Perhaps there should be some balance between expansion and tradition in the criteria so that the history of the game is not thrown away with the bathwater.
An additional point for being an original member of the Northern Union would be a simple way to do this ( and would also, completely coincidentally, benefit Trin
)
Only 9 left from 22:
Batley 1880, Halifax 1873, Leeds 1864, Leigh 1878, St Helens 1873, Wakefield Trinity 1873, Warrington 1875, Widnes 1875, Wigan 1872.
Obviously Bradford, Hunslet, Oldham, Rochdale, Huddersfield and Hull could be excluded as they're re-formed/merged clubs. (Would also be nice to exclude Leeds after their 'merger' with Bramley, but difficult to justify as they were kept separate.)
I'm sure sky via 'Mr History' Stevo would support such a proposal.