look people in wales, scotland, london, newcastle etc simply dont, and wont, care about rugby league

this is not the case in cumbria, so why the hell havent the rfl tried it there?

the rfl I imagine would love a team in cumbria however they do not have the facilities/fan base to support a superleague club, unless there was a joining of all three of the clubs which I know wouldn't go down to well.

Barrow, Workington, Whitehaven, Carlisle, you don't think that is enough of a try? If you can get a couple of areas to even talk to each other the they may have a chance of an SL spot but don't hold your breath.

Workington were in the first SL. We failed. No desire to repeat the whole sorry experience thanks.

That didn't stop them trying it in South Wales, did it?

I can just see all the sponsors and TV companies scrambling to get on the SL bandwagon once we have crcked the mega market of....cumbria....

Too sp and spread out a population sadly. Always been a strong producer of talent but simply not a big enough population centre anywhere to sustain a SL team.

Why do you think?

i think it is due to a phobia of doing the right thing

a joint venture could well be the solution for a potential SL bid.

this would only be if the clubs involved wanted it of course.

they could retain separate entities in NL1 or 2.

The prospect of a super league club succeeding in Cumbria is far stronger today than when Workington occupied a place during the inaugural season.

Also the advent of National League clubs being feeder clubs to the super league teams makes the possibility of one unified Cumbrian super league franchise becoming a reality.

Workington, Whitehaven and Barrow could all retain their own identity whilst providing the county's top talent to the super league outfit. The blueprint for this is in the south of France and the Catalan Dragons.

Too much Cumbrian talent is currently exported to the clubs along the M62 corridor, a super league franchise would allow Cumbrian players to stay within their county and play the role of hometown heroes to the next generation of players.

A cumbrian sl team would be great for the game, not sure if would ever happen, but the likes purdham, mcnally, lupton, amor, graham etc (all of whom qualify to play for cumbria) all playing in the same team sounds good to me.

Um, I do care about Rugby League.

No, you don't. You're not allowed.

2 reasons. Population and politics. If Workington, Barrow and Whitehaven wanted it, then it could happen. No chance individually. There's no point blaming the RFL.

Of course, how silly of me. My fault for being Southern.

Yes. it is.

Absolute nonsense.

These clubs struggle to keep their heads above water now financially, for them to compete for paying speccies with a SL club in the area would kill them off completely. Most people would not be able to afford either the time or the money to support 2 clubs every weekend.

Your comparison with France is totally flawed. They don't play at the same time of year and are therefore not competing for the same spectators. The only way such a proposal could ever work in West Cumbria (and forget Barrow it's too far away) is if the Championship reverted back to winter rugby.

Barrow RL, CAN GO IT ALONE.

Everything both on & off the pitch is on the up and has increased every year in the last four years and is expected to increase again next season.
Support, interest, lottery, merchandice, etc

Look at the Barrow born players currently playing SL
1,Gardner
2,Gardner
3,Lupton
4,Harrison
5,Wilkes

Apoligies if i,ve missed anyone off this list.

Several Barrow born u18/u16 players are earning rave reviews in various SL academy sides.

Add to the mix ((if)) Barrow RL were in the SL then several of the Cumbrian West coast lads would probably rather play for Barrow SL Club than the others, not all and maybe not the most but some.

If Barrow were really competing in the SL then probably most would want to stay local-ish.

BARROW RUGBY LEAGUE for SUPERLEAGUE.

You can have that great useless lump we have.

Of course, people love to blame the RFL for the lack of a Cumbrian team in SL, even though it's through no fault of the RFL.

Cumbrian clubs shouldn't be "helped" any more than any other established club should be "helped". If Haven, Barrow or Workington can't come up with the on and off field package to even put together a licence application, never mind a succesful one, then that's their issue to overcome, not the RFL's.

IIRC, Whitehaven have still to make any steps to deliver on the ground improvement promise that they made (regardless of the result) prior to the 2005 Grand Final.

Was going to say the exact same thing.

Barrow-in-Furness is in Lancashire, not Cumberland. Workington, Whitehaven, Carlilse etc. are in Cumberland.

It's not 1971 anymore.

And who mentioned Cumberland? We're talking about Cumbria here.

Doing the right thing?

Whitehaven - ground... 7,500 max and nowhere near premier; average... 2,000 max; Have been a fairly competitive side throughout the NLs.
Barrow - ground... 6,500 max and nowhere near premier; average... 2,000. Have been in and out of the two lower divisions for years. Only this year have been competitive.
Workington - ground... 10,000 and nowhere near premier; average... 600. Not been in second tier for 7 years.

None of these were good enough this time last year to apply. In fact, only one was able to apply as the other two were in NL2 that year, and that team didn't even apply anyway.

So if by the "right thing" you mean the RFL should put a team in the SL that didn't even apply because even they didn't think they were good enough, then yes: the RFL are definitely afraid of doing "the right thing", and rightly so!