on www.leighcenturions.com

on www.leighcenturions.com

Well done Leyth

Great news.



So have the RFL backed down and all Championship sides allowed to run a scholarship or just us & Widnes now?

The impression I get is that we will be running it virtually independant rather than through the RFL's elite scheme and would therefore mean we aren't eligible for any central funding etc.

No backing down as I see it. If we want to run a scholoarship 'properly' then we can only do so if we run an U18s. The RFL state if you run an U18s you have to pay x amount of players at least the state minmum wage for training/playing etc. This would cost the club 50k plus. Because we can't afford to run an U18s without major impacts elsewhere at the club, we cannot run the U15/U16s other than what I see as a half baked Leigh scholarship programme.

At least that is the way I see it. Of course if they could get a sponsor to cough up 50k then that would change things markedly I would think.

Not even LISA can raise 50k at the present time and it would also need an agreed change of direction by the LISA members for LISA to change where their donations go.

Well done Leigh i'm glad common sense prevails with the RFL,well sometimes

Common sense? Why force clubs to pay the U18s. Alot of U18s would play for nothing if it gave them the chance. But the RFL stipulation on minimum wage to x number of U18s players, prohibits most if not all Champ clubs actually running an U18s side. I could understand it for U21 sides. Oh but U21 doesn't exist at champ level either does it. It is now reserves! That was changed last year or the year before, yet another area where they have made the championship different from SL

Thats why i added sometimes ,not sure where i stand regards paying minimum wage as these lads usually will be looking for or already have jobs so like i said not sure on this .

Maybe its just me and my lack of understanding of how grass roots rugby league works, but that press release confused me more than it helped!

So we ARE running a scholarship program even though we are not complying with the requirement to run an under-18's. However what this scholarship entails is some sort of regional set-up which the club hopes they can utilise to still get the best talent to Leigh. Which to me sounds very much like we are NOT actually running a scholarship scheme - or at least anything recognizable as one or the one we have or the one wanted to have going forward.

If that is true, it mystifies me why the club is clearly stating it will have a scholarship ????

There is a scholarship scheme where Clubs U15/U16 teams actually play each other. We can only run U15/U16s teams if we also run an U18s team. To run an U18s team you have to comply with prohibitive RFL rules, prohibitive to Championship clubs anyway. It looks the scheme in place still is connected to the RFL but we are simply assisiting the development of players selected by ourselves, hopefully to develop into future Leigh players.

Anyone? Is that correct?

As I understand it the minimum wage did come into it, the club were given a month to find a sponsor/£50K this was totally unreasonable IMO the date has now passed.
The club is running a what is in effect a 'watered down scholarship' though this is not in content which the coaches have always given great service but watered down in numbers and will run alongisde the regional camps scheme which is already in place.
Widnes have taken the SL type scholarship route again IMO this says they have already 'had the nod'.
Featherstone & Keighley (I believe) wanted to run a similiar scheme last year but for some reason it didnt happen and I now think both those clubs have an agreement with an amateur club though I could be mistaken on that.

As I see it Derek you are at broadly correct, unless Im told otherwise.

From what I can gather of the new pathways it wont be an RFL affiliated scholarship and so those clubs will not take part in the competitive games against each other as they have this year. As the press release says the players selected will train with Leigh once a week but also attend regional camps and be coached at these. I would imagine then things will filter down further and those not selected for the Championships scholarships will be selected for service area squads.

Players on scholarship schemes with the SL sides will then not be eligible to be picked to attend regional camps any more. The idea being that it therefore spreads the qaulity coaching out amongst more younger players.

For what it's worth I believe that Fev have got the nod to run an U'18's alongside Widnes in the SL competition from next year and so I would think that their scholarship will remain the same.

Fev will be running a Scholarship next year and team in SUPER LEAGUE ACADEMY. I think this shows we are not a boom and bust, all eggs in one basket team. If we were financially weak, I doubt we would be running a table topping first team, top two reserves, an academy in Super League as well as a full scholarship programme. Rovers as a club have taken an approach of making us hard to ignore with regard the RFL.

We also have an award winning community programme, which employs 9 first team players, and reaches 10s of thousands of kids. The club also works its socks of to put on regular events to increase turnover, for example we had a Xfactor concert last weekend with a crowd of over 2000 and as the event was on for 8 hours im sure we did well on merchandise and refreshments. Regular comedy nights also happen at the club as well as many tribute acts.

You may be wondering why I am telling you all this? Well because it is no good bemoaning the RFL when other clubs are proving that things can be achieved, and also the biggest point is that all these things are made to happen by a very pro active board and band of volunteers. For example last year Rovers asked for new board members to come forward and pointed out that money was not a requirement that it would be nice but enthusiasm, commitment and creative mind were equally if not more important.

To finish I would say this, the biggest part of the success at our club are the committed volunteers that without none of this would happen. So If your not happy offer your services to your club and help make things happen.

With all the avenues of funding we seem to have we see Featherstone moving ahead of us already in the race for 2015. Their average crowds are lower than ours for starters so how can they afford it yet we can't.

Are we our own worst enemies? Could the decision not to run an U18s on cost grounds be seen as a false economy in 3 years time? I cannot answer those questions, just felt they should be posed. Maybe later if I have time, I will send the above to Arthur for his thoughts/reasons on the decision they appear to have made.

Community programme employing 9 players is where we need to start, somebody is funding this and we are obviously missing out. Find out who is funding it and get the funding spent on players kids will relate to managed by professionals.
If you look at recent successful teams they have all had plenty players employed in this area, eg Fax, Barrow, Widnes, Crusaders and now Fev. We need to learn and learn fast.
Fev own the ground, which is all thats left in Fev these days so we are scuppered as a 'centre of the community' facility but we can do so much better in this area.

My understanding is that the clubs currently running Academy Under 18 (SL clubs and Widnes) will have scholarships starting in September.

Featherstone and Sheffield have indicated their intentions to run one and have been given till the 1st September to meet the Academy Under 18 criteria of having the required number of professional players.

The RFL will run a player pathway of Service Area and Regional progammes for players not on scholarship. I also understand Shaun Mellor is in charge in the NW

Not how it was put to me a few years back Keith

It wasn't,t All the squad , two thirds of them , that's why it was so stupid

What about the players from last years 16's team, who were/are signed/signing? Will they be signed as under 21 players? And will they still then be paid on some sort of basis?

Don't think there is such a thing as U21s anymore. U20s at SL level, reserves at champ level.

Well yes, so this years signed 16's will be part of the reserves? So will therefore be paid!

Pitching 16 year olds into the reserves. Thats a bit harsh on the 16 year olds, condsidering they will more than likely playing adults. This is the problem with having no U18s. If I had 50k i would sponsor an U18 Academy team, but i haven't, and neither has the club

the skolarship is going back to how it used to be 8 players just training !!!!! but the other teams play games .but instead of the skolarships players not playing they have chance of playing for regional .