See the Luddites are out in force - it's no wonder RL is run by fools for fools.
Two tens works on all fronts with one proviso - that it is funded and SL2 are all FT clubs with minimum squad spends circa £1.2m, and to do that a min of £600k will be needed but more appreciated.
The jump to SL 1 is less formidable and the drop to SL2 manageable - this then works in providing Sky with the quality, the jeopardy and the spread of interest. I would like to see it expand in 3 years or so to 10/12 then 12/12 as clubs become viable, and especially to help France grow the pro game.

That's great Maurice but, where on earth is the extra cash coming from.

The ONLY reason for a drop to 10 clubs in the top flight is to allow fewer clubs to share a reduced pot.

There certainly wont be any significant cash for SL2
SL 2 is only created to try to soften the impact of 2 additional clubs getting relegated but, although it may, as you suggest, be run by SL, it would be in name only. there will be nothing "super" about it. Just the Championship by another name.

Interestingly, if the line was drawn on this seasons final standings, we would lose York, Dewsbury, Newcastle, Sheffield, Oldham and Swinton from the 2nd tier.

Lets also take into account the likely reduced numbers of juniors coming through, in the short term.
Contact sports will be hit hard in schools which will reduce the numbers at local clubs etc.

RL as a sport needs to think really hard about what damage the next move could do to the game and it will be irrevocable.

I do admire your optimism but, we certainly see a different future for the sport.

Two tens works for nobody. Killing off two SL clubs to become part timers and increasing the number of loop fixtures is insanity. Crowds will fall further if we really reduce to just eight top flight english clubs.

Good Lord Maurice, not even Orangewolf could come up with something like that







So on a heavily reduced SKY deal and reducing player pool you propose a plan to grow to 24 professional clubs

If you recall about two years ago Superleague made noises about moving to 2 x 10 then a third league under that. That actually went to a vote and Superleague lost that vote. They were downed by a large number of Championship clubs led by the bosses of Dewsbury and Batley -Mark Sawyer and Kevin Nicholas.

So the fact is this 2x10 has been in the pipeline for two years. Recently Superleague negotiated the new SKY deal with the RFL nowhere to be seen. This is the sea change that now brings back the 2 x 10 to the table.

If Superleague want to share the deal out they could stay at 12 and keep it all to themselves. Instead they are inviting other clubs to join them.

Remember when Toronto Wolfpack collapsed and Championship clubs were invited to apply to be a Superleague clubs?? Leigh got the gig but London, York, Bradford, Featherstone Toulouse & Newcastle all wanted in. It doesn't take much to work out that Superleague now have the majority of clubs on their side. OK Superleague rejected a number of championship clubs last year, but Superleague now have 20 Superleague places open for 2022 and London. York, Featherstone, Bradford and Toulouse and Newcastle can all join Superleage.

Believe me the decision to stuff the RFL was taken a long time ago.

The RFL have been royally stuffed but SL will not make any move until the season is over, which makes sense. Then they will out 2 x 10 to the vote again and they will win it by offering places in SL2 complete with some decent funding.

The decision on this was made a long time ago, the key was always SL getting control of the SKY money

LOOP Fixtures So you ask the SKY audience do they want to see?? Salford.v.Leigh for a first time OR Leeds.v.St.Helens for a third time.

One season Leeds played Bradford five times and the fifth crowd was 20,000

The first clash between SL clubs Halifax and Wakefield was before a crowd of 2,800

It's not insanity it's money.

Some brains along tha M62.I thought you managed to leave your union flag at home and get along to watch Hunslet?
Anyway,the RFL may not have been anywhere to be seen - because they had to go cap in hand to the government of this forsaken country to get some money on behalf of Super League club owners,so they could take some money to keep going.
Put your England monogrammed mug of tea down and teach yourself what is going on.
The Super League re-negotiated the broadcast deal and accepted a lesser deal.I'm sure your other mate,before you kept name-dropping McManus,that failed football guy,Lenagan,assured anyone who would listen that Elstone would strike up far more commercial deals than the Rfl.More abject failure.
Still,this website can't even report on League 1 play-offs - but manage to report on the Ladies games - and allow you to accuse genuine posters as beings Trolls.
The joy of being a rugby league follower...

Great post.

for twenty years I have been called a "TROLL" on Rugby League forums. I have to say, the frequency at which Rugby league fans call anyone a troll for having a different opinion is quite frightening...I currently sponsor 2 RL Clubs in the Wellington region, something i've never done for other sports, but because I don't think 2 pit villages playing each other is how the sport will grow, it's a cross i bear.

