With all that's been going on lately how would you restructure?

Promotion & Relegation

2 into 3 tier system

Stay as we are

I for one would like to see Promotion & Relegation which would give more for the bottom clubs to play for.


I would also like to see a game to kick off the season League winners Vs Grand Final Winners (yes this would be like Community Shield ) but this could be a game that went to different parts of the Country to show case the game.

All clubs from grass roots to international under the same roof. 12 team top division, top 5 playoff, 12 team second division with the same structure, playoff between second division winner and bottom of first division to decide relegation/ promotion.

For this to work though the salary cap gap needs to be narrowed - I don't know enough about the finances of championship clubs to know how feasible it is, there are a few chairmen making noise though so it could be.

I think the bigger issue is not just the structure but the bigger direction the game is taking.

Both divisions have to negotiate there own tv deals and the finance for both is split equally 13 ways in the division (1 per club and one for the governing body). They should also to retain the right to redistribution in other countries - if Catalans have their own tv deal why can't we sign a deal for tv in Australia? The amount tv company's pay for the Nrl having English rugby at a quarter of the price should be attractive surely.

There needs to be a 10/30/50 year plan published, to the clubs, and to everyone laying out how the governing body plans to sustain, expand and develop the game in "the heartlands", across the country and internationally.

Marketing and finance targets also need to be put into action. A lot has been spoken about how the game is struggling to attract sponsors - so there needs to be a plan to change the image to attract the sponsors without alienating the core fan base (not an easy task I appreciate).

The academy structure also needs looking at but that's a whole other debate

Time to cut losses and go semi pro again

Ideally, I would go for a 12 or even 10 team comp. but the financial pull the second tier would be so little, it would knock clubs so hard it could see them off.

So that poses the question of making the league bigger, to add some clubs to the wealthier state of SL. Is it feasable/sustainable. I'm not sure it is on a long term basis, but it would help the Sheffield's/Featherstone's/Halifax's etc to have a Wigan/Leeds game to advertise to try and gain interest in the short term. But where to go from their?

Maybe more teams could be an option?

12/14 team comp, P&R. Newly promoted team exempt from relegation the first year. Top 5 play-offs.

Oh and a team who can get us a title sponsor (I genuinely don't believe it would be that hard to sell our game to a sponsor.)

Given a new script to start again.

I would go NFL divisional. 2 European SL Divisions with national leagues running underneath.

Winning your national league would give you the opportunity to apply to the European SL. However there would be a minimum stadium criteria and a finance criteria. In terms of finance; for the period of the franchise 3-5 years the club has to be able to show they can finance a full time side for the period at a minimum salary cap (£1.2 million per year say) and if we want to be strict about it, the money can be held on account by the ESL to guarantee the payments.

In terms of a top salary cap I would have a limit, but the limit would be set by the clubs ability to break even. Basically £1.2 would be the lower limit if you want to spend more you can, just increase revenues and profits and you can spend pretty much what you like.

Given the current situation it would be tricky to say who would be in the league as we can't be certain whether some will make it through the next year, but in an ideal world I would also add Toulouse and Wrexham and I would be hoping there is enough demand to offer London some rivalry closer to home, but all would have to be able to match the new rules, no exceptions.

My preference would be for 2 SL divisions of 8.

That's 21 games within your own division and 7 cross divisional games.

The mix up of games and having 2 divisions would make the playoffs more viable as the whole concept that the top of the league is the best team is taken out by having 2 divisions and an uneven set of games.

There is no particular reason why it has to stay as 2 divisions. In future years if new viable franchises come, it could increase to 3. Also if teams fold then the divisions can adjust. No reason to have an even number of teams in either division.

I would have the world club championship every 4 years, with the world cup following 2 years later.
Winning the GF will give you qualification to enter the WCC. So a comp made of 8 teams, 4 from ESL and 4 from NRL.
In between the years of the WCC and WC, you could have tours.

However, given our current finances I can never see clubs going for it as it would probably cause an initial drop in TV revenues, but I think you could sell it. I also think it could raise more money as it would allow teams to come in, but would also lay it on the line that you need to have the backing financially.

