The franchises should be judged over the term of them, not a few games into the first year of them. Should Bradford be thrown out as well seeing as they are 'destined' to finish outside the play-offs with nothing to play for?

Was the new additions' to S/L ever going to be anything other than the bottom 2. That was the whole idea of a 3 year franchise whether it was good or bad right or wrong. And now imo the inevitable is happening you want to change the rules because you find it boring. Those 2 clubs should be judged after 3 seasons not 6 games' and with our club being involved with relegation far too often in the past I for one did not think it was exciting and neither will CC or Salford.

Look at Castleford it could well be said that the fact they didn't need to panic buy last season has allowed them to develop youngsters and progress their team by bringing in the right players.

Salford especially were always going to struggle in their first season but so did Castelford last season. Their youngsters should be much improved next season and with shrewd buys they'll be very competitive. Celtic have proven to be a decent outfit without actually winning as yet.

I don't see what a play-off would do, all we'd be encouraging is a boom and bust nature for the promoted team which in the long run would be detrimental for both the relegated and promoted team.

How is promoting a team every year going to help? We will still be in a position where the team comes up will finish bottom they will simply then become yo-yo teams whose best players are released to be signed by other clubs in SL the minute they get relegated.

The bottom 2 clubs have much to play for, they have a future to play for and development of the business and systems to build on.

The play off idea would simply never work for a couple of reasons firstly the fact that SL teams are so far ahead of NL1 teams, they may get the odd victory on a very off day but in no way could they compete over 2 or even 3 games.

What is worse is it would ensure the clubs were in limbo for even longer regards trying to recruit SL squads/plan for the future.

The stability offered by a lack of relegation ensures teams can grow and plan ahead, Wakefield, Cas, Huddersfield, Hull Les Cats are all examples of clubs progressing once they managed to consolodate there positions in the League for a year or 2.

Crucially i personally benieve a lack of relegation sees our younger players given a chance as there is less panic buying of overseas crocks.

I think there is much wrong with certain rules of our game regards the way they are administered but for the long term growth of the sport at all levels in the UK relegation had to be scrapped.

Well we are at odds over a few things then but perhaps the issue that we are furthest away on is the relegation dog fights we have had in recent years. They were utterly compelling, exciting and dramatic. I cant believe you went to Odsall that glorious evening and found it dull! One of the best nights I have had ever watching sport, take away the ramifications of defeat and i would have stopped at home. If it wasnt exciting then tell me what it was.

Dont just look at the impact in SL look at NL's, they are being given the last rights at present.

Imagine if you were in the NL's now, no promotion for 3 seasons, no Sky money, no interest from major sponsors and little interest outside the hardcore. Imagine then trying to get the finance in place for a new ground.

A hard job or an impossible one?

Just to emphasise what cloud some SL fans are on we have one advocating a play off between a FT SL club getting £1m of sky funding and a PT NL one to decide who goes up.

The franchise decision only really effected Widnes, and Leigh, Fax/Fev didnt expect anything, so if you really have the good of the game at heart 2 FT divisions of 10 would provide a platform to grow whilst engaging all clubs wanting SL status and providing a route for those further away but with ambition.

Finance, take the pot and slit it 60/40, giving ample to fund a full time SL2 from clubs of a comparable standard and making the transition from NL to SL2, and SL2 to SL1 realistic both ways.

I fully expect within 2 more franshice "picks" a closed shop at the top with NL clubs becoming feeder clubs, it is the only way to go for me, but only once we have the top division settled.

I take your point and if you like throw in both the Cas games. But they are only exciting if we win. It was brilliant comming out of Odsal as it was leaving Wheldon Rd apart from the idiots from Cas what couldnt stomach defeat and started throwing glasses. But would it have been like that if we had lost. And fwiw I bet that Cas didnt think so

Like most rollercoaster rides, they are great fun when you reach the end of the ride safely. I enjoyed 2006, it was all-consuming, but I also remember the away game at Huddersfield and then the home one against Bradford, the one when we had no coach and Stevo saved us by asking JK "the question" (or, at least, that is the version Stevo prefers). Watching a great club fade into history before your very eyes wasn't quite so good, and if we had relegation, that threat would come around again sooner or later.

Thank god its only you then.

It is already happening NL1 and 2 clubs aligning themselves with SL clubs, it is the only way they will survive in my opinion.

I agree with jonh on this one.

