How on earth do you come to that conclusion?

The middle division will consist of four teams on £1.25m, two teams on £800k and two on £180k.

You reckon the two on £180k have a better chance of going up than the current one every three years ?



Sort the money out before you vote. That would be my advice to club reps.

Anything is possible on the field. Currently it is impossible to get promoted to SL.

And I'm not saying the 24/3 is workable on current monies - I'm saying that it is possible to get promoted. A Marwan Koukash can make it possible.

And the bottom division is playing for?

Where did you get those figures from? They haven't been agreed yet have they?

To avoid relegation.

500 x £5 = £1500 is it, really ?????

Sorry MM it's these freakin smart phones, you type something and it changes it for you. £2500, the coat of the weekend, still funded by the £5 from season ticket holders. Like I say, harsh on us who pay up front. I like the innovative new idea, I just think the execution could have been thought out a little better for the ST holder.

....and they're ten a penny, obviously.

You've probably less chance of finding a Marwan Koukash than getting a franchise under the current system.

What bottom division ? Now or proposed ?

Exactly my point. Agree the cash first, then the format. Not the other way round.

Your argument was based on figures you had just made up, And for that reason you are against it? The proposal in theory is a great one IMO.As the club is fully aware this can only be great if the right level of funding is found.

Are you against the idea and if so why?

I do like the idea of splitting the divisions mid term but the funding and salary cap must be agreed first.
If the bottom four super league teams are full time and have a cap of £1.6m or whatever it is while the championship teams have a part time squad on whatever their cap is the playing field is not level is it ?
It will be interesting to see if the eagles can defeat London who are probably the weakest super league team when they meet in the cc in a few weeks time.

Not at all. They are the figures proposed, including the new "parachute" payments. It does not mean that the proposals will not be amended.



I am against the idea unless the finances are leveled out. I would consider it inevitable that the four better funded teams will finish in the top four and the two poorly funded teams will finish in the bottom two. What interest is there in that for spectators ?

The alternative scenario is that clubs will push the financial boat out to attempt to gain promotion. That could easily lead to more financial disasters and more than likely will.

Exactly.



Beating a $uperleague team in a one-off game proves nothing. In a league season, the better teams have bad days and the poorer teams have good ones. Yet, over the season, the better teams finish near the top and the poorer ones at the bottom. Extrapolating an Eagles win to justify promotion would be dangerous.

Do you have a link for that information? The Halifax chairman has said no figures have been agreed yet?

'Cos it's not true if it's not on-line, eh ?

No - got them out of our programme - £2.50 from the Eagles' offices.

I didn't say they had been agreed. I said proposed. So Mr Steele and I agree.

Actually, it's not even about the money, is it ?

Suppose the RFL say that the top four clubs in the first phase Div 2 get their money made up to the same level as the $uperleague clubs. Who would you spend it on ? You won't know you're going to get this money until mid season - who's going to be available to sign who's better than you've already got in the squad ?

No, I asked for a link as I hadn't seen anything published from the RFL about the money being proposed.

So you agree with our chairman? He says it's the best thing for our club and is backing it.

Yes - I agree with Mr Steele that nothing's been agreed. Except, of course that Mr Steele and I agree.

Look - this isn't as big an issue as you're making it. I'm just saying that it's not a good idea to say "Yay !! these new leagues will be fantastic!! Let's vote yes, yes, yes!!" before finding out what the financial arrangements will be.

If you disagree with that, fine. But don't complain if it turns out to be not as good as you thought.

So, are we any nearer naming & shaming the heckler yet ?

I heard a name yesterday but forgotten it now. No one I knew anyway

Maybe an important point concerning the money is being overlooked.

It is not automatically neccessary that you would have to sign someone better than the club allready has onboard.

Why not.

Part of the solution would have to do with make their current playing staff FULLTIME players as opposed to partime.

This would allow them to reach their full potential and quite a few of them would make the grade.

This would be where some of the extra money would have to go.

Anyone training and living in a fulltime enviroment must get better and would increase the number of quality players across the comp, contary to the view that standards would drop drastically in a reasonably short period of time the opposite would happen.

Even distribution of funding allowing more to go fulltime is key to resolving a number of issues.

So .... would you give up your job for 14 weeks employment at a rugby league club with no guarantee of a full time job beyond that ?

Not being argumentative here - but these are the things players have to consider.