If we finish 2nd as I predict then this is how the rankings would look that determine our fixtures.
1.Salford (9th)
2.Widnes (10th)
5.Castleford (11th)
6.Wakefield (12th)
3.Bradford (1st)
4.London (2nd)
7.Leigh (3rd)
8.Fev (4th)

......we would then face Castleford, Wakefield, Fev and Salford at Home and Widnes, Bradford and Leigh away.....tough ask to get to the Million quid game with that fixture list.

If on the other hand, we were to finish top of the Championship (with Bradford finishing 2nd) we would then face
Bradford, Castleford, Leigh and Fev at home and Salford, Widnes and Wakefield away.......

I suspect that who ever finishes 1st in the championship will face Wakefield on the last weekend of 888 regular fixtures and then again, the following weekend.

If your right, and I wouldn't argue with your logic - though I do wonder about Cas and the assumption they will be so much poorer in 2015. On the basis of your prediction top certainly looks better than 2nd!

I think its very tough to predict the bottom 4 in SL, id put money on wakey and widnes, and if I had to take a punt id probably put the two Hull clubs in there. Think Cas will do ok and surely Salford will make top 8?!

I think the Hulls have both recruited quite well this year.....Castleford punched well above their weight last year and I think they'll suffer this year and Salford........let's hope the Dr has plenty of blood pressute pills handy!!!

Could be any of seven really, but finishing top will prove pivotal I think.

Whilst the revolving door at my club has fallen off its hinges, both Cas and Salford have once again had a high turnover of players (roughly 10 each in both directions - ins/outs) which makes them susceptible for the bottom 4 in SL.

Its my view one of the Hull clubs will miss out on the play-offs, with either Cas/Salford making the 8 or the lower tier - I think most people are of the opinion Wakefield and Widnes will struggle this season.

TBH I hope Cas do make the 8. IMO they have made 2 very good signings in Gale and Roberts although the loss of Huby and Huaraki is immense. Meanwhile Koucash seems to have pinned his hopes on ex-Kr Dobson - the question is can he forge a partnership with Chase? If they click then they have the pack to get them into the play-offs.

As for the Hull clubs (and trying not to be too bias) apart from Minichello I don't think FCs recruitment is solid enough to make the 8, whereas KRs chances rest on a whole team coming together and doing a Cas - mind you Campese and Kelly do whet the appetite. Both Hull clubs have the packs to win the arm wrestle they just need their back lines to fire - IMO KRs looks the most potent and will scrape us into the 8.

On London's chances of finishing in the top 4, I am sorry to say I see you battling it out for 3rd/4th with Featherstone, Sheffield and maybe Halifax.

The Bulls and Leigh look the strongest squads and Fev have recruited well and are hardened battlers, not unlike Sheff. Going to places like Batley (the infamous slope) and Donny (the Fc link up) won't be easy and Hunslet's 'Rhinos' second string will cause a few upsets.

It will be a very interesting season, especially now my club have DR'd with Fax.

Campese really could go either way, and there's a fair chance he'll disappoint looking at age and form. Im a bit biased toward Cas as I like them as a club but they have a proven coach and seem to have a really good culture in the team of working for each other. Hull and KR are both strong enough to make the 8 and will pick up some good wins next year but I expect them to be inconsistent and lose a fair few too.

Not a big fan of Dobson, but they have a lot of strike at Salford now and will be able to get themselves out of some tricky positions with their pace as long as they're half-way competitive in the middle. There's still a big question mark of Iestyn though for me, knowledgeable and hard-working he may be but does he inspire his players?

Will be a very interesting season.

Good post



I agree about inconsistency but its also a lack of team spirit (culture) that has dogged both Hull clubs. For Rovers the high turnover of personnel (again) means the glue needs to be re-applied which is not conducive for consistency. Campese has been signed to bring consistency to Rovers play, if he disappoints then I fear we will end up in the middle-8.

I agree Paul, but, lets face it, it will be immense for one club to overpower a SL outfit, it would be near miraculous for two to do it, personally I think only Wakey and Widnes have anything to fear, whoever the other two clubs are, I expect them to be far too strong for even Bradford to overhaul.

The likelihood of a chump side doing it straight rather than through the 'million pence' game are slim. The guarantee is a chump side away from home at a SL side in that game. Hardly stacked in their favour. It'll be an interesting season.

The thing is completely loaded. "Every Minute Matters" - I don't think so

I think the games featuring the teams finishing 9th and 10th in SL playing 3rd and 4th in the Championship could be painful to watch....the SL sides will be wary of not getting dragged into the one off lottery game, so points difference will be important.....we will see some major hammerings.
Wakefield, Castleford, Salford and Widnes averaged 50 points a game against us last year......the gap is massive between the 2 competitions.

Yep, I can see some hammerings too, but I think a League with a miniscule outside chance of promotion is prefferable to a Franchise system that was frankly "Sheeite"!

Correct Pete.