Donnyman seems hellbent on "outing" folk and crying that posters who disagree with his anti-expansion mantra are killing the site......he's that rabid he's lost sight of the fact that him posting threads like "French RL in trouble' are nothing more than pathetic trolling.......

That is rlfans to a tee. If you have an opinion that is different to the resident trolls, you are called a troll. I can’t emphasise this enough, but if you want a decent discussion come to Reddit. The game tonight had hundreds of decent comments whilst rlfans had about 3.

It’s people like Donnyman who have ruined the decent discussion on here

It's not RLFANS fault the RFL refused them a media pass for Ourleague

Odd how RLfans doesn't seem to mind being trolled and attacked daily?

Yesterday morning we had some good positive discussions, among genuine posters all morning



I thought the Mods must have dumped the one or maybe two people who ruin the site. I thought they may realise they'd get more "traffic" without the idiots.

Still if the number of posters doesn't affect the advertising revenue then I don't suppose it really matters to those who run the site if it's just a business thing??

But as the Mods seem to like joining in with discussions then it beats me what's going on??

It’s just another thread drift of tit for tat ‘you’re a troll, no you’re a troll’.

No one comes out as a winner and even when you make valid points they are lost in the guff.

On subject, as has been said I can’t see how 2 x 10 solves the issues we have at the moment in the game without a significant money injection. Moving two down into a rebranded championship (and kicking out the bottom six into the wilderness) won’t change anything in my view.

In answer to the OP

The 2 x 10 cannot be stopped.

Neither can the late announcement.

Not sure it's random thread drift, the one troll (was it capdouze) was banned and came back in two personas, Steph and Silent.

Once they were binned off guess what, two more trolls so that's a big giveway. It's just one twisted person for my money

Are they looking for "change"?

Had the deal come in at the same money there may have been no change so it seems reasonable to conclude ten clubs may want a good share of the lesser money believing they deliver the SKY contract and they may be right.

Have you considered SL raising the number of SL teams to 20 "changes" who controls the game....

I think it's clearly a power grab.

For me...everyone is looking at this too one dimensionally! Who said you MUST have LOOP fixtures?!!

Yes, if we fudge it with 3x games against the other 9 teams in your tier then it will become a bore fest, but they should do it exactly how I proposed it about ten years ago!

Two divisions of ten, but rather than make them two separate divisions, your fixtures would be,
- Home and Away vs all clubs in your tier (1icon_cool.gif,
- PLUS 1 game against clubs in the 2nd tier (10 -5 home / 5 away -odds and evens)
- Total of 28 fixtures


SL1
Catalan
St Helens
Warrington
Wigan
Leeds
HKR
Hull FC
Castleford
Toulouse
London

SL2
Huddersfield
Wakefield
Salford
Leigh
Bradford
Featherstone
York
Halifax
York
Widnes

So you'd have 28 fixtures but limit the number of possible blow out games between SL1 and SL2 sides. Also - there would be a requirement for SL1 teams to have at least 3 or 5 U22 players in games vs SL2 opposition - to act as a balancer but also to ensure clubs were developing their own talent.

I think itd work exceptionally well and capture the imagination - all clubs competing against each other at the right level, and SL1 for the glamour fixtures to drive the game forward.

Imagine - 1 game Featherstone v Castleford each season or Leigh v Wigan, York v Leeds. Bradford v Leeds etc. The games between the two tiers actualy start to become mouthwatering as there is only one of them per season.

You can also add to this structure - ie/ if Sheffield / Newcastle etc wish to be a part you can start to move to two 11s/ two 12s etc if you can grow revenues into the game!! Works perfectly.

Spot on. Beware though. I recommended this and had been tagged a troll

Why are York putting 2 teams in?

I wondered where he got that nonsense from.......

Is the second "York" actually New York??

Weren't they scheduled for a 2022 entry to the game here???

No! Loop fixtures are not the way to go but neither are Mickey Mouse structures that just generate confusion.
The game and its fans crave stability and clarity and all we're getting from leadership are obfuscation and every other person's crackpot structure that takes 5,000 words to explain.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE GAME IS NOT THE ISSUE. LEAVE IT ALONE.

The "Leadership" have strongly indicated two times 10.

The fans obviously will toy with all sorts of things. The thing I'm toying with is will SL be an 18 game league with Magic game added??

This heavy cut in games offered to SKY will match their heavy cut in the SKY deal, but I think it's absolutely clear Loop fixtures will be essential.

What is the economic argument against Warrington.v.Wigan a third time against Salford.v.Feathestone (no offence here)

With apparently no agreement likely on the structure I now hear they will "leave it alone" and leave League One to take most of the hit.......

Things are changing daily..