Playing for Swinton this are Warrington prop Paul Wood. Wood's team-mates Tyrone McCarthy and James Laithwaite are also in the squad, as are Warrington youngsters Danny Bridge, Glenn Riley, Gene Ormsby, Ryan Shaw and James Mendieka.

This has come about as SL teams have scrapped there under 20 team. The idea behind this was young players could go out on loan to help with his development.

This reason cannot be used any more. The whole thing is a shame and a disgrace.

Nowt new.. what about Dewsbury,securing all the Dulls squad. I was wondering if the Melbourne storm team could let a few of there players... say half a dozen.to have a run out in our team just to get warmed up before they play the rhinos.. I don't think swinton

Dewsbury would object,







HAS RUGBY LEAGUE GONE MAD, there must be a ruleing somewere...

I have been mentioning this for some time now..... the linking up is a total farce , just another
reason why our game is a laughing stock in the sports world..

I had no idea this could be done. What a disgraceful situation.

Widnes have also made their entire squad available to Workington, with the exception of their Non EU players on visas and Gareth Hock.

Here's a scenario for you.

Steve McNamara names a provisional squad for the World Cup before the Super League Playoffs start. All those players named who are not involved in the playoffs are sent on DR to their feeder clubs who are in the Championship playoffs to get game time and maintain match fitness. It's a scandal, in theory you could end up with Morley, Atkins, Westwood, and Hill lining up for Swinton in a playoff game if Wire didn't make the 8 or got knocked out early.

I think as fans we need to vote with our feet. I for one won't be going away to any feeder club's ground this season.

I'll put this out there and no doubt await the backlash.

We are only one game in so IMO there is no need to panic, but is the link up worthy of consideration. I want to put on record I am totally against it, but is the situation going to change? I agree that something needs to be done, but what are chances of our campaign for change being successful. We never get any change from the RFL and for fear of loosing face they are never going to change this link up system.

Would a link with a team like Wigan be such are bad idea? If we can't beat them, should we consider joining them? I would be against a link up with the likes of Cas or Salford as I am not sure what we gain from it.

I just feel we run the risk being left in the wilderness and as much as it pains me to say it we need all the help we can get this season. Would our club survive another relegation? Could we handle life in C1.

I agree with many of here, I want to watch Keighley Cougars, but if that includes some young talent who could add depth to our squad maybe it's worthy of a thought? It would only be like having a few dual registrations in.

I just wanted to put it out there. I will say again, I don't agree with it, but care about our club and want to safeguard our future.

As you say "young talent" is fine and I would certainly welcome it ,but when experienced SL players are just filling in to get match fit is just a joke.

I personally would not bend over to any link up to a SL team and would call it a day at Cougar Park.

We should stick with what weve got (keep the moral highground) and if necessary suffer the consequenses of relegation.
Championship Clubs have sold out to the Super League - IMO this will cause problems for them as the season develops. As Super League players are injured they wont be releasing their best players into the championship. These feeder clubs will then have to play their own players who haven't played regularly at this level and maybe feel anoyed about this situation.
IMO to avoid relegation in this division with are own team would be an achievement - to finish 4th from bottom and using super league reserves would mean nothing.

One further point - It is also fair to say that the championships independance is now compromised by super league. This in turn creates the potential for super league clubs to directly influence (by loaning players in some matches and not others) which Championship clubs are able to apply for super league in the future.

Exactly.

Another way of the Rfl controlling the Championships.

Do you treally think you would give a damn if your team won this league this year? All the income that generates??

I agree with everything most people have said on here.
But if we did get relagated we wouldnt have a club.
There would be a mass exedus of players and fans.
Crowds would drop to around the 300 mark with traveling away supporters and our own fans wouldnt want to be paying £15 to watch a game which would be only a small step up from being slightly better than amature.

