That link doesn't work and I can't find anything on the site that's new.
So I remain to be convinced.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... e-27256425 Sorry, try this one. The link is about halfway down the page

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... e-27256425 Sorry, try this one. The link is about halfway down the page

captaincaveman cut and pasted the relevant section above.

He does. But your statement that it is on the RFL website, seems to no longer be true. Which casts doubt.

I don't know either way, but as I said in my original post, JM told us it was being worked out in a different way, based on his meeting with IMG.
So to answer your question, I do believe him, but time has moved on since then and IMG may have changed the details.

Using a LA boundary is a lazy inaccurate way of recording catchment area. I presume Batley and Dewsbury are split with Huddersfield even though they’re closer to Wakefield than Fev and cas are. Would be different if part of the same City or Town but we are all separate towns and Cities so what’s the point of having it as a criteria. Anyway if that’s how it’s going to be scored then it is what it is. It’s up to us to keep improving and get our IMG score as high as possible. Hopefully takeover will help us improve.

Up the Trin

No, it's still there. There seems to be an issue that when you try to cut and paste the link, it changes the URL but if you google "rugbyleague.com uploads" it will come up as one of the first links.

In any case, as mentioned earlier, captaincaveman has cut and pasted the relevant parts. It's fairly well documented that some chairmen and CEOs didn't understand a lot of the implications of grading when the inital document was released and that's partly why I highlighted this specific point - it's of much bigger implication than many will grasp from such a long document.

To put it into context - if the 3-year on-field performance grading of Wakefield, Fev or Cas ended up being nine positions higher than that of Bradford (eg finishing 11th compared to 20th for Bradford), and all other gradings were equal (just for the sake of this argument), Bradford's score of 1.5 for catchment area compared to 0.5 for the three WF teams would see them ranked higher overall.

It is what it is, it’s up to us to achieve all criteria best we can, I’m confident of us achieving a decent IMG score for top 12.

Up the Trin

Points awarded for attendance e.leeds-live.co.uk/_act/link.php ... d=12669859

Points awarded for attendance e.leeds-live.co.uk/_act/link.php ... d=12669859

If that is in fact how they quantify it, then it is flawed.
Even if Wakefield and Cas weren't there Fev would not command a third of the area.
Plus, if we are saying the reach is challenged by another club, why not continue the reach where there is no club? Why can't we say we have a reach into Barnsley?

I don't think this is the end of the story. I think savvy chairmen will aim to get more points out of that.

PT, never seen you so riled. Did you not previously realise that IMG is a group of shyster mercenaries? Of course the metrics are flawed but not for achieving the primary goals of the remit.

Back in the day, the big clubs introduced franchising (of course very unpopular and ultimately doomed). This time round

they've employed supposed pros to do it . The top clubs benefit but they divert the blame elsewhere.

Lol. I'm not riled. Just disappointed we missed out on points I thought we were getting.
I'm OK with franchising. As long as the criteria is achievable and fair.

Well recovered.

New Wakefield Trinity YouTube channel; https://m.youtube.com/@WakefieldTrinityRLFC Now more then ever supporters need to subscribe and watch the video's. The club need to make engaging content to keep interest up. Rightly or wrongly this kind of stuff will now have a say on who makes up the top flight. Just watched the Inside Trintiy video. Good start, hopefully it will grow in quality and entertainment.

New Wakefield Trinity YouTube channel; https://m.youtube.com/@WakefieldTrinityRLFC Now more then ever supporters need to subscribe and watch the video's. The club need to make engaging content to keep interest up. Rightly or wrongly this kind of stuff will now have a say on who makes up the top flight. Just watched the Inside Trintiy video. Good start, hopefully it will grow in quality and entertainment.

Quote ="Khlav Kalash"New Wakefield Trinity YouTube channel; https://m.youtube.com/@WakefieldTrinityRLFC Now more then ever supporters need to subscribe and watch the video's. The club need to make engaging content to keep interest up. Rightly or wrongly this kind of stuff will now have a say on who makes up the top flight. Just watched the Inside Trintiy video. Good start, hopefully it will grow in quality and entertainment.'" Subscribed

Quote ="Khlav Kalash"New Wakefield Trinity YouTube channel; https://m.youtube.com/@WakefieldTrinityRLFC Now more then ever supporters need to subscribe and watch the video's. The club need to make engaging content to keep interest up. Rightly or wrongly this kind of stuff will now have a say on who makes up the top flight. Just watched the Inside Trintiy video. Good start, hopefully it will grow in quality and entertainment.'" Subscribed

Some more information and a couple of tweets, could it really be possible for a 14 team SL happening?

Breaking News from the RFL.

RL Commercial will enter a 30-day exclusive negotiating period with Sky Sports to formalise the broadcast rights agreement.

