The RFL are a two-bob organization above any law and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
"The fact of the matter is Halifax have have a better stadium and better infrastructure than a few super league clubs. If you think of the disaster of Celtic/Welsh or whatever they want to be called next Crusaders going bust but being bailed out its a complete joke.

I'd be tempted to bite your lip and try remain positive until July. Today was always going to be Widnes, but its clear that July could be a chance for Halifax. And, if there are SL teams not meeting the criteria and you guys have proven already that you do meet all of them and you aren't given the nod then that would be the time to start kicking up a fuss I'd say! Get to the top of the league, show massive support for the club and create a bigger hype than ever for everything to do with Fax and make the decision in July a non brainer!! All the best, I do hope to see Halifax in the SL. I was routing for you guys this time but it wasn't to be.

Unless they're run by James Bond I would guess they couldn't commit murder for one.

I don't mind people guessing about certain areas of applications such as stadiums which you can plainly see etc but why do people keep 2nd guessing everyones infrastructure etc? Wakefield handed in a 700 page application today, at what point are we supposed to know what's in that re: a club's management and so on?

Then if we don't get in July it will be a case of building for 2016 its a vortex.

Indeed, a stupid system that isn't helping anyone atm. But if you put yourselves into a position that is so much stronger than some of the teams already up there then an enquiry must be made if you don't make it. Corruption, contradictions and bias towards certain teams. All you can do now is prove to the RFL that you would go toe to toe with the teams up there on the field as you've already proved your worth off it - and they have publicly stated that. Another 4 months of your 23's performing well will help, and if you're up there in the championship playing good, entertaining rugby in front of big crowds then you will have to be considered against the SL teams that fall short of their criteria (which im sure there is a few hovering dangerously close)! Good luck, I'll still be getting down to the Shay when I can. Always good games, would love to see it full!

The risk is that now it is potentially a lot more years from you getting in, and this will work for other clubs too, including Wakey (assuming we go down), that investors will do a Bannatyne and say "I'm oot". If we go down, I would be surprised to see us back before 2021 (we would be behind you in the queue next time, and who knows that expansion dream will be fulfilled the time after that). What investor would buy a club with such a long haul and with no guarantees even then.

So we end up with a closed shop top flight.

Ive been saying for months that today one of yourselves or Widnes will be up and then the other will find out they are playing in SuperLeague later in the year (when another SL team needs bailing out and the RFL think "sod-it"icon_wink.gif

Today was the worst kept secret since Ricky Martin admitted he was gay.

Got a hand it to Mr Lewis for his performance today, up there with Colin Firth that lad. How he managed to keep a straight face when congratulating Widnes for their onfield success was amazing. By time they play in Super League it will have been 2.5 years since they won a knockout cup that allowed them to apply.

With league finishes of 6th, 4th and 5th since last licenses announced ('we spent our money on youth instead of 1st team blah blah...). Please don't mock us Mr Lewis by applauding this 'success' when the other applicant has finished 3rd, 2nd and 2nd during the same period and are the current champions (even if Fev do have the t-shirt and badges). Widnes were a shoo-in from that day in Blackpool....not sour grapes as think they deserve it for off-field set up, stadium and the backing they have but don't make out their onfield performances helped them.

Just wish I had a CAD drawing business in the Wakefield or Manchester areas, could be quids in for the next 3 months.

If RFL can honestly say that Crusaders, Catalans, Quins, Salford and Cas are better placed than us (nailed on Wakefield will drop out) come July then that will be me finished with the game after 30 years. Already disillusioned, missing out again in July will be final nail in the coffin for me when we've been most consistent side over the past 3 years and have now been told we meet all the criteria.

itll all blow up eventually, at least one of those clubs are set to got completely tits up in the near future imo

Absolutely shameful day for RL.
To mock it up like London winning the olympics was embarassing for something supposedly called competitive sport.
This unelected, unaccountable administration are more than likely going to screw Wakefield in a few months while bailing out failing pipedreams and bleeding the game and its fans dry. The only positive to come from today is less carbon emissions for Yorkshire Championship RL fans travelling to away games next year.
I would like to welcome Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to the disillusioned, bitter and twisted real world of Rugby League in the North of England. See you at The Shay next year.
What a sham, what would the RFL have done if they didn't have a scapegoat(Wakefield) with the SL Clubs committed to 14 clubs, would they really have let someone in with a weaker case than the present incumbants. Pathetic doesn't begin to explain my feeling towards the Rugby Failing Loonies.

they have left you in for the July announcements to make it seem like an application process rather than an elimination process , as that would not be in line with the positive spin that they seem to have to put on everything , no matter how negative it really is

Agree with you Mr Starbug are you with Frankb at Sheffield on Sunday ? See you there

OK.....Fully understand that you feel bitter towards missing out on something that you believe you should have been awarded, but by what stretch of the imagination do you think that Halifax are in a better position than Harlequins RL when it comes to SL?