I'd go with a structure of:

12 team Super League of:
Wigan
Saints
Leeds
Warrington
Huddersfield
Bradford
Hull FC
Hull KR
Salford
Cas or Wakefield
Catalans
Toulouse

A 5 year licence. A much more rigorous and transparent licensing system that evaluates all major aspects of the club. Provide a rating for each area (academy, junior development, finances, marketing etc) along with targets for the end of the licence period and an overall rating of the club as a whole. All published and freely available.

A licensing board to be established to oversee the evaluations and licence decisions. Led by a 3-man panel. 1 representative from the RFL, 1 appointed by the SL clubs and 1 appointed by the lower league clubs.
This system to be guaranteed for at least 2 licence periods (ie 10 years) to provide short to medium term certainty.

23 game SL season. Home & Away games plus Magic Weekend.

Top 6 playoff system.

A 12 team Championship of:
Cas or Wakefield
Widnes
London Broncos (preferably renamed an area of London where they will finally put down some roots)
Featherstone
Sheffield
Halifax
Leigh
Batley
Doncaster
Dewsbury
Workington
Whitehaven

Straight P&R with Championship One. 2 up, 2 down. 22 game season plus NRC.

14 team Championship One:
Swinton
Keighley
Barrow
Hunslet
York
North Wales
Oldham
Rochdale
London Skolars
Hemel
Oxford
Gateshead
South Wales
Gloucestershire

Straight 26 game season.


Challenge Cup
Moved earlier in the season.
SL clubs to come in at least 1, possibly 2 rounds earlier.
When playing a lower league club, SL clubs to be restricted to same quota rules as lower league clubs.
All amateur leagues to not play games on the same days as semi finals and final
Scheme to be established similar to RFU scheme with Union amateur clubs for internationals where amateur clubs get a percentage of the ticket price for selling tickets and organising trips to semi finals and final.
RFL to organise favourable prices for coaches/minibuses and other travel for amateur clubs organising trips.

Amateur game

Radical overhaul needed. To be put directly under control of RFL.
Much bigger emphasis on enjoyment and participation.
Harsher bans for players, coaches and club officials.
Stricter punishments for clubs and club officials.
Annual, local RL festivals to be organised in an area involving local clubs of all sizes.

TV money distribution

Currently it's dispersed as follows:
14/16ths to SL clubs
1/16th to Championships Clubs
1/16th to RFL

Which, assuming a £90m 5 year tv deal equates to:
£15.75m to SL clubs (£1.125m each club currently)
£1.125m to Championships Clubs (approx £50k per club)
£1.125m to RFL

I'd change it to:
12/18ths to SL clubs
2/18ths to Championship Clubs
1/18th to Championship One Clubs
1/18th to RFL
2/18ths to central pot to market Championships clubs and games

Which equates to (assuming same TV deal):
£12m to SL clubs (£1m per club)
£2m to Championship Clubs (approx £166k per club)
£1m to Championship One Clubs (approx £71k per club)
£1m to RFL
£2m to central pot

Dual Reg & Quotas

I'd keep the Dual Reg system, as long as it's voluntary.
There's rumours that the RFL have relaxed the Non-Fed Trained rules from 5 to 7. Which is a backward step in my opinion. I don't mind exemptions for some in certain circumstances (the Crusaders issue for example) but I'd reduce it further to 4.

World Club Challenge

Introduce a 6 team (3 SL, 3 NRL) comp, or rather 2 separate comps.
There'd be the World Club Challenge, same as now. The SL Grand Final winner vs the NRL Grand Final winner. Rotates each year from UK to Australia.

A separate World Club Plate (or whatever you want to call it)
4 teams (2 SL, 2 NRL)
Semis of:
Challenge Cup winner (or runner up if winner has done the double) vs NRL next highest placed
Highest league finisher that's not the Cup or GF winner vs NRL next highest placed
Then Final
To be held at same time and place (UK or Australia) as World Club Challenge.

A bit complicated but it guarantees the cup winner and the league leader of a game against NRL opposition.
Something which I'm sure Huddersfield and Warrington fans would have relished.

