That’s where i’m at. Really not sure how any club can vote on something when they haven’t uet even been informed of the criteria? Many turkeys have just voted for christmas without even realising it.

The old saying rings true here for me , you won’t know until you you’ve tried it . Listening to comments on social media I didn’t realise how fickle we are , moan when the RFL are deemed to be doing nothing constructive in the sport and now moaning because the game is going to have a shake up . I despair at times , desperately need an England win tomorrow to put some cheer back into the sport .

Apparently only one objection to IMG

Strong words from Keighley Cougars co-owner Ryan O’Neill who says that the IMG/RFL restructure will create a top division with elite clubs who can never face relegation is only in the self-interests of those involved.

STATEMENT | Keighley Cougars Chief Executive and co-owner Ryan O'Neill has issued the following statement after the club was today the only to vote against the 'Reimagining Rugby League' proposals.


At today’s RFL council meeting, Keighley Cougars were the only club to vote against the proposals by IMG to give relegation immunity to the elite clubs.

Keighley Cougars take pride in promoting equality and fairness in all walks of life, both sporting and non-sporting.

To give elite clubs immunity from relegation runs contrary to our values.

Equality at Cougar Park means for people, society, and sport.

To create a top division with elite clubs who can never face relegation is only in the self interests of those involved.

It is unfair, it is anti-competition, and it isn’t sport.

Our Managing Director, Kaue Garcia, spoke to the RFL council that elitism is not what sport is about, and that in the long term it will damage Rugby League.

The Cougars are currently standing alone against the proposals, but we believe in our values and in the long term interests of our sport.

Rugby League already has rules about standards that clubs need to attain to get into the top division of the sport. These rules are understandable, attainable and fair.

What is not fair is for IMG to create a sport of elites to dominate and decimate the rest.

The vote today was in favour of the equivalent of the failed European Super League in football.

This was rejected at the highest level, with the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson commiting to legislate against it, citing a cartel and it being “against the basic principles of competition.”

Keighley Cougars are committed to equality for all.

Now we fight for the equality and fairness for our sport.
By Ryan O’Neill, Chief Executive.

I’ve just seen this from Matt Shaw I wasn’t aware of this promotion and relegation option However, one of the key pieces of information to be clarified was around the mechanics of promotion and relegation. We now know that clubs will all be graded on unspecified criteria, with clubs to eventually be graded from A through to C. But what was unclear was what happens if a Grade B club finished bottom of Super League and a Grade B club won the Championship. Crucially, that has now been confirmed and, if that were to happen, the team finishing bottom of Super League will be relegated, and the team who wins the Championship will be promoted. In essence, promotion and relegation from Super League will still exist in its current guise on the basis the club coming up is the same grade as the clubs going down. Grade A clubs will be exempt from Super League relegation. https://t.co/r4XneFI7AB

I’ve just seen this from Matt Shaw I wasn’t aware of this promotion and relegation option However, one of the key pieces of information to be clarified was around the mechanics of promotion and relegation. We now know that clubs will all be graded on unspecified criteria, with clubs to eventually be graded from A through to C. But what was unclear was what happens if a Grade B club finished bottom of Super League and a Grade B club won the Championship. Crucially, that has now been confirmed and, if that were to happen, the team finishing bottom of Super League will be relegated, and the team who wins the Championship will be promoted. In essence, promotion and relegation from Super League will still exist in its current guise on the basis the club coming up is the same grade as the clubs going down. Grade A clubs will be exempt from Super League relegation. https://t.co/r4XneFI7AB

You spend double the cap on players, hired the supposed best coach and managed to finish 11th.

I think you're the ones doing the holding back.

Big spending club not big club. When did you last win the title again?

Oddly I think he's a Saints troll.

I'm presuming the theory is that the game won't attract outside investment if there is the risk of it being blown because of one bad season.

If the game can end up in the situation where we can attract decent union and NRL players, and properly grow our grass roots, it's all good. The game is just stumbling along at the moment, which isn't good. The peak of super league were the franchising years, in my view, although it's hard to know whether its growth has been stunted by the greater funds that became available in the NRL. Look at the England side. Plenty of NRL players, plus those who went but got homesick.

Let's be honest. Our concern isn't that it won't grow the game but that we might Grade B and vulnerable.

Neutral fans like success. Most sports fans know a lot of the Wigan team from the early nineties, some even household names, and it was the most boring era in the sport, a one-team comp. Neutral fans don't necessarily like competition. They like watching excellence. If we can make them switch on because there is excellence at the top, let's give it a go. Cas-v-Wakey in its current form might be one for the purists, but it won't have big money knocking on many doors. It looks like a seventies relic, like speedway.

Yeah, because it was the smaller clubs fault that you finished 11th last year was it?

