Left hand, meet right hand!

Right hand, perform standard reciprocating gesture applied to personages deemed similar to bankers.

What's the idea behind this change? It's only a couple of seasons since the last one isn't it?

My Mates lad was in Bulls under 16s and all have had to be released and Leeds only signed 6 of our 16s when they normally sign 15 ish.
A lot of disappointed lads I hear and some will probably be lost to our game.

I think they thought the much heralded U20s wasn't providing the quality comp for players they envisaged.

As such they hope to farm out players over 19 to Championship sides where the standard is better. In an ideal world that will mean those that don't make it in SL aren't lost to the game completely. Those that are good enough get better preparation for playing in SL by playing more open age rugby of a standard better than the U20s was.

This of course depends on championship sides and SL sides going into it with the best intentions. A SL side could just use the championship side as a feeder club if the rules aren't stringent and see further interest lost at championship level as line ups change on a weekly basis and people see clubs as a "A" team rather than a club in their own right.

I'm sure there's more to it...

I did wonder whether this would have an effect on the Scholarship teams as not really heard yet what will be happening to the U'14/15s which Cookie Jnr and a few of his team mates had been told they had got into.

Don't let Smokey TA hear you blameing the RFL. They are not responsable for anything that goes on in the game.

My lad was one of the 6 signed so i know a bit about this, think the RFL have got it very wrong

Swinton now 'partnered' with wolves. Apparently can have up to 10 players from warrington.....absolute joke. The current system of 4 dr or loan players is just about ok. This devalues the championship completely and if my club Leigh go down this route and the team is made up of over half from another team then my involvement and interest in RL is finished.

Good luck to him

The second part of the sentence is redundant; The RFL are not responsible. - There, sums it up nicely, job done!

I'd feel the same if we get dumped in the Championship

Could anyone imagine being a feeder team for, say, the Huddersfield Giants? Oh wait....

Damm that is very saddening.

A bit more detail. Clubs' youth setups are ranked red, amber, green from the last franchising report.

As I understood it, only clubs ranked "green" were allowed to form "feeder"relationships with championship clubs.

Only 6 clubs were ranked green - of which Bradford are one, but the deadline for doing this ran out on 31st August so unless we get an extension, we won't be able to set anything up because we have been unable to do anything about it.

They might have relaxed the rules over the last couple of weeks if they suddenly worked out that they have effectively closed 14 u20's teams but only 5 clubs can join the feeder clubs...

14 into 5 doesn't go so well.

didnt we announce some sort of linkup with rochdale last year? dont remember any players going there on dual-reg or loan, but could that linkup have been done with this in mind and did it carry over to the new owners, or just quietly get dropped?

The latter. Some time ago.

Some of the olders members on the forum may remember the time when the whole of RL acted as a feeder operation for Wigan and Uncle Maurice - now that very nearly did kill the game.

Well said I remember they used to sign key players from sides that may have threatened them to only play them in their reserves. Nigel Wright as an example never really got a proper chance there.

TBF Wright would've got a chance if were not for that career ending injury.

However Northernrelic is right. I remember when Wigan signed anybody that was half decent and outbid all other clubs for the top players. Their 'A' Team was better than a lot of Div 1 teams.

My Missus recalls when Wigan signed a player at 16, from our village. A lad she had seen grow up (since she worked in the village at the time) and was already over 6ft at 16. And she said that according to his mother that was also the figure he signed on at, IIRC. This was nearly 20 years ago.

In fairness he DID become a regular, and achieved international honours, before sort of disappearing from view. But what other clubs were paying that sort of money?

Didn't he end up playing union Adey?

I thought I sort of said that when I said he disappeared from view...?

No great loss. Especially after his Oscar winning performance getting Donougher sent off!

Indeed.

And he might have won the Oscar for solo acting, but his team missed out on best picture that day!

I think "retired" is the usual term..