Internationals

A continuous, 8-year, certain International schedule

Year 1 - GB v Australia Ashes tour in UK
Year 2 - 5 Nations down under involving England, Wales/France, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea
Year 3 - GB v New Zealand 3 Test Series in UK
Year 4 - World Cup down under
Year 5 - Australia v GB Ashes Tour in Australia
Year 6 - 5 Nations here involving England, Wales, France, Australia & New Zealand
Year 7 - New Zealand v GB 3 Test Series in NZ
Year 8 - World Cup in UK

Also an annual mid-season 5 Nations comp here of England, France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland
And an annual mid-season 4 or 5 Nations comp down under of Australia, New Zealand, PNG, Fiji

For England, a 30-man Elite Squad to be announced at the start of the season. All members of that squad to be restricted to playing a maximum of 23 SL or Challenge Cup games in that season (not including playoffs).

Errrrr
Rugby League, in Great Britain is MORE than just SL and the championship.
People seem to have completely forgotten that (if they ever knew)
The Aussies decided to change their whole structure and look what a disaster that turned out to be.multimillion TV rights, the NRL club seen as the pinnacle of a STRUCTURED development system from an early age.
But we don't want that kind of failure in this country we want the success of SL , the financial strength of the Wildcats, Bulls, Vikings and the Reds allied to the success of the Crusaders, Paris Sg, the 5th incarnation of the Keighley club etc.
Additionally we should not forget the exceptional marketing of the game so it can attract new interest. Just think back to oversubscribed launch of SL for 2013. All the clubs represented in their shiny new kits for the media to see. There may have been potentially a couple of colour clashes but that could be rectified by the home team changing strip so the new people would see who the opposition were. The clubs made the bold fashion statement that BLACK did not clash with anything but if it did all resemblance of the clubs true colours were obliterated so that new interest would not realise what was going on. Marketing plus that one.
FWIW I am inclined to state that the game in this country is at its strongest level ever, it's financial acumen is something other sports can only dream about. The game on the field is so good that it is played under so many different rules, with varying amounts of match officials at all levels worldwide, that it is clear and concise to explain, especially to potential investors.
I really struggle to understand why so many posters have negative opinions. Their glass half full ideas are..........

12 or 14 team SL - 1 up and 1 down P & R based on minimum standards.

Appoint people from the NRL to show the RFL how to manage and grow the game?

I'd stop thinking you can run prof RL clubs below the top level on the pittance of money the game has.

12 team closed shop SL, expand if and when there is money and value add brought by new teams.

Salary cap set at same level as SL grant plus a marquee signing allowed outside of salary cap per club

1.3million grant to each SL club, other 2.4mill to run the SL. SL to have its own marketing and promotions arm charged with bringing in money to SL that stays in SL

any other money the RFL can make from CC, Internationals, sponsors etc etc can be dished out to the remaining clubs in the RFL across all levels.

Two divisions of 12 teams.
One up one down.
Top 5 playoff in both divisions to determine champions.
More even distribution of money between All 24 clubs, although some off the payment would be staggered depending on finishing position.

There is nothing wrong with licensing. It works in the NRL

The problem was that there were too many clubs for the number of talented English players available, and for the amount of money being provided by Sky..

There needs to be a licensed 12 team competition, with another French team included in order to assist the growth of the game in France.

The teams should be:

[iWigan
Saints
Warrington
Leeds
Huddersfield
Bradford
Hull FC
Hull KR
Salford
London
Catalans
Toulouse[/i


We need a professional team in London to provide a road to professionalism for the thousands of young amateur rugby league players in the south of England. However London needs to be taken over by News International and subsidised by them temporarily until a new private buyer can be found to join the man who will become minority owner, David Hughes.

To get promoted, it should not be through a play-off. 1st past the post, rewarding the best team throughout the season.

See you've still got 4 teams in that bring no money gain to the home club they're playing.

I only count 2?

i dont count any. Home clubs are responsible for their gates, not away clubs. This away support nonsense is only ever put out there by people wanting to defend their small heartland club on the basis that they will bring 500 fans to an away game when thats about all they will do.

