Even if our Chairman was the sort of person to fight for a bit of right (I don't think he is), what could he really do? The Cougars were not one of the clubs who the breached the rules. Ultimately the decision has been made and it shows the RFL in a very bad light. I agree with Len though, if we don't pick up the required number of points to survive, we don't deserve to. What angers me the most is that March thinks survival will be a great success. I don't agree and I have seen enough games this season and the indifferent performances to think all is not great. I hear various rumours, how true they are I don't know, but it all suggests that March is not a good leader. If we go down we can only blame ourselves, not Batley or the RFL. We've been involved in games where we should have picked up the points and if we had we would not be in this position now. Leigh, Batley, NWC to name a few. I want us to stay up don't get me wrong, but I also think people need to wake up and realise that the set-up of this club is poor and we will never truly move forward under the current leadership. That includes Chairman and Coach. If we survive this season, will we be in the same position again next year? I'm waiting for snipers to shoot me down, but this is just my opinion.

I Agree 100% with every word you have just said. I have been saying the same thing
Thia season and last season , sometimes rather vocally

Sorry I don't see any realistic alternative. Best make the most of it.

I take your point, but maybe thats the issue, we are not making the most/best of it. There may not be many people willing to invest money in the club, but if the Chairman would listen to the fans and maybe take on board some feedback it may allow the club to grow and move forward. I also believe we were wrong to give Marchy a two year contract in mid season when he have proved nothing. If we were at the top of the table I could of understood it, but we'd just beaten Sheffield and were not even nearly safe. These are the decisions which make me question his judgement.

Just to put this out there, how do we know investors are not keen in putting money in the club? Is it a case that Gary is the only one who is willing, or now unwilling to give it up?

I totally agree with you, it was wrong to renew March's contract mid season, that should have been postponed until the end of the season or at the very least conditional on us making the playoffs.

With regard to the Batley fiasco, I know a lot of supporters are upset with the RL but if we are relugated the main reason will be because we didn't sieze our opportunities, we have lost a lot of games that we should have won and that not the fault of the RL, that's on the team and the coach.

I totally agree 'KRLFC' but I believe that it is also the 'Dual Standards' that the RFL appears to apply that has caused so much criticism.

Let's face it; in how many other so-called 'professional sports' do the administrators appear to be so inept?

So how on earth can they enforce any similar Rules in the future?

They have painted themselves into a corner of future actions and potential litigation which, in my opinion, they will be unable to defend themselves against. How can they? They simply cannot have one Rule for Batley and Doncaster and another for other Clubs (including Keighley).

By the way, does anyone know which Clubs cheated previously and what effect it had on their league positions and central funding?

haven,York,town are said to be 3 of the 5 clubs who breached the regs last season,in playing DR players in the NRCup and playing players after deadline, we are suppose to have breached it with clough (in league and NR cup) but in both games we got tonked once by you and had no effect on league position,
Town said to have breached it with craven in the league(rumours he was on loan,but played for Widnes during that time so can't have been) and leulaui in the NR cup,not sure about York or two other clubs.
no club should be allow d to gain league position via playing noneligible players,that's why batley should have the game points removed

Batley played a player who scored and won them the game when he should NOT have been on the pitch. Do you think we would have got away with it given what happened with March?

I actually think we have done well this season in parts a do not deserve to go down when other teams play players that are not allowed on the pitch!

IMO the only route now available to the RFL is to scrap the dual reg. How can it continue now, because any team that breaches in the future will refer to anecdotal evidence of Batley, Doncaster, Haven etc. The only way a player from a SL club or another other league can play for another club should be via transfer or loan. I appreciate the loan has a minimum period (1 month I think) but I just can't see how dual reg can continue.

Last year Whitehaven and York did same braech as Batley & Doncasyer this season.

Last year, Whitehaven were already safe from relegation (even if they'd been docked 3 points) and not in play-offs. York already in a relegation place.

So decision on sanctions simply being a caution seems sort of ok - no additional impact on funding either.

This year is totally different with the Batley & Doncaster breaches with the effect on relegation and funding based on finishing position. 3 points deductions seems sort of ok.

But idiot appeals panel blindly follows what happened last year despite completely different circumstances.