Never mind, next year could be your year

It’s believed by posters on a number of RL club forums, that TheWarringtonWolve69 is a Saints fan, trying to discredit the Warrington posters.

I don’t think he’s even a Saints fan tbf. He’s a troll that for some reason has free reign of RLFANS.

He's not a Wire fan if it helps, at the present time it's our turn unfortunately to suffer his silly comments but the good thing is if you ignore him he'll move to either Salford, Leigh, or Warrington in no particular order, he's supposed to be a Saints fan probably a Man Utd fan as well, they also pop up from all over the place, the mods on here have his card marked because he's that many user names he's forgotten the password on most of them.

I’m a st Helen’s fan.

How’s the new stadium coming along you promised decades ago?

All the salary cap has done is try to bring the big clubs down to your level. All that has achieved is ruining the standard of rugby league in this country.

You are b minus at best

And you are a complete dunce at best, go and stand in the corner

At least we are det free .With posts like these you can see why St are getting a bad name as grubs of R L.

He's gone now. No need to reply to him. He can't post on here.

Thanks a lot Pop Tart

Stadium coming on nicely thanks as you already know seeing as you're all over this forum..

The salary cap has helped you more. Otherwise you'd have never got out of Wigans back pocket where they had you for 10 years.

Also if the salary cap has had such an impact dragging you down to our level. Then why have only 4 teams won the grand final since. One of which is now in the championship.

Not interested in a reply. Just bore off.

Another short episode from SMTM. I think it’s worth listening to the debate and ideas, also mentioned the RL clubs are meeting on Thursday to vote on the proposals. https://t.co/UQuXsoscDq

Another short episode from SMTM. I think it’s worth listening to the debate and ideas, also mentioned the RL clubs are meeting on Thursday to vote on the proposals. https://t.co/UQuXsoscDq

I know I’m probably paranoid when it comes to Trinity, but things like this send a shiver down my spine. e.leeds-live.co.uk/_act/link.php ... Id=8345848

I know I’m probably paranoid when it comes to Trinity, but things like this send a shiver down my spine. e.leeds-live.co.uk/_act/link.php ... Id=8345848

I'm with you Dunkirk.
Like you, call me paranoid but, with the likes of London, Toulouse, Newcastle, York, Bradford, Fev all wanting a spot in SL, IMG will be able to engineer their criteria to fit whoever they want into SL.
The HUGE elephant in the room is what funding will be available and without pointing out the obvious, just what did London's inclusion in SL do for the game overall when they were last in the top flight.
It almost looks like we are going back 25+ years to when SL was started, with certain clubs utterly protected and others (like Trin) being seen as collateral damage.
Something maybe does need to be done to prevent the promoted side being relegated immediately but, you just get the feeling that we are about to get right royally shafted.

Disappointing attitude. Can you imagine John Minards spouting this rubbish? MC? This sort of viewpoint keeps us in the dark ages. It's far from helpful. Maybe IMG are independent? Maybe they have been given a clear brief and the best intentions are being pursued with a fully open book?

We have all moaned at the RFL for being impotent, then they do this, and still they are moaned at. Game has to evolve unfortunately and there will be some casualties.

I think with London it’s being tried numerous times and there’s just not the interest. I have no issue with London being a potential target to grow the game but this should be a long term plan to build on and progressive. Catapulting them into the top league will not and has not worked previously. I think that’s what some fans are fearing. A club who doesn’t measure up to trinity getting a spot purely on location to drive growth in an area. If over time they grow and meet the criteria then nobody could argue.

I don't see anything wrong with it.
IMG have no axe to grind. They are not engineering something to get rid of us.
But if we don't come up to scratch they probably will.
London isn't our enemy. We need to be a better option than Cas, Fev Bradford etc if we want to be included.
They clearly say London is a long term project too.

Apparently they want to change the name as other sports are using the Superleague moniker

It must just be me that is getting a whiff of deja vu. ??

I agree that IMG are not "anti Wakefield". However, that doesn't mean that we wont be the fall guys (again).
Equally, I have nothing against London but, my 50+ years on the planet and the many attempted "re brands" of the structure and the sport in general have done sweet FA to elevate the sport and London are NOT the magic silver bullet.
We had a "golden era" when we could cherry pick RU talent with a few gold coins and through self interest and poor management, the sport languished as an also ran, wat behind the major sports in the UK.

Like it or not, we ARE one of the lower end clubs in SL and have been for most of the last 25 years, which clearly makes us vulnerable. Even the most optimistic of Trinity fans must be able to see this.

There are 12 places up for grabs and it will only take 2 or 3 clubs, who are not currently in SL to tick a couple of boxes to see us jettisoned from the top flight.

With the comments from IMG, London seems to be the first one.