The daily mail that had a headline last Saturday saying "At last, a true Tory budget" best not to worry about anything they report

Yet many of you Mail haters must admit that he is correct in what he says.

Taking relegation out of the hands of the players and moving the decision to a committee is wrong.

Only if you assume relegation is a necessity of sport, an arbitrary cut off point were sports draw a line saying who can play who.
Licencing or Franchising enables leagues to be more flexible if used correctly.

We already have a situation were the best team over the course of 12 months is irrelevant to the title.

I've heard a few owners in the past say most SL clubs require at least 13 home games to keep their heads above water, so if that's still the case and they want to cut SL to 22 games a season, then they're going to have to find some extra home games from somewhere, so I assume that's the thinking behind having 2 legged cup games.

People didn't like franchising the last time we had it. Went back and found some news reports from when it was ended, and it was referred to as ''the much-maligned franchising system''. It's an interesting insight into the rugby league zeitgeist at the time, people forget. I don't really see that there will be any difference this time.

If you're wanting to increase eyes on the game it will never wash, as it goes against what's ingrained into sporting culture in this country. Stop looking at the US sports model and rugby league in Aus, it does not work over here. Just stop it.

What will most likely happen is that whatever this latest abomination is will be introduced, then after circa 5 or 6 years it will be disbanded amid unrest about things being 'stale' and the game needing 'new direction', and the IMG partnership will be ended early.

Can guarantee it.

With rugby league it always feels like a get-rich-quick scheme. Looking for the next magic bullet, the next shortcut to make it big. A new playoff format, a new competition structure, more teams, less teams, more loop fixtures, less loop fixtures, more games against the top teams (remember super 8's? why did we get rid of that?) The list just goes on and on. Remember club call? It's sad looking back at all these numerous different schemes, ultimately fruitless but never destined to make any difference anyway. I've lost count of the different playoff formats, and it starts to eat away at the integrity of the competition after a while.

If it isn't a 'get-rich-quick-scheme' it's like someone putting in place a 6-month phased training plan to get in shape but quitting it after a month. Supposed long-term plans will be made only to be scrapped after short-term implementation.

I feel like Rugby league had a boost from the introduction of super league for 10-15 years, but then it's gradually started to return to it's pre-super league condition, exacerbated by external socio-economic factors.

Spot on. If the Monorail man from The Simpsons came round RL would be all over it

Other sports on this country with have P&L actually have a second tier where a sides promoted can actually stay in the top division.

Rugby League does not have this so P&L is a pointless exercise


Nevermind the fact that in Rugby League we have a system where relegation is so horrific that financially it could send clubs into financial Armageddon. P&L is broken and will remain broken as long as the second tier is so devoid of revenue.

Just as worryingly. Promotion to the top tier could mean financial Armageddon as well….

As long as you ignore that over half the teams in Super League were promoted into it, then promotion doesn't work.

Promotion and Relgation would work better in a 14 team league in my opinion. Having the championship season finish earlier would give the promoted side a chance to build for longer and it should also be first past the post. That way the strongest possible club is coming up.


As for the challenge cup the two legged fixtures is stupid, if they wanted a chance for extra home games then introduce a group stage. 8 groups of 3 teams with the top 8 advancing to the quarter finals. Lower league clubs would get more revenue to help run there clubs and SL clubs would get a guarnteed extra two home games. One of the main reasons the CC has fallen wayside and lost its magic is because you only have to win 3 games to get to the final.

Or we get rid of the deadwood in SL who have lied in the past to get a licence and give someone else a chance.

Quote ="TheWarringtonWolve69"Or we get rid of the deadwood in SL who have lied in the past to get a licence and give someone else a chance.'" The Deadwood that beat you three times this season and finished above you in the league table, and please do try to keep up with Trinity ground redevelopment. The old East Stand has already been demolished and new footings in place for the steelwork to be erected this month. Below are links for the New East Stand, work on the North Terrace with Large screen, fully replaced hybrid pitch with new drains and irrigation system, new latest LED technology floodlights, extensive refurbishment to the club house to create community hub and gymnasium, just to mention a few updates. https://www.facebook.com/groups/9684180 ... &ref=share https://www.facebook.com/17494788588615 ... pF6XnCVal/

Quote ="TheWarringtonWolve69"Or we get rid of the deadwood in SL who have lied in the past to get a licence and give someone else a chance.'" The Deadwood that beat you three times this season and finished above you in the league table, and please do try to keep up with Trinity ground redevelopment. The old East Stand has already been demolished and new footings in place for the steelwork to be erected this month. Below are links for the New East Stand, work on the North Terrace with Large screen, fully replaced hybrid pitch with new drains and irrigation system, new latest LED technology floodlights, extensive refurbishment to the club house to create community hub and gymnasium, just to mention a few updates. https://www.facebook.com/groups/9684180 ... &ref=share https://www.facebook.com/17494788588615 ... pF6XnCVal/

You are not responding to a Warrington supporter.