1.Finance; QUINS ARE DEBT FREE AND DON'T EVEN HAVE AN OVERDRAFT. THIS IS A DOCUMENTED FACT.WE ARE RELIANT ON ONE PERSON TO PROP US UP, WHICH IS FAR FROM IDEAL, BUT WE ARE DEBT FREE ALL THE SAME.
2.Development of players: LONDONERS PICKED FOR ENGLAND AT ALL LEVELS AND NOW BEING POACHED BY TOP 4 TEAMS
3.Contribution to the game: 2 PLAYOFFS, 1 SECOND PLACE, 1 CHALLENGE CUP AND NEVER FINISHED LAST IN 15 YEARS...
4.Attendances: 5HITE, BUT WE STILL DON'T HOLD THE RECORD FOR LOWEST AVERAGE ATTENDANCE OVER A SL SEASON
5.Stadium: BRILLIANT...AS COMMENTED ON BY EVEN YOUR OWN FANS AFTER A FRIENDLY A WHILE BACK
6.Expansion: RIGHT OR WRONG...IT'S A CRITERIA

feel free to add any other criteria.
The rules here are simple....if you are going to claim financial bail-outs over the years, please back them up with links to or documented proof of such payments. Attendances should be taken from the SL era. I know back in the day 6,000,000 would pack the shay, but let's keep this modern.

I really feel for Fax, but as has been mentioned, there is a possible second chance in July and I would think that (Like Widnes last time) you will have strengthened your case for 2014......But finger pointing does you no favours...ask Leigh fans.

Shelfsox-on field performance was only 1 part of the application, if it was the only point, do you not think Widnes would have pumped cash after cash into their 1st team? The application had many parts, of which your team did not match up on. Take a step back and think about it. Like i say, if on field performance was the only point, Widnes would have filled their team with stars and won hands down because they have the cash to do it.

Salary cap? Which Widnes filled with the teams that were poor and injured most of the time. Let's not rewrite history. Widnes got in because they fairly won something but no amount of money would have change that if they hadn't.

But is it right ?

Are Fax genuinely still in with a shout in July ? Or are the RFL just using them to give some credibility to the process ?

Given that they ( RFL ) have stated that any Championship club needs extra time to prepare , if Fax did get a spot they would spend the first season light years behind the rest , potentially damaging the club

Personally it would have been better if nobody except Widnes had applied , because in all honesty the Championships are in no position to prepare any club for SL anymore , interest is waning both at fan and business level , we are a vibrant worth winning in it's own right competition , it's just nobody wants to watch it

Wasn't saying it was right.....was explaining why quins are miles ahead of fax in the criteria.....wakefield may well go in july but if fax are to replace a second team.....quins won't be that team.

Quins get a rough ride because of their attendances. Other than that though they clearly bring more to the game than a lot of teams do I just wish they'd sort their name out and be London something even if at The Stoop.

I also don't think the 13 weeks between now and the next announcement makes it that much harder for Fax to set up which would put them 'so far behind'. It's still before player negotiations are 'supposed' to start and business plans are already in place.

The whole process is a sham!
Forget SL. Watch YOUR team, don't support RL events, don't go to the Challenge Cup Final, SL Grand Final, Internationals and DO NOT subscribe to Sky Sports!

The only teams Fax are better placed than are Quins and Wrexham Crusaiders. The rest have bigger crowds will have on par/better stadiums than fax when complete. Fax don't have a good academy or youth set up like nearly all the SL teams and most of all all those clubs will have more money and be financially better off , so to say you are better placed is just ignorant.

Just a simple question here - how can they maintain a ful time SL squad with those attendances? Sure - other bodies will be pumping money in through investment and sponsorship but is this viable long term? By the way - i could ask this question to 4 or 5 other SL clubs too.

