Don't know where to start with this, but there are two reasons why Featherstone have never played in the top flight in the last few decades. Firstly, having comfortably earned the retention of their place in the top flight by finishing 11th of 16 in 1994-95, they were unceremoniously dumped out of SL in favour of London, who had finished fourth in the second division that year.

Secondly, they finished top of the table four years in a row from 2010 to 2013, but were denied promotion by the franchising system.

Fev have indeed used a DR arrangement - as have literally every other club in the Championship at various stages, including London. Fev were actually one of the few clubs that opposed DR when it was first mooted, but now seem to get castigated because they use it more effectively than anyone else.

Featherstone ran a reserve team in 2019, as they have at various stages in the last 10 years, but weren't accepted this year.

Featherstone are thriving off the field, have a busy events calendar in the clubhouse, are doing extremely well in terms of sponsorship, and have made signifcant progress in the quest to become self sufficient regardless of what happens with central funding. There is a booming Squad Builder fund which IIRC has about 300 supporters paying £10 per month, a very successful club superstore, and RoversTV continues to pump out product which puts that of some SL clubs to shame, as does the stadium, which features two stands constructed by supporters and is now widely regarded to be a vastly superior stadium to some in SL, notably those of our near neighbours Wakefield and Castleford.

Not saying that everything at the club is always perfect, but not a good example of anything? I beg to differ.

I wasn't meaning to be provocative THP. But Featherstone arent my idea of 'proof' that PT is the way to go. The reality is you didnt counter-argue any of my points. DR, we at best dabbled were as Fev RELIED on it. Remember a couple of seasons ago when you couldnt field a side as Leeds said no ? You have not been in the top flight for at least two decades. I rate Fev highly but not as an example of the way LB should be heading.

As someone who moved south for work I think we have to be realistic about who will relocate to live in a house they have to leave at the end of a one year part time contract. That's not a hugely appealing gig for any family men or people with a safe job they enjoy. It may appeal to people close to the start of their career and fewer ties

If Broncos do go fully part time (a mixed part time / full time squad must also be possible) I still suspect we would end up with a few northern based players to help provide a spine in key positions.

Taking Oxford as an example their northern based lads typically fell into two camps, young lads looking for a foothold in the pro game or older players who had a loyalty to the coach and bought into the project. Those circumstances don't align totally with where Broncos may be heading but it's worth bearing in mind.

Edited to make clear that despite my reservations, if a switch in status is needed to make the club viable, I would support it. It would be a long, potentially impossible, road back to where we are today but better that than sit around until the annual subsidy vanishes and the club dies

Fev have never RELIED on DR. The only reason we couldn't field a full team a couple of years ago was because we were hit by a sudden rash of injuries which left us down to the bare bones at a time where the transfer deadline had passed, and it was only in the worthless Championship Shield anyway. We have quite often played two or three players at a time on DR which is no different to most teams at some stage, the only reason it gets commented on for Fev is that we have made it work for both us and Leeds. I remember when we beat London at the Hive a few years ago and London brought in DR players from 2 different clubs! - Sammut and Annakin from Wakefield and Gilmore from Widnes. Where was the outcry then?

And you say I didn't counter-argue any of your points, yet you bring up again Fev not having been in the top flight for at least 2 decades, the injustice of which I clearly outlined to you. I wonder how you would have felt if London had finished well clear of relegation last year but had been dumped into the Championship to make way for, say, Ottowa, or New York? Because that's exactly what happened to us with London in 1995.

Featherstone are a wonderful example of a well run club, living within its means, and making huge strides on the pitch.

I know Mark Campbell very well as a friend and former employer of mine and he is a master at taking advantage of situations so there is no negative for me in seeing Fev build an excellent working relationship with Leeds in order to improve the club.

We are about to hit an economic storm, it is essential that all options are explored in order to ensure the stability of all clubs. Mark and Davide have worked wonders ensuring they are in a settled position and the Broncos intend to do the same for the long term future of Rugby League in London. That could, potentially, mean part time at some point in the future, who knows.

Fingers crossed that long term future is in SL

ML you obviously have a soft spot for Featherstone, fair enough, me less so.

Whichever way LB go as long as the vision is shared for the short and medium term would help the fans buy into something. You cite York and Featherstone they have a vision, as does Beaumont and Kear. Our vision, currently is a secret.

Those are kind words. A lot of Fev fans just get frustrated when fans of other clubs throw up the same thing about being another small Yorkshire town etc without realising that the club has made great strides in recent years and actually is a lot closer to long-term self-sufficiency than many current SL clubs.