A league of 13/14 is fine for me, with a limited quota of 5 overseas players.

Promotion/relegation of 1 up-1 down depending on the following
The winners of level 2 must pass a minimum standard in terms of facilities and infrastructure and they have the chance to turn down promotion.
if they do turn down promotion, then other clubs at level 2 will get the chance to apply for promotion.
If this happens, only in the case of no other teams applying (or non meeting the minimum criteria) shall the team finishing bottom of Superleague keep their top flight status.

A return to the top 5 playoff system is the key for me. This will feature only teams that are in with a reasonable chance of winning, it also favours the league finish more (to win, you have to beat every team that finished above you). The fewer number of team will also stop top clubs resting on their laurels, knowing they'll easily get into the 8.

I've been quite a fan of the DR system, to be honest. I think kids benefit from playing against physically mature opposition. I'd like to see this sort of thing continued. P&R may cock it up a bit, but the basis is sound imo.

I would like to see a fourteen team top division, one up one down.

Have a top five play-off with the team finishing top straight to the G.F & that applies to the Championship also.

If the club who attains promotion gets into financial difficulties by either winning the Championship or attempting to stay in the top flight – unlucky.

SL 1 - 12 teams

SL 2 - 12 teams

P&R for top and bottom clubs

More prestige for the team who finishes top (ie call them Champions, because they have been the best all season)

Top 5 play offs based on the old Aussie format

Winners to called Premiers

ie Huddersfield are the rightful champions and Wigan are the Premiers.

Who would bother going to watch the Final to name Wigan premiers? Who would have bothered going to watch 10 of the 14 teasm who were going to be neither champions nor relegated for about a third of the season? Who is going to watch SL2 that isnt going to watch the Championships now?

It is my opinion that the top of the league team should be the champions, call me old fashioned, but a team that has performed as well as Huddersfield have this season deserve the accolade.

Would RL be any different to any other league that has P&R, the Premier League has games that are between teams 11 & 12 in March, having P&R is better than having a game between London & Wakefield as the bottom two the week before the play offs with no meaning, in fact a few seasons ago we had a Cas v Wakey game to decide relagation and it was (for a neutral) a great bit of entertainment.

Call the second tier what you want, but if the top 4 are in touch with each other with 6 weeks to go, knowing that a place in SL is beckoning, it would be a good for the game and would make good TV (I for one would watch them).

At the moment the bottom three or four have nothing to play for past christmas, at least P&R would change that.

I have remained consistant in my belief that P&R is the only fair way, even when my own club were stairing down the barrel. If your bottom, you deserve to go down and give someone else a chance.

First thing I'd do is impose the following on the decision-making process: A club should have exactly the same number of votes at any RFL/whatever-new-structure meeting as it's previous year's average attendance. That way, we don't have clubs that don't know how to attract fans wielding the same influence as those that do. You want the voice of your club to have more influence? Better start turning up then. Wigan and Leeds currently 'represent' far more RL fans than say, Huddersfield, so decisions made at the RFL/SL/whatever affect more people supporting those clubs. Chairpeople might not listen to any fans, but if they do, it'll be the fans of their own team over those of any others, so at least there's some attempt at fairness in representation. If the Chairman of your own club is voting the wrong way in your opinion, you can attempt to tell him what you think.

Its not old fashioned, for the majority of our games history our champions have been decided in a play-off.

Compare Wakefields attendance that season even including the stars aligning to create that game to this years. The PL has european qualification to keep relevance.

So why didn’t it?
That being the case why didn’t P+R solve the games problems? Why were the bottom SL teams still poorly attended (in many cases even more poorly attended than now), Why weren’t the championship clubs well attended? Why wasn’t the game more visible with P+R? Why weren’t TV companies falling over themselves to broadcast the championships?

Its not a question of will P+R work, or will the champions being decided by a league work. We know how it will turn out. We had it for years, we saw the problems it caused. Its why we changed it.

Was it really? It was a match in which two sets of people were fighting for their ability to pay their mortgage for the next year, rather than the pinnacle of what this sport can offer.

It was "entertainment" in the same sense that watching Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh make teenagers cry on camera is "entertainment".