Dominance's post is understandable, but I agree with Dovo.
COUGARS SHOULD RETAIN INTEGRITY AND STAY 100% INDEPOENDENT. TO BECOME A FEEDER CLUB FOR A SUPER LEAGUE CLUB WOULD BE THE DEATH OF COUGARS.
Let's look at what is happenning.
The current RFL top brass and the current Super League clubs are obsessed with competing with other sports and money. Fair enough – we all want Rugby League to demonstrate that it is the greatest game – but not at the expense of destroying the game itself.
Compared with the Eddie Waring days I’m now happy that, with Sky etc, the players get a fairer exposure and recognition in the media. Beyond that, if it happens that Soccer is still the bigger game we just have to live with it.
But the current result is that the current Super League clubs really want all the Sky money for themselves. But they agree they have to give a bit to other clubs. So, instead of spending more of their share on running A teams, they come up with the bright idea of making lower division clubs effectively their A teams!
Cougars should have nothing to do with. Even if it means they are relegated from the Championship – but then aim to win every match the next year in Championship 1, get promoted and continue that yo-yo if need be.
Keighley needs an independent club. You can still sign players on loan if it is to the mutual benefit of both clubs and the player. Keighley should aim to bring through local young players and mix in experienced SL players if possible. There’s a limit to SL squad sizes and eventually stars in their 30’s will not get a place. You think of Paul Deacon, Sean Long etc recently and coming up Keith Senior, Danny Orr, Adrian Morley, Lee Briers, Richard Moore, Lee Gilmour etc. Keighley should look to bring in this type if they would be committed for two or three years. Cougars could also look to mix in the odd Australian who may come over looking to make a name, the odd Welsh RU player etc.
I know it all needs money – but things go in cycles. Until the next Smith/O’Neill come along Cougars just needs to maintain integrity along these lines as an independent club – whatever league that implies they play in.
The key is to keep POTENTIAL (the dream) alive. Championship clubs becoming feeder clubs lose that.
In this way it will add weight to the possibility of Bradford Council helping what should be a vibrant community club when the time of need arises for a new stand or even a new ground. OK, that wouldn’t be a Valley Parade type stadium initially but again a new ground would need POTENTIAL (ie spaceand good parking) to be improved & developed when the Cougars star rises again. Unfortunately Super League clubs will go bust in the future and in taking this long term approach the Cougars dream of getting back in the top division would still remain a reality.
In the meantime, what would attract players to Cougars Park? There’s no future in the current circumstatnces just throwing any money there might be at players. Longer term, players would appreciate better facilities and care – good training facilities, decent changing rooms, good medical (Pyhsio, doctor even dentist support), quality away travel etc.
Cougars have quite a catchment area. As well as Keighley, without pushing the boundaries too far – to Silsden, Addingham, Skipton & out to Earby/Barnoldswick there’s easily a SL club supporting catchment of a 100,000 population.
As well as a winning team, it is shown that a ground with improved seating, views, atmosphere, facilities and good cheap/free parking (& QUALITY entertainment singers etc)increases attendances. Cougar fans with an independent club could/should have pride in their area – a nice place to live, employment opportunities both part-time for players & also for family members, good schools and a proud community. This, apart from money, is what could attract the Adrian Morleys in the future and keep Cougars ALIVEAND INDEPENDENT NOW AND WITH CONTINUING POTENTIAL FOR THYE FUTURE.
Keep the dream alive!!

How the hell can this be right? Well clearly it's not right!

We must stay proud and independent - these tie-ups will kill the game - just my two penneth worth.

Too late, by the looks of things we already have joined with cas.

Maybe the only way to stop us being a bottom two side and relagated to the div of doom.

I agree and disagree with this new change to the game but I have to agree with Panth if we don't do this then like I said we would struggle this season especially with the likes of the few teams we would expect to beat and find our selves in a dog fight at the bottom of the table.

I'd rather see us lose every game 40-0 and end up in Championship 1 with low crowds and a team full of local lads on £100 a game + £50 winning pay than see us sell out the way we have. I mean what about things like squadbuilder? Do fans really want to raise money to sign players who might not even get a game because someone comes in on dual-reg.

You've also got to love the way the club has broke this story. Not a single mention of it on their website, facebook, or twitter page as yet. Some of us loyal fans have spent hundreds if not thousands of pounds following the club all over, I myself have been to watch them in France twice. It's as if they knew this was going to create a lot of negative feedback so they let it slip to the Keighley News and hoped nobody read it, disgusting.

Basically the Championship Club Owners/Chairs have admitted defeat , and not just the twinned ones , the Ridiculous decision to move the NRC final from Blackpool in the hope of a few more pieces of silver tells us this

As I put on the Leythers board , I remember the film ' The Incredible Shrinking Man '

He eventually dissapeared , if our part of the sport continues to contract , the same fate will await us

The problem is though the way championship 1 is at the moment that could just see the end of the club.

Let's have confidence we won't be in a relegation place at the end of the season....

But I don't see playing in the 'third division' would be such a disaster: The aim would be to win every game & get promoted & there would be the chance to see/visit a load of new clubs. If Cougars did win all/most matches crowds should go up.

- Didn't do Cougars any harm in 1992/3!

Maybe we shouldn't be getting too het up with this Castleford thing given the way the RFL is running the game. I haven't seen the agreement in writing (if one exists) - but it sounds pretty informal and only tempoarary (this season only) In the past, if it was said that, due to an injury crisis, we'd loaned a couple of player from Cas - no-one would have been worried & would have looked forward to seeing a couple of new quality players turning out for Keighley.

I doubt crowds would go up though instead of having the away following of halifax, fev, leigh, and even teams like batley dewsbury and hunslet, we'd be getting the away following of gateshead, north london, south wales, Gloucestershire, oxford, hemel. These six teams will probably bring less than 200 fans to cougar park added together. Could the club really get that many more full paying cougar fans to come down week in week out. Unfortunately I dont think so.

As I hinted at in the post you replied to, you cut your cloth to suit. Sure a few less home fans will turn up and a lot less away fans will, but the salary cap is massively lower and a wage structure can be put in place to reflect that, and the quality of the division.