3 other clubs also breached it last year, and from the rfl statement even they were not aware of any breach last season until presented as evidence by batley at their appeal,its a mess and DR should be scrapped

I think that these comments (copied from the Whitehaven News & Star) say it all about both the RFL and Phil Veivers:



As far as my comment about Phil Veivers is concerned, if anyone disagrees with it I would ask: 'Which Club has benefitted most from Dual Registration (I would suggest Workington with Wigan)

Just looking at the league positions after todays match, Batley and Whitehaven are both on 42 points with ourselves on 43, further up the table Fev are on 58, Doncaster 57 and Halifax on 55. Next week Batley play Doncaster (away) and Whitehaven play Swinton (away) and of course we entertain Fev. With Doncaster getting their 3 points back Fev will contest the match big time, they have to win to ensure 2nd place.

Just playin with some figures, let's say Cougars and Swinton both win, I can foresee 3 clubs suing the RL, Fev, Halifax and Whitehaven ... just a thought!

I can't see Doncaster doing Batley any favours, can you, especially when there's so much money involved for them (for next season)?

We have to win but, for the life in me, I can't see why we do not appear to be motivated, otherwise (from the reports on today's game) we might have won again. It has always been the problem with Keighley teams over the last 50 years.

Anyway, if we don't win, we must restrict Featherstone to beating us by less than 12 points. Sheffield beat them today and we have beaten Sheffield (away) but we must start well.

Going to get battered here but to be fair to Batley n Donny can see what happened and have some sympathy and a thought that we could have been in the same boat....

Both teams like us have minimal full time staff , if it had been Jeremy for us, would despite his 25 years service on little pay been vilified for screwing up , Paul Harrison is in the same boat at Batley....

Holding people to account who have worked for their club for years is pretty poor ,,,,if we want to stay up on on that premise..see u inn CC1 next year ..

The argument should be with those at the RFL and their mates not then clubs who are working their s off to stay within a set of ever changing obscure n frankly convoluted rules that only seem to favor Super League and the clubs in there

So, was a 'precedent' set or not?

Not in the case of York or Whitehaven but what about the others?

How did Batley know about the other three Clubs that were guilty of breaching the Rules?

We can not have rule breaks go unpunished at any level of rugby league IMO. We have to be perfessional at all times and examples hafe to be set. We all know its a honest mistake but its still a rule break. There is no point turning up every week if we do not follow the rules of the game.

In football this was dealt with straight away and the team kick out, in rugby we have 2 meetings and 1 wrong outcome and it takes weeks!!!!

If this happened at Keighley I would not have had a different mindset. No matter which way you look at it both Donny and Batley have cheated and got away with it. Imagine if it had been possible as a result of both clubs getting points back Donny finish 2nd and Batley stay up.

Rach is right and it seems the DR rules are so complicated that even now they are not clear. How about if all points scored by DR players in games after the deadline were removed? Red Hall should be red-faced at the way they have bungled this. The phrase 'Not fit for purpose' comes to mind.

Still very quiet - I haven't heard anything at all. I hope the club are busy preparing something with which to hit the RFL should the unthinkable happen next Sunday.

The phrases in my mind are much less polite.

I doubt it , our glorious leader will be counting the money he made from letting people
CAMP ON THE PITCH that were attending the Bingley Festival.
I presume that's why he was not at such an important match yesterday.
I also presume there was a risk assesment drawn up for clearing the pitch and making sure
It is safe to play on next weekend (disgarded tentpegs coins sharp objects etc ec )
Taxi for March.

Another idea - how about banning all DR players for the last game of the season to even things up? To me the RFL have compounded one monumental cock-up with a worse one. The case should have been: did the inclusion of DR players illegally played in 2013 by Whitehaven, Workington, Gateshead, Hunslet and Leigh affect the outcome of relegation? Has the inclusion of illegal DR players in 2014 affected relegation - most likely yes! On those grounds action SHOULD have been taken against those clubs. As Kevin Nicholas says in today's League Express, [i"We were not aware of the rule, we've always said that, and in that respect it's our fault." [/iI rest my case M'lud!

Blimey, Burley, the club shows a bit of initiative and then gets damned for it. Who'd be a chairman. Not you thats for sure!

Bit unfair that Burley , both the camping ventures Bingley Live and Tour De France have been pretty successful and have brought in money to the club through camp fees, bar takings and food sales .

And yes Gary wasn't at the game yesterday as he was driving the shuttle bus to and from the Festival site for the campers, something he's been doing all weekend ....