspiracy to save Toronto, only that it is wrong to exempt any club from relegation whoever they are and that includes Wigan!

That's not what you said though is it?
You said "So Toronto are not to be relegated simply because they are not up to Super League standard?
I bet some of our own clubs wish the same could apply to them!"

Toronto arent not being relegated because they are not up to SL standard.
None of the teams are not being relegated because they arent up to SL standard.

If it does come about that relegation is scrapped then "All clubs will be exempt from relegation" including Wigan.

"I bet some of our own clubs wish the same could apply to them"

But, they are not own by a multi millionaire who apart from signing a 'over the hill' Sonny Bill Williamson, has done little or nothing to improve the quality and standard of his squad as proved by results and position so far in the league prior to the season ending early.

But why should he, if he is given a guarantee of the club not being relegated.

And what's right about a club playing games in batches of home and away games instead of the normal way of playing games.

We Wigan supporters moan about playing around six weeks away while work is carried out on the pitch at "Whelan's Folly"

bingo