And...?

Sounds fine to me.

Would you watch a merged team in SL if Cas (and Wakey) existed in the championship and kept their identities but were largely feeder clubs filled with young local talent with a clear pathway to SL through the merged side?

Merge NO. Groundshare YES
This could work, as ground upkeep and running costs would be halved.
The office part of the job could come as an independent unit selling tickets etc for both clubs, this works at Huddersfield as the office is one unit running 2 separate clubs, this is a cost cutting exercise also. Each club would have their own club shop at the ground.
Each club would have their own logo at the stadium entrance giving the feel that both clubs were equal tenants.

No and no.

Cas were offered a ground share and snubbed it, laughing claiming Glasshoughton was the Promised Land.

That ship has sailed...they have made their bed...and will enjoy sleeping in it.

Any future deal will now be heavily weighted in Wakey's favour.

Well done Wright and Fulton!

Ever since the old Newmarket pit site was earmarked I have said a ground share was on the cards and was the way Wakey council thought.I dont have a thing against ground share but a merger NO a ground with half the seating red,white and blue the other half black and amber makes financial sense.Wright said no we dont want to share Newmarket and I was told that SF said the one way to survive was a ground share and was told no way and was the reason he said keep the job Im gone.

I'm sorry but you are incorrect with this, Cas said they would have talks with the council (and Wakey) as to a shared stadium and Wakey absolutely refused.

Wakefield declined to enter the WMDC review offered, choosing to pursue NM on their own.

Wakefield wrote to all potential partners in the district, including Cas and Fev...they declined the offer of a shared tenancy.

The only reason that Wakey and Cas keep being suggested as merger candidates is to make life easier for the RFL.
IF we were to merge, it would make the immediate future simpler for other people, not for Cas or Wakefield.
Although Cas are doing it tough at the moment, they bring plenty to SL and people should be trying to help and not keep trying to put the skids under them.

Stay as we are.
With those who run the sport, even if there was a merger, they'd still probably relegate us !

I don't see why either side would want to merge.

And in reality there would only be a takeover. Rarely is there a merger of equal status.
So right now it would in my opinion by bad for Cas to merge. Better to go down and fight back then be lost.

Wakefield have been in similar position (and in fact much worse) and I would never have voted for a merger.

Did you guys hear what was discussed on Back Chat this week?

It was suggested that maybe a Merger of Wakefield and Castleford would be a better option for 1) Survival and 2) If the Comp is reduced to 10-12 Teams.

I just wanted to get your thoughts on this?

I gather you didn't see the thread to merge or not to merge a few threads down then?

To be put it as simply as possible: there will be probably one super league from the WF postcode in a couple of years time, playing out of a stadium earmarked for Wakefield and within the Wakefield boundary. Whether or not Cas would want to be a part of that is debatable. Do you remember how well Sheffield and Gateshead did in their mergers?

I'm so sorry, I didn't. Please forgive me

Will not happen.

Maybe you could merge the merger threads.....

If SL goes to 10 you can forget about Cas Tigers and Wakey. If it goes down to 12 Wakey might make the cut. You can keep SL for me - Cas Tigers need to be playing in Castleford. If I wanted to watch a top team playing outside of Castleford I can go watch Leeds Rhino's can't I.

Yes: I also saw Backchat episodes that didn't really provide both sides to Castleford's issues and it was very good at kicking Cas but not pointing out the reason behind some things.

If you 3 were to merge, FevTrin Tigers that is, you could really have a superb fan base If the 3 got behind the new club. It happened in Sydney with a few mergers where Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs , Balmain, Newtown Jets, Illawarra and others had to lose their identity as well as other partner merged clubs.
If you want to sustain a Super League Club then you may just have to merge too. Of course as some have said - they want their own identity at all costs even if it meant Championship football. But for a hotbed RL area like the Calder Valley that would be such a shame and quite shortsighted, we need a Super League club from the Calder, you are Rugby League people and deserve a successful sustainable trophy winning team again. The area is also a conveyor belt of talent , much of which has to be sold to balance the books. Imagine if you were getting 12k min every week, would you still be selling your top players ??
Normanton United Football Club is almost middle for diddle the 3 towns at about 3.5 to 4 miles to each RL side..
You wouldn't be the first RL League side to share with a football club and I'm sure Normanton United FC would welcome the development of their ground and the growth possibilities it would give them too. It looks perfect.
You may say that the Hull clubs would never merge but in Hull FCs case I'm not sure we have to, we are able to be self sustainable. For our red neighbours in the east their finances are less favourable and with them too, like yourselves, its down to fan base and the ceiling of around 7.5 / 8K that they are limited to.
If anything happened to Rovers it would be a disaster in my opinion, but I know Rovers fans who did watch Super league rugby at the KC when rovers were in the doldrums and I'm sure if the club did fold then over time some (but not all) HKR fans, would come to the KC from East Hull. just like they do with our football team.
If I had the choices of no Super League Rugby in Hull or a merged Club that would be sustainable then I would go for Super League as the product is simply immense.
You should at least think about it if the other option is Championsip or lower for the 3 of you eventually.
The way the 3 towns are growing, in 20 years time you all be joined together anyway as Great Calder. Great Calder Storm now there's a name ???