It would appear the RFL have managed to increase the offer made from Sky from £17M to £20M+ a decrease on the current deal.

22nd August - for immediate release
Update on Broadcast Rights
Following a meeting of RL Commercial, IMG and Super League (Europe) Shareholders, RL Commercial will now enter a 30-day exclusive negotiating period with Sky Sports to formalise and
contract the broadcast rights agreement. This follows a period of activity in the market that saw multiple bids tabled for the rights, with all
stakeholders convinced Sky Sports are offering the best deal for the Super League competition. It would see the partnership with Sky Sports extend for a further three years, until the end of the 2026 season - which would include the 30th anniversary of the launch of Super League's
partnership with Sky Sports for the inaugural season in 1996. Under the proposed deal, the partnership would include the live broadcast of every Super League fixture, to the UK and worldwide - a transformative development for the competition. This would
also allow for video match officials to be appointed for every match.
There would also be the continuation of a free-to-air window.
Further details will be shared on the conclusion of the negotiating period.
Ends...

What is interesting from the meeting with clubs today is that the competition structure will change as the sport of Rugby League works around what the broadcasters want, not what the self serving Super League clubs want. It’s taken a further reduction to hammer home this message.
The top tier to expand to 14 clubs is what I’m hearing which would finally remove the awful loop fixtures. That gives Championship clubs like Bradford, Featherstone, Newcastle and York hope that they accumulate enough IMG points to make the 13th and 14th positions.

I doubt it but if they did I would imagine it would be after next season.

I've said all along they can set criteria to get who they want in SL

If Sky are broadcasting all SL games I doubt they would want to increase this to seven due to cost involved unless they believed the pay per view would make it viable.

Sky aren't broadcasting them all.
It'll be C4 and Our League as well.

Various people have been saying don’t worry no relegation and 2 up, it’s apparently an open secret in the RL world. Don’t believe them to be honest but of the above is correct it does make you think.

Up the Trin

It's an open secret among people who have no idea what they are talking about and also think the world is flat.

That’s not what DS indicated in the post which said Sky would be broadcasting all games.

I guess we'll have to wait and see but I think this bit is to do with multi broadcast options.

"There would also be the continuation of a free-to-air window.
Further details will be shared on the conclusion of the negotiating period."

The Rugby Football League has confirmed all Super League games will be broadcast live as part of their new three-year agreement with Sky Sports. As first reported by Rugby League Live, a new agreement has been reached which will see Sky continue as the competition's lead broadcaster, with a 30-day exclusive negotiating period now underway to formalise the agreement.

The deal has resulted in a marginal reduction to the previous £24 million-a-year agreement but does come with new arrangement. Most notably, it has been confirmed every Super League fixture will now be broadcast live, and all matches will have video referee technology. Here's a breakdown of everything we know so far.

The basics
The new deal is a three-year contract with Sky Sports, which will see the broadcaster remain as the primary rights holder until the end of 2026. The deal is a reduction, financially, on the previous deal, which was worth £24 million. It is expected to get to a figure of £23 million once add-ons are secured.

What are the key changes?
The main change is that every single match across the season will be broadcast live. This is a significant change to the present, when as little as two games per week can be shown. It has also been confirmed to Rugby League Live that as a result, games will be staggered across the weekend and there will be significantly fewer clashes then there are now. Gone will be the days of five matches on a Friday and no weekend games. That will be well received by supporters. Another development which will no doubt be approved by viewers is the fact every game will now have video technology for referees to call upon. As it stands, only televised games, or those shown on OurLeague, have that capability.

Thursday nights to be banished?
Not quite. However, it's believed there will be a move to significantly reduce the number of Thursday night matches, and they certainly won't be as regular as they have been in recent years. Logistically they are unlikely to be gone for good, don't forget many clubs share grounds with football clubs, so there are logistical challenges.

Where will the games be shown?
That's one of the biggest unknowns, at this point. As it stands, Super League, Channel 4 and OurLeague broadcast games but it's unclear if Sky intend to show all the matches on their various platforms, or if some will be shown externally. That, at this stage, is a key question. It's understood that at this stage, Channel 4 haven't reached an agreement, but they have been offered the opportunity to show more games.

How will the Rugby Football League ensure there are enough officials available for video referees across every game?
Fewer clashes, that's the top and bottom of it. And that will be apparent in next year's scheduling. What we don't know is exactly how those in charge plan to stagger the games.

Other unanswered questions?
There are plenty. Will the Championship land a TV deal? The competition's rights are currently out to tender. There's plenty more to get across at this stage.

I suppose the video ref needs not be what is laughingly called SL elite. I suppose this is why all SL clubs will needs their own screens.