I am not bitter about the decision, it didnt surprise me, nor should it have surpised anyone else.

But you didnt explain why quins are miles ahead of fax....

Quins home attendances are dire, for superleague and we would almost certainly exceed this. Their away attendances are even more dire, we would absolutely exceed this. Okay so their stadium is good (ours is of a standard now) and they are miles and miles from any other club, which is in their favour for expansionism. Financially they are supported by a wealthy backer, who has put around £7M of his own money into the venture, so I would suggest that Halifax are better placed than them to support themselves.

I cant comment on their youth structure, as I dont know what theirs is, but the powers that be do bang on about the odd londoner playing in superleague. We also have Halifax born players playing in both superleague and the NRL and we were not allowed to run a youth team last year (RFL ruling), but we have started an under 23's this year and we do a great deal of work with amateur clubs and school clubs, so I would suggest we could go toe to toe with them on this issue.

So where does this make their bid better than ours??? I tell you why.... Because SKY will dictate that the RLF need to maintain a presence in the capital in order to secure the deal.

And equally, your knowledge of what position Fax are in is equally ignorant. We probably have the same potential as Salford. We certainly did in the past and Salford haven't advanced much since those days - not if you cmompare how Hull and Warrington have that's for sure. The Barton project may change this but the jury's out.

I appreciate there are lots of other parts taken into consideration and said in my post that Widnes deserve it for the off-field criteria. My point was the fact that the RFL mentioned Widnes' onfield success in their pre-prepared statement (wrote in 2009) when what little success they have had was couple of years ago and Fax had been more consistent over the past 3 years and are current champions, they should not have used 'onfield' as a factor when they were explaining the decision. That is just insulting.

They have bigger crowds due in part to larger away followings, our crowds will go up too if in SL with more home fans turning up to see the better teams too. "When complete" - that is the key isn't it, these new stadiums were submitted as CAD drawings 3 years ago and not a spade in the ground yet! We had no academy/youth set up because the RFL blocked Championship clubs from doing so! And with larger crowds, more TV income and more sponsors we will have more money and be financially better off than some of the current incumbents in the league! Vicious circle though, we can't do all this without getting into SL first....

Quote ="shelfsox"I appreciate there are lots of other parts taken into consideration and said in my post that Widnes deserve it for the off-field criteria. My point was the fact that the RFL mentioned Widnes' onfield success in their pre-prepared statement (wrote in 2009) when what little success they have had was couple of years ago and Fax had been more consistent over the past 3 years and are current champions, they should not have used 'onfield' as a factor when they were explaining the decision. That is just insulting. They have bigger crowds due in part to larger away followings, our crowds will go up too if in SL with more home fans turning up to see the better teams too. "When complete" - that is the key isn't it, these new stadiums were submitted as CAD drawings 3 years ago and not a spade in the ground yet! We had no academy/youth set up because the RFL blocked Championship clubs from doing so! And with larger crowds, more TV income and more sponsors we will have more money and be financially better off than some of the current incumbents in the league! Vicious circle though, we can't do all this without getting into SL first....'" I suggest you drive over the Barton bridge on the M60 and look left you'll see more than a spade in the ground pal. www.reds.co.uk check the webcam.

Quote ="shelfsox"I appreciate there are lots of other parts taken into consideration and said in my post that Widnes deserve it for the off-field criteria. My point was the fact that the RFL mentioned Widnes' onfield success in their pre-prepared statement (wrote in 2009) when what little success they have had was couple of years ago and Fax had been more consistent over the past 3 years and are current champions, they should not have used 'onfield' as a factor when they were explaining the decision. That is just insulting. They have bigger crowds due in part to larger away followings, our crowds will go up too if in SL with more home fans turning up to see the better teams too. "When complete" - that is the key isn't it, these new stadiums were submitted as CAD drawings 3 years ago and not a spade in the ground yet! We had no academy/youth set up because the RFL blocked Championship clubs from doing so! And with larger crowds, more TV income and more sponsors we will have more money and be financially better off than some of the current incumbents in the league! Vicious circle though, we can't do all this without getting into SL first....'" I suggest you drive over the Barton bridge on the M60 and look left you'll see more than a spade in the ground pal. www.reds.co.uk check the webcam.