Do you think it will be dismissed by the majority?

So we're tumbling towards a 12 team and then an 8 team top flight, fantastic..........really fantastic.
Stuff like this should improve spectator numbers for the amateur game, because nobody is going to want to watch the new pro RL pantomime



The important thing is to work out the reasoning behind this.
Is it to pacify the big boys at the top of the pile and promise them super intense games every week and then to soften the effects of the axe swinging at the bottom clubs and then to give a ray of hope to the tope 3 or 4 CC clubs.

Somebody needs to explain what, exactly, they are trying to achieve.

More competitive games
Promotion and relegation
Expansion in France/ Wales
Increased TV income

Current Whipping Boy SL Rabble clubs and their supporters in particular are going to have a real problem with this proposed structure.

I had to check the date I thought it was April the 1st we are not fools we are supporters of the best game in the world this idea is

What worries me is that a lot of SL clubs wont be affected by it. The traditional big clubs aren’t any more likely to fall out of the ‘top 8’ under this proposal so its in their self-interest to vote for it because they will swap games against the lower sides for more games against the bigger sides. Some of the clubs who are really struggling might like it because it allows them to ‘step down’ without admitting they have failed, those boards get to keep their pride. I cannot see why any club who is on the cusp, the lesser sides who are ambitious, would vote for it. I cant see why the likes of Wakefield, Hull KR, Salford, and those who are in some ways one of the ‘bigger clubs’ but maybe haven’t been as successful as they would want, like Bradford, Hull, Les Catalans, would ever want it. It would make budgeting for them impossible.

At least you will see average attendances improve for the top 8 !
The numbers watching the other games will plummet though.

I can see why having a 'spectrum' of competitions to balance the fact that our clubs are a disparate bunch would appeal - but that is way too complicated and messy.

Some hard choices have to be made, and for all that there'd be howls of pain and derision, running away from problems (like we ended up doing with licensing) won't escape them.

Wakefield's attendances will plummet as soon as they start charging more than £125 for an adult season ticket.

The middle one should be called the Intermediateship.

See now you've spoilt it. Don't come up with practical objections. It's just boring.

I sincerely hope this was some kind of joke proposal just to see if RL Meltdown is still working.

How would the fixture list work?

You'd only know who you are playing until the beginning of April.

...which won't help season ticket sales at the middlin' and lower clubs.

I think it is difficult for us to comment at this stage, when we have only seen Sadler's beer mat explanation. The idea won't have been thought up over night and the clubs will have surely been presented with a detailed proposal and an answer to the questions posed on here and more. He hopes!

my god you are a negative bunch. this isnt a personal thing but you seem to list the ideas that the rfl have apprently missed with there new league suggestion. people are complaining that it will not improve competitive games. non-competitive games are usually produced by top four teams against the bottom four teams. people were singing the praises of the televised games last weekend where despite an apparent lack of quality, the product was entertaining to watch due to the similar level teams playing each other. batley, featherstone and doncaster certainly didnt embarrass themselves when they had there recent opportunities in the challenge cup, so whos to say that given the opportunity to play at a higher level, but not so much that they will get torn apart every other week wont benefit them.

there is promotion and relegation involved between the two leagues, at a sustainable and competitive level. where the bottom four of the super league is open to variation dependant on the on field performances, presumably with off field requirements too now they have the licensing process as a reference. this will also lead to more meaningful games, as teams have to compete in the middle four to gain a top league place.

and finally people crying off the idea because they havent described the full inner workings in regards to money and play offs is ridiculous. it seems that most are not even giving the rfl a chance to fulfil the criteria they are setting as individuals just because they havent been given all the announcements and detail they require.

give them a chance, jeez.

The salary cap - TV distribution gap in the Intermediateship is a bigger problem IMO.

How does 11 fixtures work as a H&A thing as well? I guess one would have to be a Magic fixture?

On one level, I can see what they're trying to do and in fairness whatever they suggest is likely to divide opinion - but that looks less desirable and workable than most of the things I see thrown about on here,

Really ?
at present that could include St Helens & Both Hull Clubs , any Top club , suffering a injury crisis/ drop in form will have a real problem with this .

Huddersfield , lie 2nd & Catalans 5th , I remember both clubs languishing at the the Bottom of Superleague, both took years & cash to build a team that could compete regularly in a top 8 position .

It's not a crazy league restructure thats needed in SL , its cash , cash & cash. all this is designed for is to concentrate the cash in the sport with the top 6-8 clubs
The governing body needs to do the basics like get a title sponsor and sensible TV revenue for the sport, rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater every 4-5 years .

It's a better proposal than 1 up 1 down promotion and relegation, easily.

On the principle of "if it 'aint broke, don't fix it", well, it is broke, so we should welcome attempts to fix it. It feels over complicated I agree, but it seems to be motivated by an understanding of the problems rather than head-in-the-sand Smokeyism. Good start therefore.

Wow, I'm on the side of the RFL vs Smokey!

Smokey, listen, Nigel's a genius. You leave this complicated stuff to him, and take your whinging elsewhere.

Really? Under 1 up, 1 down at least a Championship team was guaranteed promotion. Under this system 4 teams with a salary cap of £1.8m and allowed 5+ overseas players will be playing against 4 teams with a cap of £300k and 1 overseas player. How many of the "Championship 4" will beat the "SL 4"? Never mind actually finish ahead of them on the table after 14 games.

It's possibly the worst combination of both licensing and P&R. No certainty for clubs and little to no chance of promotion for Championship clubs.

And Leeds are already dropping, albeit from a hefty starting point.

I'm not defending the idea line for line, because its definitely too complex, but likewise, we don't know anything (at least I don't) about what proposals accompany this concerning caps, distribution of Sky money, etc, etc. so I don't think we can write it off on the basis of assuming no change to the money set up.

All the franchise criteria will have been a waste of time then.

It's just bat crazy.

Hats off for making an already sed at sport, into a full-blown laughed at in your face sport.