Franchising failed for a number of reasons, most of them of the RFL's own making. All they did was grant licences and then not follow up when clubs failed in their delivery of promises......new stadiums in Wakey/Cas.....new fans and corporate common sense in London, financially viable business plans in Wales, Bradford and Wakefield......but nope, they simply sat back and let it unravel.
Franchising works in other sports......this 888 has been trialed and has failed already. The only way a champ team goes up is if a SL club goes tits up......kind of like how it was for the last 6 seasons really. Once the chairmen at the clubs who finish in positions 13-24 in this structure figure out that SL isn't attainable, they will lobby for yet another change and we'll have 1 up 1 down. It'll be like 2008 all over again........and clubs will go bust trying to stay up or trying to get up.

Do you believe that Fev getting hammered 90-nil at home by Salford in front of 1,500 fans is going to be "entertaining"? Do you think Fev v Castleford will make the british media sit up and pay heed?

Licencing needed 10 years or more to bed down and the likes of Bradford should have simply been cut loose......other sports let their so called big clubs fail, so why should we be different?

Mmmmm, I can't agree GF, Superleague and franchising was all very well, but littleraly stamping all over the grass roots of the game was a recipe for disaster from the get go, look at Keighley's average attendance when they last won the 2nd tier. Then take a good look at the 2nd tier champions average attendances thereafter. The RFL are clearly hoping that the attendances for clubs going for the middle eight will rise back up to a more acceptable level with the potential for promotion as the carrot.

I don't believe anyone getting 90-Nilled is good for the game, lets face it, we at London took some pastings and in front of less than 1500 and we were IN your SOOPERleague.

Cut Bradford looose you say, lol, but weren't they what SOOPERLeague and Franchising was all about??

As to other sports, well yes they do, WHEN they have a viable replacement, the NFL didn't get rid of the failing LA Rams, UNTIL they had a replacement, same with the Raiders. In English Football, the Premier League can afford for "big" clubs to go down and even out, because theres a plethora of big clubs waiting to replace them. WE DO NOT HAVE THAT! Until we do, we cannot allow the biggest clubs to just sink without trace!

Licencing/Franchising works....but it needs strong management and we are discussing the RFL here, so it was doomed from the start.
There is always an opportunity for clubs outside the franchised super league to join, but rather than do the hard yards, roll up their sleeves and get their houses in good financial order, these clubs would rather lobby the RFL for a change in the rules in the pursuit of 1.5 million a year from SKY. These clubs are under the misguided belief that this money will make them powerhouses....conveniently ignoring the fact that they will still have to find another 2.5 million a year just to break even. Can you name a Championship club that has a turn over of 2.5 million a year?

Take us.....if by a miracle we made it up. I'd hazard a guess at the total income from sponsorship at the Broncos this year is less than 50,000.....and than includes the corporate and private players sponsorship as well as the shirt "partnership" deals.......and IF when they deem to let you know Tickets are a score each, then even at last years totals you've only raised 325k....still 2 million short and apparently we moved because Hughes didn't want to make up the 2 million shortfall each year.....we'd be relying on him to survive and probably straight back down again the following year

The RFL have retreated to the safety of the heartlands and the game will get less media exposure this year than ever before. Fev v Salford in front of 1,500 will prove that "every moment" doesn't matter......but don't expect the RFL spin machine to keep on saying it will.
In 11 home games at the Hive before either 3 or 4 more 888 matches, I suspect we will see less than 10,000 people come through the turnstiles......then we might get a few more to the 888 games, but only if we stand a chance of going up. Given we shipped 50 points a game v SL opposition last year, I really don't have your blind faith in this new system attracting any lapsed fans back or news fans either.
As for the teams in the bottom 8.......I believe that this is where we will see the most competitive matches.

Any danger of keeping this thread on topic and not heading down the marketing and income line again?

Sorry

Difficult to compare last year with this years squad. Unfortunately means there is a very big question mark until the season gets into its stride. We should on balance be fine in the Championship, make the top 4 and we'll really see if an improvement in the playing squad. In the 8s think it'll be closer for all four Championship sides than people expect but there is bound to be one or two complete hidings for them probably away from home. New fans or returning fans for us, maybe the odd few particulalry if we look competitive but hardly statistically significant.

Lol, I don't have blind faith GF, merely deluded optimism, all fans have to be deluded or we'd all realise what a spectacular rip-off prodffessional sport is, lmao!

I'd respond by the drummer from Green Day wouldn't approve......

Anyone who thinks some of the top 8 games will be a walk in the park are deluded !

My Team (Leigh), walked the league last year and we are stronger this year and have gone fully FT. If Featherstone make the 4, they too will always be difficult to beat.

I feel all the Champioship clubs who make the 8 will struggle with the away games against SL clubs but I fancy us to upset the like of Widnes or Wakey shoulkd they be in the bottom 4.

Alot of it depends on momentum. If some of the SL clubs have had some hammerings and confidence is low anything can happen.

I must admit though, I do not see 1 champioship club qualifying for SL outright next season. I feel it will be the million pound match.

I don't seen any SL quality squads in the Champs, and what's more the Champs team are playing weaker teams all year prior to the split so won't be used to the intensity or skill level. I just can't see any club getting promoted.

I don't mind not getting promoted but would very much like to see us smash Leigh and Featherstone a couple of times.