Im sure they could pick up Leigh for a bag of soft mints. They couldnt do any worse than the last lot.

But a feeder club system only works in conjunction with a franchised top flight system, something which ideally won't be needed in the future. When SL & the Championship are strong enough to support P&R again then you will inevitably end up with an SL team's feeder club being promoted to SL. Which is obviously unacceptable.
If feeder clubs are to brought in they have to be new clubs in a new, additional, separate league that has no relationship to SL. But as I said there isn't the money, players or spectators available for that.

It's not often I agree with Starbug

but I do on this occasion. Yes at this point in time York are nowhere close to SL, but if I win Euromillions next week they'll suddenly get an awful lot closer. You can't simply take existing clubs and tack them on to SL clubs just because of location. For instance Leeds' natural feeder club would be Hunslet, yet they actually have far closer links with York, Whitehaven & even Quins than they do with Hunslet. Plus like Starbug points out, how are the SL clubs going to find the money to subsidise these feeder clubs when they can't generate enough income to properly fund themselves let alone another club.

I would not be happy about my club becoming a feeder club. It's patronising to think that championship clubs will sell their souls for a few crumbs from the SL table.
Who wants to support a club whose players can be whisked away at a moment's notice, whose loyalties lie not with them but the 'big brother' outfit up the road, whose team will naturally be looked down on by supporters of the bigger club?
I know all players will want to rise up in the game, and that's fair enough. But I think the feeder system is belittling to smaller clubs, who are, after all, representing the local community in which they are based as things stand at the moment, and that's as it should be.
I want Keighley Cougars to represent Keighley, not the -end of Leeds Rhinos or whatever.

On feeder clubs there are many in Oz, in both NSW and QLD. A lot of them have tie ups with NRL sides. I can give you a bit of background on one in particular.

The North Sydney Bears are in every comp they can be in, in the NSWRL. Their highest grade is at present the NSW Cup. They played here ever since the Northern Eagles joint venture fell through and the licence went to Manly. They have since signed agreements to be a feeder club for the Melbourne Storm in 2005 and 06 and from 2007-present the South Sydney Rabbitohs. With whom they have struck another one year deal for next season.

The way it works is that they an independent club and a member of the NSWRL, they have their own Leagues Club who fund them as well as the other sponsors they have. All to the tune of over $500,000p.a. They select and pick their own players to play in the comp. Now, what Souths have is a first grade squad (which has varied in size from year to year) who all train together during the week. Now of course if they have 25 fit players ready for the weekend, 18 of them will go to their game. Depending on when it's played the 18th man can play for the reserve grade if he doesn't play first grade. So, the other first graders go back and play for Norths. They get first option to play and Norths' coach goes to training with Souths and all the grades have the same calls and plays, so everyone is interchangeable at the drop of a hat. This is, as someone has pointed out earlier, where George Burgess played this season, scoring 3 tries and taking the last goal kick of the season (which was a shocker but a laugh as they'd lost the game). If Souths send back 7 players, then 7 Norths players make way and play in the district's A Grade comp.

Both Norths and Souths are independent clubs. Souths save money on players and don't need to have a reserve grade squad as well as a first grade one. If they comp was won by Norths, then it's their name that goes on the trophy, irrelevant of who was playing for them.


Here is a list of teams meant to be in next season's NSW Cup (NRL teams in NSW reserve grade)

SOUTHS - North Sydney Bears.
MANLY - Manly
PARRAMATTA - Wentworthville
PENRITH - Windsor Wolves
ROOSTERS - Newtown
NZ WARRIORS (believe it or not, fly to oz for every away game) - Auckland Vulcans
BULLDOGS - Canterbury Bulldogs
SHARKS - Cronulla AND MELBOURNE STORM's team in NSW as they ahve others in QLD
TIGERS - both Balmain Tigers & Wests Magpies
DRAGONS - Illawarra
RAIDERS - Mounties

How much do they pay ?

My club is in super league, and this is exactly my sentiment. Keighley should be a proud independent entity and if they go into partnership with leeds or cas or whoever it should be to the benefit of both clubs and not this ridiculous notion of "feeder" and "fed".

If we we're setting up a competition from scratch tomorrow this might be a viable idea....but we're not. Asking founder clubs of the game to become nothing more than puppets is unfair and disrespectful.

Who pay what or whom?

How nuch do the NRL clubs pay their ' feeder clubs ' ?

$0.

Starbug, i believe the 'payoff' for the feeder clubs is having access to several of the first grade squad each week without them actually being on the feeder clubs payroll, therefore saving them a sum of wages.

Would you want Widnes to be a feeder club though?

Its not having access to those players. Its your parent team telling you to take these players and play them which sort of goes against the reason to be running a competitive club.

Probably not dalto my good man. I was just anticipating a follow up question from starbug regarding what exactly feeder clubs do get 'payed' in these relationships.
Besides, we would be the ones looking for a feeder club now if this happened

Vikings bow to no man!

Not sure I'd want another team bowing to us though either. Seems a bit...kinky.

Very few people would identify and ally themselves to a feeder club. It would destroy whatever self-respect is left in lower league clubs and, eventually, finish them off for good.

Stupid, pointless idea. Won't work. Forget it

So basically the idea is that up to 7 SL standard players would be loaned to the Championship club (injury permitting) on a weekly basis. 7 players that the Championship clubs (who we are constantly reminded don't have much money) wouldn't have to pay for, that are most likely of a better standard than their current squad, train full time and will most likely make them more competitive. The Championship club keeps complete independence and gets all the benefits from having these players.

Why wouldn't they want them? They take dual reg players from SL. What's the difference?

You've not exactly given the full story here have you?

But let's ask another question. Would you, in all honesty, be happy for Hull FC to be a feeder club to Hull KR?

Yeah, cos thats relevant.

It's more relevant than you will ever be.

Its also more of a massive red herring than I will ever be. But sadly its just about as stupid as you will always be.

It's an interesting idea , and it might well end up happening , we might have to end up accepting that the sport of RL can only support a dozen English clubs , 11 of which are in a line across the pennines , very much a small minority sport

I'd worry about this but then I remember it comes from a nonentity who doesn't get the hint.

Relative to what? How many top flight football clubs are there in the biggest county in the UK? How popular is RU in the north? How many athletics meets do you know of which will attract 70k attendances?

RL is a relatively large sport, where it is strong it is very very strong, for some reason however, it is at times terrified of making itself strong in new areas.

Would you really?

And feeder clubs would reduce the strength of RL , in the context it is being used here , where long standing historical clubs are being suggested as becoming them

It would reduce the Championships to whichever club was lucky enough to have it's ' parent ' club have the fewest injuries , I seriously doubt many fans would be happy to pay to watch that

No I don't suppose I would. I mean, I could go around in circles with you about how much we hate each other but there are better things to do with both our times. You know you're not going to get a proper debate with me and that's because I know you are a fraud who is playing games but it's nice to get a reminder from you from time to time that I'm right about that.

Good evening!