NO !

clubs like batley/dewsbury/featherstone/barrow/york/hull kr/sheffield/gateshead/ect will soon die a painful death in my opinion and bexaome nothing more than BARLA standard

Why are feeder clubs such a bad thing?

feeder clubs are fine but the children are our future .

walk around fev or surrounding estates to see a once predominantly blue n white area with kids wearing wakey and leeds shirts

I think the franchise will work, look at how far Catalans have come, they were given three years to climatise and it has worked. OK they are strugling a bit so far this season but they are a top team now.

so when would the other clubs get a chance, wasn't there a club that bought their way into the nrl,
I personally think it will screw it up if they did, we have more of a chance of reverting to two leagues, but not at least till for the next foreseeable ten years,
if we carry on as we are with the three year franchise it gives other clubs hope, we then could get the relegation/promotion back, its what this country has been used to for years and thrives on the success and heartaches,
we all know that it lacked looking after the supporters, that's why the game failed to entertain, it getting its house in order now.

just take a look at darts super league the top players play off in a mini league but they are not guaranteed to be selected, only the best is picked so it keeps up the quality and now its marketed properly its become more entertaining than years ago

Teams are only added to the NRL when there is need for expansion, remember the NRL also merged some of the biggest clubs in the game to protect there future.

In 2 to 3 franshise picks I cannot see any team realistically not in the top flight getting a chance.

Feeder clubs still source the best local youngsters and would also become A teams for clubs.

The standard of some players playing professionally in the lower leagues is shocking, they are paid to play to make up the numbers.

I think the only opportunity for clubs to get a shot will come when a club goes to the wall and messes up in a big way, we already from a playing point of view have too many fixtures so the only way to add is to remove a team/merge as they did in the NRL.

god havnt we done this before at some point???
i mean its a pressing issue isnt it because they are up for renewal in 3 years!

ok ill answer you
yes it will work because it will be made to work, however you may not like the results, so it may not work for you or your club!

promotion/relegation = IT'S SPORT THING ????

Nail on the head. Just what I suspected would happen when relegation would be scrapped and it is coming to pass. Becasuse teams have no real incentive to ensure that they don't finish bottom. When you finish bottom previously, not only were you officially the worst team in the particular division, but you paid the penalty by getting relegated. Although even if the Celtic Crusaders and I do not mean to pick on a fledgling club such as them at all, had been in Super League pre-franchise era, they would still have been given a few handouts from the RFL:

LONDON BRONCOS - When they nearly went into administration in 2005, before NEC Harlequins RFC bought them out and rebranded them, EVERY Super League team was called upon to help bring about a solution to their dire financial status, even Leigh who ultimately only spent one season in the Super League anyway.

CATALANS DRAGONS - Although they are proven success and were rather "conveniently groomed for the franchise era" shall we say, they still had three seasons where they could finish bottom of the table and still be immune from relegation, as demonstated in the 2006 season.

I bet you that in three years time, especially considering the general gloomy picture of the British econonmy, it will be no surprise that the RFL will have realised the mistake they have made and go back to a much more simple and effective PROMOTION/RELEGATION regime. That way may be dog-eat-dog, but its the fairest way to go.

Once again closing, spot-on with this comment, Worskop.

Franchising means all clubs are not safe bar Hull, Wigan, Leeds and Quins.
Franchising means taking a group of individuals to wherever will pay the most, so Saints have a great team and a crap ground. Reading FC say hey, if we can make a go of Irish then if we can have a top SL playing here in the summer it will be a success. At the end of the franchise period what was StHelens RLFC up sticks and move to Reading because they pay more for the next franchise.
Personally this is the way forward, allegiance to your team is old hat, open your eyes, look outside the box, we can have a fantastic product packed with highly paid athletes performing 6/7 live games a weekend on the box. Truly establishing ourselves as the no 2 sport in the world. It will work because we have a more TV friendly product than Union and the TV contract will allow us to buy the best athletes outside soccer

IMO relagation and prom should be brought back. Who comes top of NRL goes up and bottom of SL goes down, end of.
End SL and NRL and start the transfer window market and the same time, which will enable upcomin NRL teams are fair chance of signing players apart from the 1's which are just left over who avent been signed by a SL club and also for the upcomin NRL team's players to know if thier team will be playing in SL or not before the transer window...e.g danny brough left Castleford before the playoff final as he didnt know if Cas would win and get promoted. Im not saying he wouldnt have left anyway..thats just a example.
IMO Catalan should be playing in SL, they should be playing in french leagues no disrepct to them tho. Their saying there could be a Irish team soon then its going to be a Scottish team. U.S.A are starting pro R.L, ay, way not let 1 of there teams in SL.
O.K where trying to expand the game but they should start in the conferance and work thier way up, its only fair. Theres plenty of other teams out there which was once a part of rugby league e.g Fev, Shef, fax and others.

3 years to wait is too long for teams outside of SL and RL's way off saying who can cant play and who cant play in SL takes away all the concept of the game and sport
This is just MO but who am I

It's ok talking Fev this, Widnes that, but they, like ourselves have 100 years or there about to secure a place in the elite. What makes them more special and more worthy than a newer club?

the fact they have survived 100 years may hold some weight with some.