Or maybe cas could merge with say Gateshead, call the new club castleford, and play in castleford.

Or merge with Sheffield , call the new club castleford and play in castleford

Mergers are definitely the way forward

Stay off the internet , you're dangerous



I can see the headlines now... Cas sell Wheldon Road and move to the Kibble





The land is part of a covenant, by the way.

oh dear oh dear! 2 leagues of ten sounds the best option t me, bring back p&r - sorted.

Made me do a breakfast chuckle, nearly spilt me coffee!

Normanton United????????????

Being from normanton, I must have a cigarette burn in my map of the town...

But I agree in principle yeah:

Cas sell Wheldon Road
Wakefield scrap Newmarket
Featehrstone cancel their stadium developnments

.....and play on "field of dreams" in Normy!

or maybe we could merge and have 39 players on the field at once, the RFL may allow it.

Finally this topic is closed lol

Cas are evidently punching above their weight and I would rather see them play NL than us merge.

Gte rid of our BOD (somehow) and start afresh, and I will be a supported with a new lease of love

Totally no offence to wakefield on this. We have our own clubs, as I'm sure 90+% of either sides will agree.

I'm surprised nobody has hit another angle on this and thought of Featherstone mergin solely with someone? Dunno their thoughts... probably same as ours.

Hi Captain Caveman, your valid point is certainly not lost on me, and no-one would ever convince me that mergers of clubs that are some 140miles apart is ever going to be a real merger, your absolutely right. If there's an ulterior motive and / or its not agreed by the clubs involved then it shouldn't happen. In our case it did happen and Hull FC were the benefactors. It should never happen again in such a way in my opinion.

However in your case the distance we are talking about is just 4 miles to a mid point ground, not 140miles. OK Normanton Uniteds ground may not be right, but don't get hooked on it as the actual location, it just has to be somewhere that is fairly placed for all 3. I'm just seeing Nomanton FC ground/pitch as land that is already used for football, cricket, and so why not be the Stadium home for the area ??. Don't see it as a patch of land.......have the vision to see it as your stadium.
The KC stadium was built on parkland with its own covenant and also incorporating a Rugby Union and Cricket pitch. The Council found a way to overcome the barriers to make it happen If the place I propose is a no-goer then propose something better in Normanton thats even better placed.
Do not under estimate what such a stadium could do for your area in general, the KC has been brilliant for East Yorkshire as a whole, not just Hull the City.

Regarding "merger power " Unlike Hull/Gateshead, with TrinTigersFev even the youngest team was founded 84 years ago, no one team is a newcomer. All 3 have pretty equal League tradition and trophy winning success.

Wakefield Trinity founded 1873 Ground Capacity 11,000 ish Championships 2 Challenge Cups 5
Castleford Tigers founded 1926 Ground Capacity 12,000 ish Challenge Cups 4
Featherstone Rov founded 1902 Ground Capacity 6,750 Championships 1 Challenge Cup 3
Although Wakefield have slightly more trophy wins they are also the side with the longest wait for a trophy. With no wins in the 70s or 80s unlike their near neighbours.
So overall one could say you could fit a fag paper between the 3 of them.
My point being of course that generally speaking none of the 3 are the leading side who should dominate a merger.

If you can become one you will be so much more than the sum of the 3. Its about a mindset change to do what is needed to deliver a team from your area that can sit at Rugby Leagues top table, command large attendances, hold onto its best players, AND win trophies. OR you can be proud, with great traditions and history but no SL team representing the area. Why think small ? why not come together and think big ??

Some on here have said that they would go to Headingley to watch SL Rugby, if the Calder region clubs lost license, went bust, went lower league etc. But why should Cas fans or any of you fans travel over 15 miles to Headingley when you could travel less than 4 miles to your own new ground ?
With a joint commitment from the 3 of you to a new stadium RedHall would have to do a major rethink on your Re Licence. Because together you are stronger politically also.

Wakefield were prepared to build a ground 3 miles from Wakefield Centre, so surely one a similar distance from all 3 towns and allowing you all to watch your own bigger better super league team would be immeasurably better than braving the 15 miles of Leeds traffic would it not ? The newmarket Stadium was to have a capacity of 12,000. In my opinion that would be redundant straight away for you 3 together. I think it would take an 18,000 cap. new stadium to house a successful team from your area and all the Fev Cas and Trin fans.

You need to have a vision, be unselfish and be brave. If Super League is to be with us for our next generations of fans I would rather it be here with a team from your rich RL area. Not without.