Agree with this, I can't stand loop fixtures the league is not a fair system when you don't play the same fixtures as everybody else. That doesn't necessarily affect the top team but around the bottom of the playoffs and relegation if the points are tight it leaves a bit of a sour taste IMO. I think 2 leagues of 10 would really put me off rugby league.

Plus I think it devalues the big game feel between us and our nearest rivals a little. It's all just a bit too familiar a routine.

As I said, plenty don't like them, I personally don't mind them. As a Wire fan I'd be confident we would get a better home attendance for Hull FC at home for the second / third time (taking in to account play offs / challenge cups) than Featherstone at home and I'd look forward to it more too.

Maybe that wouldn't be the case for Wakefield, maybe playing Wigan for the second / third time at home would get a lower home crowd than Leigh at home?

What happens to Bradford, London, Sheffield, York, Newcastle & Widnes in the 14? if as expected franchising comes in, they are left kicking their heels trying to be in a position to get a licence in 3 years time, when they get one having to recruit an entire new playing staff. What happens to Wakefield if they are bottom of the pile when the next round of licences are given out and we have a resurgent Bradford replacing them with a new stadium in the bag (ok unlikely!), where does that leave Wakefield for 3 years? You could keep P&R I guess, but the gulf between the two comps would be huge, its big now, so would only get bigger with 14.

I understand the feelings about playing teams 3 / 4 / 5 times a year, but there is no silver bullet here, we need the structure (and IMG will be focussing on much more than structure of course) that gives the best option for growth.

My idea for Super League is somewhat radical. And some of the concepts are adjusted from the NFL.

But the first thing I'd do is extend the number of Teams to 24. Lower the cap space to help the Championship clubs that move into the League at first, so top players from Super League can then be spread around the League, and lower the squad sizes. So for example, with a lower cap we might not be able to keep Daryl Clark on the books, but Halifax Panthers can now pick him up and add a top class player to their spine. And this can happen for all other teams. 3 Teams up and down every 3 years. And every 3 years we can also look at the value of the game and see if clubs can afford to increase their salary cap. The NFL Salary Cap changes year by year according to the value and profits of the game.

Play each team once. 11 home, 11 away, 1 Magic Weekend. Show 1 game live on YouTube for free on a Saturday and Sunday. Change from a point system to a record system. So if you win all 23 games you don't have 46 points, you're 23-0. This is another NFL concept which I think has a positive effect on how we view team progress year by year.

I think having more teams gives the League Leaders Shield more value... But then have 12 teams for playoffs, with the top 4 getting a BYE in the first round. Then you get 5th vs 12th, 6th vs 11th etc, so the extra teams that qualified have to get to the next stage on merit against tough opponents, whilst the best teams earn a rest and extra progress into the bracket.

Overtime should always find a winner. Teams get 2 straight sets to score points. This is another NFL-like concept I'd love to see... We get possession of the ball and we can either get a drop goal, penalty, try or try + conversion. After our possession, the other team gets their chance. If they don't match the points we got, we win. If they equalise, we start the process again. If they score more than we did, they win the game.

And finally, a new thought I've had on sin bins and red cards. I honestly think it ruins the game. I know old-school fans will say it has always been fine, but I think big games are ruined by cards. Take the GF between Wigan vs Saints for example, when Ben Flower was a bit naughty. He made the error but the team didn't, so I think a better solution would be to also copy the NFL on this and simply eject them from the game. Wigan put another man on the field but they now have to deal with having 3 subs, and they may have to change the structure. So with a Yellow or Red Card, the player is off, but the team still retains 13 players on the pitch. The player is either still gone for 10 minutes or the rest of the game and the team at least have to make changes and deal with some of the issues of missing a player in the squad. And I think teams winning as 13v12 makes wins less valuable/meaningful, since it can cause teams to win or lose matches they otherwise wouldn't if not for a card. Like when we beat Leeds in the first game of the season. Leeds would and should have won that game, but I wasn't even happy when we won. It just felt like a hollow victory.

We keep talking about new people/groups running Super League every few years. But it always feels like the game is getting smaller. Personally, I want to see a radical change to the 'product' and just try something new.

