I think the league should be expanded anyway. Get Toulouse and Widnes in. Look at a team in Dublin and a second London club.

then split teams into geographical divisions and have fewer but more important matches.

Championship clubs will not be put up against SL clubs, one club is guaranteed to be successful and will be told March 2011 haing applied against a deadline of december 2010. SL clubs applications will have to be submitted by April 2011 and they will be told July 2011

I didn't say they would be. The Championship clubs have to meet the first five criteria and whoever does will then be judged against the second set. The club scoring best on that set will then get a spot in SL.

But its not the case that Championship clubs won't be "put up" with Super League clubs. There is the separate selection for the one Championship club franchise, but any club not successful in this has the right then to apply for a franchise in the main selection process.

Although I'm a Cas fan I hope it's not Quins because I admire the way the club have knuckled down to help build something bigger, more sustainable for RL in London/SE than a quick-fix SL product. That said it is irksome to think anyone would replace us by virtue of more modern facilities which is the criterion that proves how truly soul-less and superficial our game has become at the top level...even mega-corporate soccer draws the line at such an artificial measure of worth/potential.

I wasn't going to name a personal favourite for exclusion because of the pain that fate will cause wherever it happens but the depth and extent will obviously be infinitely less for an embryonic club. So unless Crusaders are playing everygame in S Wales and not lodging on the fringe of the heartland I feel the risk of retaining them at the expense of a club like Cas in an area which epitomises the sport and produces so many great players is too great. If Cas are kicked out the marker is down for all smalltown clubs, SL will look very much like the suits always envisaged and it may only change for SKY inspired expansion purposes.

Yeah I certainly remember that number turning up for the games at Skolars

It's always amused me how the 'heartlands' supporters bang on and on about "away support".

I've seen then pop up here for many years, chanting their mantra about "we bring more away fans than you".

How about 2 Super League tables for these people?

We could have one, lesser, table. This could be based on a points system, with points for winning, drawing and perhaps none for losing.

Then we could have a 'proper', far more representative table with an award for "how many away fans did you bring this week?". Awards would be higher if they bought beer and burgers at the away ground. Maybe even a bonus if they came on the more expensive train, rather than the supporters coach. A man with a clipboard can count them in at the gate. Maybe a roving man could canvass the local pubs for away support, for even greater reward.I'm sure it'll catch on.

so, what you graph tells us that hkr have a mere 500 more travelling fans than catalans do? very poor in my opinion... and a far cry from the 1500 - 2000 you profess to follow your club.

I was under the impression your gate was a total of home and away fans

, pathetic attendance again tonight for Crusaders & Quins 1,122. how the RFL can justify you two in SL is unbelievable when Wakey & Cas are under threat .

Hull KR's away support is very very good as is Hull FC's to be fair , you know you will never reach the attendances that we do home & away, the RFL are flogging a dead horse with a London team it just isn't ever going to work , the RFL should review which clubs really are fit for SL.

No chance - word going round the three expansion teams are already assured of a place due to location.

That would be the usual word going around inside your head then, still, it's nice to see the answer to the question nobody asked showing up and putting his usual twopence worth in.

It's only what was reported in the Hull Daily Mail yesterday - they said the 3 expansion (experiment) clubs are safe, as are:

Saints
Leeds
Wigan
Wire
Bradford
Hull
Hull KR
Huddersfield

The others (Wakey etc) are wrongly left to battle it out.

Quins and Crusaders should go in my opinion.

Good point to be fair.

Homer...do you want me to check with the FC moderators who they use to deal with an infestation



FWIW, I hope nobody goes and widnes come up, but as it is, there are potentially 7 teams in the mix at the moment
Quins
Crusaders
Salford
Wakey
Castleford
HKR
Bradford

All have failings......ground, finance, fans etc....and all should be working very hard on plans to address their own issues without pointing the finger at others.

For example, if I were a fan of a team that played in a relic of a stadium, with temporary uncovered seating, had reported losses and debts to the tune of 3 million, had asked for special treatment when it comes to extra overseas players even though the RFL have made it clear they want more home grown players and had historical issues with fans behaviour and pitch invasions, I would be concentrating on getting my own house in order before having a go at a club that plays in a great Rugby stadium, has no debt (no even an overdraft), fielded the most british squad in superleague and has an award winning community and youth set up.........but hey, each to their own

what the **** are the RFL doing with agreeing NEVER to kick you 2 sides out of Sooper Dooper league - Attend: 1,122, there were more fans at Hunslet v Workington (have you lot heard of these sides) game last night on Sky, and it's 'down among the dead men' in the 3rd tier.
Welsh/Cockneys don't like Rugby League, pity that southern jessie DICK Lewis can't see this. Maybe if it would have been at Wrexham, with a later kick off, att. might have been 2500 !!!!

Quick, someone call rentokill.....the little blighters are everywhere

[size=150CRUSADER V HARLEQUINS, SUPER LEAGUE FIXTURE AUGUST 2010.
Attend: 1,122[/size

There will be amateur games this weekend better attended

'sad but true' as Metallica once sang !!!

I don't get your point? the attendance at an away fixture, played at 6pm on a Friday night has no bearing on how I feel. Why should it?
Home attendances, although I freely admit to being somewhat of an annorack on the topic are a concern to the club I support.....that's fine, but an away game?
If you want to go down that route, Harlequins RL were responsible for the lowest gates in SL at 3 clubs last year.......so as much as we come in a Taxi....certain clubs see our visit as an opportunity to MARKET THE GAME and as a result, Wigan achieved their 3rd highest gate for our game there in 2009 and again this year so far.......and it was on Telly

. So, Taxi it may be, but we are still a bigger draw at a club like Wigan than some other HEARTLAND CLUBS. 6,200 MORE fans tured up to watch a televised game between Wigan and Quins than rolled up to see the might Hull Kingston Australians........












As with roofs.....if you feel the need to use the submission smilie, make sure you don't get owned 3 minutes later

Nah, see on every other heartlands club board they would have been banned, but we pride ourselves here on being just a tadge more tolerant towards those that the community should be supporting, plus it's always such a joy to watch roofs get owned on every single thread he posts on across the network.

Roofs owned by Gutters You dont say.

Hmm, still don't get this "owned" thing - if I had gotten facts wrong about Fulham/Crusaders/Broncos/Quins (or whatever the New Era Club will be called next year), and GF had proved me wrong, I would class that as owned. But he rightfully never disputes my views on attendances (same as I don't dispute his knowledge on youth development in London) so not sure where the 'ownage' is - surely it's just two guys have contrasting views & opinions (which IMO there's nothing wrong with on an internet discussion forum)?