The RFL want the fans of Championship clubs , and the clubs themselves to focus less on a ' SL is all ' attitude and just enjoy playing in ' Worth winning in their own right competitions '

Maybe they ought to tell SKY , because all they ever talk about is ' Ticking a SL application box ' whenever they mention the NRC final

If the RFL brought back P&R the championship would become worth winning once more.

ssssshhhh. You've done it now! The championship clubs are supposed to quietly wither and die. And if you say different then you are a "flatcapper"

PS my good man starry - you know whether it's vibrant and worth winning. Why bang on about SL box ticking if it is? All roads lead to expensive and failed licence application

I can't help comparing my elation at the end of 80 amazing minutes of the 2006 NL1 GF with the sight of some widnes fans hearing their teams name read out

That's the thing though RM , SKY are fixated with SL , to the point that that is all they keep mentioning , and people wonder why fans end up thinking like they do , you can guarantee they will mention it countless times on Sunday , and as soon as it is obvious which team has won , they will mention it again straight away

I meant it was a great feeling winning a game so important rather than just being told "you are in"

Problem is there is so little media for the CC that it isn't surprising it seems meaningless. TBF I don;t know of many 2nd divisions without P&R that get much media or fans, generally they are there as feeders for the top division.

Yeh well bully for you, unfortunately for us that was the path to SL that the RFL set out for us. Either way, the outcome is the same and we deserved that moment of elation just as any other fan would if they were put in that position.

I must admit I don't think the Championship or the NR Cup is done any favours when Sky refer to it more as a route to SL rather than success in its own right.

The NRC is a mid season shot in the arm for Fax and Leigh, so im guessing they'll take the money and run.
This box ticking nonsense is irrelavent though, if Red Hall wants you, you'll get in.

Super Duper League just keeps getting better and better


Or is that revenue from Sponsorship and nicely laminated Marketing portfolios are getting better and better?

Just get rid of the boxes and give us some god dam dignity back.

Same here RM , the 2004 final was a classic , and really put us on an emotional roller coaster

Thats why I won't watch any Championship games when we get evicted from the closed shop next week. To me all games are meaningless, no promotion has totally devalued the competition. What exactly is there to get the emotions going? I've always dreamed of the possability of big days at Wembley or Old Trafford that dream is closed if your in the lower leagues!

Ideally it should be both but unfortunately the competition does not get significant until the semi finals, its something of a chore up until then with too many dead games.

That said I am sure both fax and Leigh fans will enjoy the final a lot. Playing it in Blackpool is a great idea as the day becomes something of a celebration of rugby league.

The NRC final and the Championship GF. Great day out and we had a hell of a game last year against Fev - golden point drop goal winner. The match/gameday is what you make it. Forget the politics and concentrate on the Rugby League. Why else do you fork out cash at the turstile? When your team is at the top and winning it's still a great feeling.

There's still enough interest and excitement to keep me going watching Leigh at Championship level.

However, comparing the period between 1999 and 2004, during which time Leigh were pushing for lower league honours, there was a pathway to the top flight that revolved around winning a competition. Every season there was something very meaningful and exciting to play for.

The current scenario doesn't excite me though: Hypothetically Leigh could win NR Cup tomorrow, which will be great in the here and now. Then with SL ambitions, Leigh could then spend the next 2 1/2 seasons doing nothing much on the field. We'd need to concentrate on the building the business side of things. Then, on some random weekday in 2014 we'll be notified by press release if we've been accepted or not.

I'd be happy, I believe, but as a sports fan it doesn't get my blood pumping.

And it's not even the worst case scenario for getting to SL. Consider that we could follow a very similar path, but replace winning the NR Cup with losing a Grand Final and we can get there without any notable sporting achievements.

And it's all very similar to what has happened at Widnes this time. Widnes have spent 3 seasons being distinctly average at Championship level, but they're going to SL.

I'm sure it was far more exciting for Widnes fans when they won the GF back in 2001.

So tomorrows winner will tick an application for super league box.isn't that unfair on Wakefield who will only get two bites of the cherry in the NRC(2012/13) as opposed to the others getting three (2011/12/13)

No, because they'll have a bigger salary cap allowance. Swings and roundabouts. They should sweep the board next year whilst the rest of the clubs play their "bit part" roles on a £300k cap before Wakey get shunted back into SL, some say in 2013. (tis only a rumour though, before tb puts his pedantic "fact hat" on)

You might want to take a closer look at the process. It's an arbitrary process, not a fair process.

Fairness doesn't even enter in to the equation. Wakefield won't be disadvantaged, because they'll get back to SL if the RFL want them. If they don't, someone else will be given the chance.

The results of the process can be debated, but the way it's done gives the RFL the power to chose whoever they want without any true justification for their reasons behind it.

Yeah well, bully for you then

Championship is boring.

We've won the Grand Final, been to blackpool. Had our win in the challenge cup at an SL side.

Now I'm waiting for my team to lose its attendances, go into administration and die slowly and the RFL will just look the other way and be glad to see us lose the proud history of our club.

Except the result isn't the same, because you'd have never got to SL on the back of a NR Cup win in previous seasons. You've been decidedly average for 3 seasons and under P&R you wouldn't have deserved a place in the top flight. But you can qualify now by not winning a damn thing, so I suppose you did win something at least.

its amazing some people stilll dont get it. Im too tired of this to bother explaining it again.

Don't get what?

That the RFL are hand picking teams for Super League based on criteria that have little to not to do with sport? I think I've figured that one...

Or something else?

They are also hand picking reasons to keep teams in, under the 2008 criteria Crusaders would be well and truly below Wakefield and Halifax. Come 2015 the RFL will simply put who ever they want in SL and make the rules up to fit. Already it's been said that Toulouse going back to the French league won't effect there application for 2015. All very convenient now that they won't after compete with the rest of us riff raff to win the GF or the NRC.