Well, the IMG proposals are in, and it sounds an awful lot like a return to the already tried-and-failed licensing system: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63063549

Well, the IMG proposals are in, and it sounds an awful lot like a return to the already tried-and-failed licensing system: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63063549

Quote ="The Speculator"Well, the IMG proposals are in, and it sounds an awful lot like a return to the already tried-and-failed licensing system: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63063549'" The licensing system failed as it was powerless. The clubs had the say in what happened and voted everything down. The franchise system should have seen every club in SL with a modern facility and a youth system. The sport would have been so much stronger. Instead the likes of Cas, Wakefield and Bradford got away with ignoring all the 'framing the future' requirements and refusing to progress the sport. The problem is that the same will likely happen now. The tinpot clubs are so numerous that they'll vote against everything, but in general the overall vision appears sound. They're trying to encourage clubs to invest and improve to achieve a category A status. If they can fill the top 12 places in SL with category A sides it closes the drawbridge to automatic promotion and relegation, but if they get to that point it will mean incredible progress from what we have now. It means clubs who achieve category A can focus on the long term and not panicking over short term decisions in order to stay up. The likes of Warrington will get a category A licence and won't have to worry about relegation. So blooding youngsters during a rebuilding season like you had last year would have been far easier. We just to see what the categorisation is based on and how enforceable it is. In reality the most likely thing is the clubs voting it down or arguing over it for so long IMG get bored and move on.

Quote ="The Speculator"Well, the IMG proposals are in, and it sounds an awful lot like a return to the already tried-and-failed licensing system: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63063549'" The licensing system failed as it was powerless. The clubs had the say in what happened and voted everything down. The franchise system should have seen every club in SL with a modern facility and a youth system. The sport would have been so much stronger. Instead the likes of Cas, Wakefield and Bradford got away with ignoring all the 'framing the future' requirements and refusing to progress the sport. The problem is that the same will likely happen now. The tinpot clubs are so numerous that they'll vote against everything, but in general the overall vision appears sound. They're trying to encourage clubs to invest and improve to achieve a category A status. If they can fill the top 12 places in SL with category A sides it closes the drawbridge to automatic promotion and relegation, but if they get to that point it will mean incredible progress from what we have now. It means clubs who achieve category A can focus on the long term and not panicking over short term decisions in order to stay up. The likes of Warrington will get a category A licence and won't have to worry about relegation. So blooding youngsters during a rebuilding season like you had last year would have been far easier. We just to see what the categorisation is based on and how enforceable it is. In reality the most likely thing is the clubs voting it down or arguing over it for so long IMG get bored and move on.

Also a middle finger to any aspiring French teams by the looks of it

It just says a cap. That might be 0,1, 2 or 3. Until there is more detail it's hard to say.

Yeh, so a limit. A limit that isn't placed on English teams, infact it actively states it will focus on domestic growth.

I’m very pro France being involved in the British game, but we’re not a charity. If they want anymore clubs involved, they need to bring a TV deal to the table.

Tbh I don't know the ins and outs of the financial aspect of French teams on Super League. There's a pretty good book on the history of French RL called The Forbidden Game, talks about how it was banned post war France.

Anyway, i digress. I'm not a big French RL fan, i was merely pointing out that there were other themes addressed in the article.

Mentioned in the Sky Sports report (but not in the BBC one):
Further to the proposals set out, IMG have also recommended the removal of loop fixtures, including the Magic Weekend, bringing the Challenge Cup final back to May and having increased focus on international breaks.

I spotted this too.
IMG would be mad to remove Magic Weekend. It's one of the best thing that UK Rugby League has...not often you see the NRL copy something from Super League.

Finally.

So after reading that post on the BBC all I am seeing is blah blah blah

I'm looking forward to watching some RLWC games at the HJS and being entertained, and I just cannot be bothered reading these articles in the media. The RFL, the clubs and IMG will not be on the same page.

The BBC should be defunded because we are paying our License fee for their constant blah blah blah!

Rugby League fans seem to be obsessed with "loop fixtures". Celtic and Rangers play each other four teams a season, and it can be (and often is) six if they play each other in both cups too. 50,000 (at Ibrox or Hampden) or 60,000 (at Parkhead) are there every single time, and they could fill every ground twice with ease every time if they had the capacity.

It's just another thing for RL fans to moan about, and nothing more.

That's a great comparison here's another compare the interest and money in the English PL and the Scottish Version.

If there was a pathway for the Glasgow giants without bankrupting the rest of the game north of the border where do think the club and their fans would prefer to play?

That just highlights how impressive the attendances are given the circumstances doesn't it?

Participation of clubs outside of the UK to be capped and with additional standards to support domestic growth.

That’s Huddersfield’s input I’m guessing.

They say that, the issue for the sport has been too much focus on the format and structure itself rather than the product and are promoting a renewed focus on fan engagement and matchday experiences.