Widnes got promoted because of off-field reasons - and remained there while no relegation was happening.



Getting your excuses in before future potential fixtures because a club with all that broadcast money,and success over recent years still cannot sell out either their home stadium,or Old Trafford for a Grand Final.
Give that club a Category A!
Standard of Super League declined while St Helens won a bit of silverware....as for improving the national side...

It's worth remembering that for the last major shakeup, the third party came up with the 3 x 8 structure, when, every minute was supposed to matter.
Unfortunately, the relegation issues had a massive destabilising effect on the lower end of SL and the top end of The Championship and guess what, here we go again.

It looks like that in a bid to spread the game nationally, there will be some more "forced promotion and relegation", always a sure-fire way to keep old fans interested and gain new viewers and spectators. Oops.

Also, despite the questionnaire, will they actually listen to the fans or, was this just window dressing, something to make fans believe that they'd been thought about.

You can already hear the opening of their presentation, "after consulting with ........."

It doesn't matter unless they actually listen !

The proposals have been approved by all but 5 clubs, and will be introduced from 2024

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... e-25256694 However, one of the key pieces of information to be clarified was around the mechanics of promotion and relegation. We now know that clubs will all be graded on unspecified criteria, with clubs to eventually be graded from A through to C. But what was unclear was what happens if a Grade B club finished bottom of Super League and a Grade B club won the Championship. Crucially, that has now been confirmed and, if that were to happen, the team finishing bottom of Super League will be relegated, and the team who wins the Championship will be promoted. In essence, promotion and relegation from Super League will still exist in its current guise on the basis the club coming up is the same grade as the clubs going down. Grade A clubs will be exempt from Super League relegation.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... e-25256694 However, one of the key pieces of information to be clarified was around the mechanics of promotion and relegation. We now know that clubs will all be graded on unspecified criteria, with clubs to eventually be graded from A through to C. But what was unclear was what happens if a Grade B club finished bottom of Super League and a Grade B club won the Championship. Crucially, that has now been confirmed and, if that were to happen, the team finishing bottom of Super League will be relegated, and the team who wins the Championship will be promoted. In essence, promotion and relegation from Super League will still exist in its current guise on the basis the club coming up is the same grade as the clubs going down. Grade A clubs will be exempt from Super League relegation.

Hopefully whoever wrote that article has misunderstood. If not, it is enormously worrying and suggests that it has been really poorly thought through, and it’ll be a neither one thing or another, worst of both worlds calamity. Why does nobody associated with RL ever seem to ask ‘what if…?’. The initial announcement seemed pretty coherent. Please, please, please let it be the journalist having grabbed the wrong end of the stick.

It wont be, destined to fail.

Not even surprised.

While there’s no direct quote from an IMG representative, I’m holding out hope. Even then, I’ll be hoping new parent, sleep deprived and confused or something like that.

If it is true, at least it should fail swiftly. I think I’d find something else to do until it passed.

This sounds a lot less like they’ve suddenly lost the plot. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... relegation As a minor quibble, I don’t see why all clubs shouldn’t be re-assessed annually (or, rather, on an ongoing basis to inform an annual decision). Tbf, they might mean that but only the assessments of those currently rated B are relevant to who is in Tier 1 and Tier 2. I know the focus is on improvement and growth, but ‘A’ has to be a standard to maintain as well as reach.

This sounds a lot less like they’ve suddenly lost the plot. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... relegation As a minor quibble, I don’t see why all clubs shouldn’t be re-assessed annually (or, rather, on an ongoing basis to inform an annual decision). Tbf, they might mean that but only the assessments of those currently rated B are relevant to who is in Tier 1 and Tier 2. I know the focus is on improvement and growth, but ‘A’ has to be a standard to maintain as well as reach.

St Helen’s. Still living rent free in your head lmao

St Helens.

I believe they've paid nothing and IMG will make their money if they get improved TV deals, sponsorships etc plus whatever profit they make by integrating RL into their own products