Anyone know when it is and how its going to work ??

who do you think will be in and out of super league ??

salford,almost definatley will make way for the chemics imo,has work even started on there new ground yet and when it does they won't get a decent crowd there i think i am ight in sayng they're only four players sgned on for next year or something daft like that not to menshion there non existant away following.widnes have the stadium, the coach

and meet alot of the super league franchise criteria,i hope they do aswell i miss the derbies with widnes and love going to the stobart.wouldn't mind leigh back in sl aswell.

I suspect Harlequins, Salford, Crusaders and Wakefield will be under the spotlight. Maybe Hull KR.

I fully expect the RFL to bend over backwards for Harlequins and Crusaders (rather than admit defeat etc). Widnes should get a franchise hopefully.

castleford could well be in trouble.

Aye. I think their planned new stadium may help them. But again there are a number of teams in the lower leagues with modern stadia too which are already built.

are`nt they sharing with wakey..for me anyone who`s ground has not had a brick laid should be booted out or suffer a points deduction..

It's licence.

Bradford, Catalans, Huddersfield, Hull, Hull KR (they'll keep doing bits of stadium up), Leeds, St Helens, Warrington, Wigan all certs.

Quins not being in is unimaginable.

I think Salford will also get in, assuming the stadium has at least started.

Widnes will be in.

Whichever of Wakey and Cas has a new stadium, or most advanced in the planning stage, will get in.

If Crusaders keep up attendances rest of this year, they'll be in.

That's it, I think.

castlefield hornets.

Now I'm fed up of this constant criticising of Quins and Crusaders inclusion in the SL. How can you say that Crusaders have not been a success? They are far more competitive than some teams this year and are sitting one win behind Leeds in the table. They have passionate fans and although there has been some off-field messing about they generally are going in the right direction. I can only see onwards and upwards for Crusaders.

Quins are a difficult one. There are many things going against them, not the least of which is their on-field performance and crowd numbers. However, they have the bonus of being a team in the capital with a massive potential pool of fans. The same can hardly be said of Salford, who have 4 other SL teams within a half hour drive, if you include Crusaders. Not to mention the lower league teams like Widnes, Leigh, Swinton, Oldham.... That massively reduces the potential crowd numbers in a region that is already saturated with RL teams.

I would rather see Quins and Crusaders (and Catalans) in the SL than Widnes and Leigh. The last thing our sport needs is to become more segregated from the rest of the country. If we insist on keeping this Lancashire/Yorkshire insular attitude our sport will die. Plus Leigh would get destroyed in SL and I'm not convinced Widnes wouldn't either.

Cas & Salford are the 2 most at risk of losing their place IMO. Quins are on a good run of form lately, have some good youth coming through and have the stadium & location going for them.

Can see Widnes & Barrow taking their places.

i would love to see widnes in SL but i think the RFL will take a massive dump on them from a great height.

I just base it on poor attendances and the clear lack of desire within their vicinty for pro RL. In Crusaders case the debacle of the move to Wrexham has totally undermined the South Wales initiative.

With respect to your comment on Harlequins, I have watched a "team in the capital with a massive potential pool of fans" since 1983. In fact one of our coaches came from there. At some point the "potential" needs to be realised. 27 years later we are still waiting.

I cannot see how Leigh would be "destroyed" when considering the benefit of a 3 year franchise and revenues. If Noble can cobble together a stray side in Wales in a few months because of the franchise, I'm pretty sure Millward who has worked with the players previously could.


Anyway, I'm not an expanionist. I'm a realist. I believe RL is a regional sport and I cannot for the life of me see what is wrong with that. To that end I lament the loss of a por SL Cumbrian side.

In closing I have no problem with Catalans as they are a well supported side playing in an RL heartland, not an artificial inplant propped up by the cash from other regions.

PS would your expansionist views hold true if presently Warrington were in the position of Widnes and vice versa? Would you happily agree for Warrington to remain in the 2nd tier of RL to favour Crusaders?

Barrow Raiders for super league, if cas, salford and wakey can play in super league with there stadiums then craven park should'nt be a issue.

I do not agree with you about Widnes and crowd numbers in the area.I am a Widnes fan, and i go through thick and thin.I hate the poor away support coming to Widnes, and i know alot who do not go ,as we are not in the top tier.If Widnes diminished i would not support any other team.I would stick to watching football.More people in Widnes and Runcorn would watch Widnes if was in superleague.I know 5 in my family who will go once in superleague.If wire was in our postion you would not think like that.

There is unlikely to be any great change because the clubs in NL aren't strong enough to make a success of a franchise. Widnes, Leigh etc, if they came up, would do no better than Salford now....ie be bottom 2/3 every year, struggle to attract players, struggle for crowds.

The irony is if Salford were down in NL1 at the moment everybody would be taking it as read that they would be the team to get a franchise, because they would be so obviously stronger than the others down there.

They've already said at least 1 NL1 club will get in though, that has to be Widnes imo. They should have got in the first time round as they have the stadium, following and academy all set up correctly. Salford are going to struggle to stay in.

I hear what you're saying, we played Fev, never got out of second gear and still won comfortably (they did make a better go of it than Salford though)

I think Widnes could attract players though, they have good facilities and a decent fan base considering.

I disagree widnes came 7th in their first season up and crowds where better than wakey,salford,london,cas etc.Widnes have a good academy now beating Warrington the other week.We have a owner who has money to spend and we will do well if given a chance.Widnes for me anyday.

For me Widnes should get a licence (good ground, stable financially, meet the criteria) with the one from the SL to go either Castleford or Wakefield on the basis that they haven't got new grounds. The RFL will bend over backwards to keep Salford as they are desperate to keep a "Manchester" team.

The difference this time will be that a lot of clubs were given a degree of latitude because of their stadium situations 'we're just finalising funding' 'all the cash is in place we're starting the groundwork shortly'. That won't wash this time. The obvious candidates for expulsion are Wakefield, Cas and Salford. The only genuine promotion candidate is widnes probably. I know stadium quality is not the only criteria but if all of those 3 are still bluffing their way through the process, they'll be in serious doubt (which one you'd pick I'd don't know).

As for us, well, biased though I am our application is stronger this time round because we've achieved on field success. Say what you like, sex starved fans of other RL teams, but 2009 was a year of the wolf whether your joyless existence allows you to accept that or not.

The RFL will probably give Tolouse a license....

According to a mate who knows Bobbie Goulding, BG reckons that Paris will get a licence. If you're reading this Bobbie - stay off the sauce.

Can't see why Widnes should get a licence. It is a village between St Helens and Warrington and it is not sustainable to have a Super League located there.

It manages to sustain a healthy amateur society with large numbers of open age and junior players with an enthisiastic service area set-up, in some respects better than Warrington. Our record signing also happens to be from Widnes.

It would be criminal if they don't get a SL licence.

Well that's them and Featherstone in Super League then.