And that one as got KF all over it

These are some of the worst proposals to bring this great game back into relevance.
Bare with me as I explain and my personal proposal.
For me. Its simple.
3 or 4 leagues of 10 teams. 1 up 1 down.
No licencing.
1 home. 1 away fixture against each team and a magic weekend fixture determined by league position the week before magic. 1st vs 2nd. 3rd vs 4th etc.
No playoffs.
Every team enters into the challenge Cup in round 1. Yes. There is some blowout fixtures. But instead of 4 games to get to wembley. Make it 8 games to get to wembley. Make it relevant again.
Lanks and Yorkshire cup again. Knock out format with the final being Yorkshire vs Lancashire. Again. What. A maximum of 7 games. And in a way. It brings back the Yorkshire vs Lancashire cup. (Final. 2 games. Played at both teams stadium. aggregate score wins)
That in itself is a maximum of 34 games.
Give some midweek fixtures. For example. Play Thursday, Tuesday and Sunday. 3 games in 10 days. And then Play Friday or Saturday the following week. Add some variation into the mix. Challenge the players as well as well as give fans more of what we want. More rugby.
Bring in a 2nd cup for the 2nd tier and 3rd tier like the 1895 Cup to allow them the same amount of games as the superleague teams to allow there leagues to grow as a result.
It's unique. It goes back to the history of rugby league in Britain and will promote the game alot more than they are planning on for 2024 at the moment. Plus the unique aspect of the Lancashire vs Yorkshire cup being 2 legged aggregate score. That's unique in itself.

Allow for some grass routes rugby to actually happen and prosper. Which may see some actual intrest away from the m62 corridor, so we could maybe get a Leicester team. A Birmingham team. A Blackpool team. Preston team etc. Something that promotes the game. We've lost 2 Welsh teams because of lack of promotion. We lost our chance at a Scottish team when we did bugger all when we went up to murryfield. Newcastle like the game enough for us to go to St James Park each year. Let's promote the game enough to get a Newcastle team in the structure.

Increase the salary cap in line with Australia. Or reduce Australia a bit to bring into a reasonable figure with superleague. So for example. superleague and the nrl has a cap of £3.5 million. (And the equivalent in Australian money)
The 2nd tier has 2.5 million and the 3rd tier has 2 million. (Or 50% of the attendance gate is. The old rule they had in place when we couldn't spend the full salary cap in the 90s because of attendance and finances)

1 last thing. GET RID OF THE FRENCH TEAMS.
Help the French league build a league structure that benefits the whole game and do the same in canada/America. Then maybe we can have a proper world club champions league or something.

Maybe it's time the whole of rugby league. Not just superleague can actually get together. Allow the IRF to unify every league for the nrl and rfl and French rugby federation to go run the leagues in a way which promotes the game properly. And gives the best competition for the world cup to thrive and allow other nations to get involved and grow there national teams as well. (Because. Let's be honnest. Its a Australia vs New Zealand final.)

The game is dying as it is and we need a major change from everyone. Not just superleague. But the IRF. NRL. RFL FRF and others to bring te game back into the spotlight it deserves.

Now. How much of this we can actually genuinely achieve is horse poo. But if people are actually serious about the game and bringing things back into relevance. Things need to change. From the grass routes all the way up to international level. The NRL could survive without the rest of the world. Superleague needs a kick to just make the sport relevant again. Because we are being left behind by football. Cricket. Rugby Union. All the women's games of the same sports mentioned above.
Rugby league at this moment is the 7th sport in England at his moment.

It's either that. Or I fear we will be amateur again within 25 years and dead as a sport within 50.

I didn't deny their attendances weren't impressive they are but this is despite the model rather than because of it, they have no where else to go.

Yes RL fans do like a moan but there's also some interesting views on how the game can generate more interest and revenue and a fairer system for sharing those resources.

Following the Scottish Football model by choice wouldn't be mine. The dominace of our top teams is short lived by comparison. Imagine living in a world where we are in the mix for a bit like Aberdeen Hibs and Hearts hoping for a Cup run or qualification for Europe at best whilst waiting for Celtic and Rangers to come to town and the only media attention is whether one will stop the other from getting 10 in a row?

oof, i might need to come back to this at lunchtime, lots to pick apart in here

Yes but luckily/unluckily we don't have the religious bipartisanism and sectarianism in a densely populated city of 1M people to drive attendances in the same way. It's way more than a football match.

When i started watching the Wire in the mid sixties , there were the Lancashire & Yorkshire Leagues where games counted towards winning a trophy in your own county & all teams played so many teams from over the hills which formed the main competition. Even the bottom team had the chance of playing the top team with giant killing opportunities bringing the fans into the grounds. To help the game to survive a single division once more would be more inclusive to teams who have been marginalised by "the sky concept ".

I think that gave 34 league games over the season ,plus cup competitions ,all played by lads who had full time jobs.