Hopefully not for long!!

Things are going to take time. Announcements are going to be potentially staggered, diluting the excitement, who knows. All I can say at the moment is that we are trying to get something over the line which would be an absolute game changer for the club and the fans. There are a number of smaller changes which I believe will be well received and some much bigger news which is 'potential' at this stage I'm afraid and taking far longer than we hoped to sort out.

This is not a deliberate attempt to sell tickets, there are none on sale. It is not serving any purpose other than me asking fans to understand that we are working very hard on some things which if they all come off as expected will give you all a lot of joy. It is also not an attempt just to keep you all content, that is not my style, if we were sat on our backsides watching netflix I would tell you.

Its the return of the cheerleaders isnt it..... please, please!!

That is something I think about every day. Almost every hour of every day!!

I'm with you 100% on this PC.

I've had contact from a friend who reports League Express has been sniffing around this story.

Two weeks ago they apparently said Broncos were mulling over the pro/semi pro issue and it may come down to the results of talks with the RFL about whether the club get a second parachute payment. (Presumably on the grounds promotion was scrapped.)

This week they are apparently reporting Broncos are offering players to other clubs. I'm not sure whether it is list of players who may be available or who are available.

Offering players around does not sound positive, unless better are coming in to replace

We have always - always - struggled to get players to move down to London. Even when we were in SL. Even when we had a very good team in SL. Often enough players that did move would quickly return home complaining about missing their mum. And even when we did bring guys down we had to pay over the odds to get them - Oliver Wilkes got a big pay rise and he was little more than a solid grafter.

Any good Championship players who are part time are going to choose Leigh, Fev, Fax and York over relocating to one of the world's most expensive cities. History is very clear on that.

If we can't afford a full-time squad then we can't afford one, no shame in that, but to pretend that it's a positive decision or that it's all going to be hunky-dory is to ignore the evidence.

Hmm, if he means the story in League Express then that misrepresents the story, All that I saw was a piece with Danny Ward where he said he wouldn't stand in the way of any of his players who were offered a short-term loan deal by a SL club for the rest of this season.

Absolute rubbish. Maybe that's why he 'reports' for a paper nobody reads.

You guys asked for the communication to be improved and I'm doing that by giving you facts on here but if you're going to rely on made up stories from people that the club wouldn't give the time of day to over something like this then it's pointless me telling you things.

Ok, fancy has been tickled ...

Game changers would include:

We have been lined up to replace Toronto in SL

We are buying the Toronto franchise and retaining most of their roster?

A wealthy backer has bought out DH ?

We are moving lock, stock and barrel to Brentford FC new ground ?

Or any combination of the above !



More frivolously …….

Social distancing pods

Cushions for Gold ST seats ….

(My long standing wish) a hot tub to watch the game from ?

A women’s team …

Supplement the t/tennis table in grandstand with pool table and dart board ….

Bring back cheerleaders and half time entertainment ….

Historically there was money in the game in the north. Historically the club would offer part time wages and nothing else.

The goalposts have moved somewhat with the current situation in the UK as well as some other massive factors that would attract players SHOULD the club go down that route.

I live in hotels week on week to do the job for the club, and other people commute from the North. I could easily get a place in London but choose to go back and forth to see my family. It's not the other side of the world and if you're being paid more overall to work for the Broncos than for York why would it be so difficult to presume players will choose London?

Id say its the total opposite, you coming on here to say what is fact or fiction, in my view is a great asset and can help put peoples minds at rest. I would say it is much appreciated (by me anyway). I think the problem for some maybe, in the past, the communication has been poor. Now it is improving but sometimes it can just take a little while for people to , for want of a better word maybe - trust again

I flagged the article because of this posting, no more and no less. You wanted to know where this story was coming from. I have flagged one source for you.

Edited to say I also appreciate the clear denial. It's very helpful.

I'm going by what's happened consistently over the 25 years I've been watching the club. It's always been very difficult to get good players to move to London. Anyone on this board can tell you that. If that changes, great, but it's never happened before.

Big difference is PT up North they only have to travel to London one weekend a year. Being PT in the South they travel North every other week. Would employers allow them a day off every other week. Its a lot to ask, work during the day, train in the evening and travel North every other week. Sadly I think our team would be disadvantaged as Southern employers would not hold the same love of rugby league as Northern employers would have. Its in the blood of a lot of northerners

Played well for Liverpool this season though

Easy way to get them pesky northerners down hrere to play that there rugby league.
Pay em.missed shift payments i say, bugger what them at headquarters say, pay em the wages they are missing.
Strewth wheel has gone full circle