Really enjoyed going to Perpignan, but haven't been for the last 3 seasons as it is now far too expensive.

Sorry I disagree, as much as I would love to spend a weekend away in France, but to the average supporter they can't afford it.
bring in more overseas teams and the league will just spiral downwards.
the Catalan supporters don't come in their droves to their away games do they, not only is it a lifeless atmosphere the clubs suffer in the income

the RFL should fix what they have broken first before looking abroad and that is the championship teams.
there should be better quality teams challenging now that the dual regs and lowered structure is in place but its got to come from the public to get off their backsides and support them

But the lack of a genuine ' prize ' and now the DR system will just finally kill off the Championships, they dont want to ' fix ' it, they seem to be doing there best to ruin it

As for Toulouse, I said 4 years ago when they announced they would play in the Championship, it was a mistake, they should have been put in SL then

do you not think that the dual regs and over flow off under 20 players will improve the quality of the league

Selling your soul to the devil will improve your life for a while

They should improve standards in champ 1 but if there are to many in the championship the standards will "without doubt" drop.

With the changes to the SL academy system for next season, there should be an improvement in quality in th CC, however, this may not be a significant as one may think, as many of these players are already on duel reg deals.
However there will be a reduced number of young players being trained/coached in a full time professional environment and in the longer term a reduction in homegrown telent, the exact opposite of the plans for our domestic game.
Is this more designed as a cost saving measure to allow the games top players to be paid more or have I missed something in the "masterplan".

Perhaps playing at a higher level is more beneficial than full time training. Dual Reg would be the best option however i can understand why the CC and C1 teams see this as a step towards feeder clubs.

It isnt a ' step ' , its arrived

Do you think the change was a cost saving measure or, a well thought out plan ?
It may well save SL clubs some cost and give an influx of players to CC clubs, many of whom will be very good quality players but,
it has to have a knock on effect down the line and inevitably means there will actually be fewer young lads coming into the game
at a higher level.

but now with the current financial meltdowns , any saving , no matter what other damage it might do long term

I'm sure that you are right about the need for saving cash but, whatever the financal state of the game and we know it's not in the greatest health despite increased numbers on TV and through the turnstiles, the RFL should have a plan (missiion statement) that is public and that the game is moving towards.
This seems to be totally lacking and as mere supporters of the game, its easy to get the feeling that, they might do something rash to appease the larger clubs and their outspoken chairmen ?

Not at Championship level

how have crowds held up at LSV & other Championship grounds this season ?

The LER has been sluggiish in the opening weks but last weekend saw crowds rise as the season establishes itself

Leighs were down 600 from 2,300 to 1,700 , our lowest for well over a decade , but how much of that was playing on Fridays is a question , Fax and Fev were similar , as for the rest , not sure , not much change either way I dont think , but it will be interesting to see how these ' twinings ' effect it

aye, that's a big drop - the rugby has been decent too this season from what i've seen on Premier Sports - I know Donny increased a bit due to their success but the acid test will be next season when they play the big boys

maybe the friday KOs affected things - but how much has the economical climate changed things ? or, has the game become less enticing for the fans ?

It has for me , I dont go anymore

The recession obviously has had a massive effect , but ultimatley clubs are at best standing still , which means in reality they are going backwards , they along with the RFL aren't doing anything to improve things , and there is nothing I can see on the horizon that will change it

One thing is certain , whoever drops out of the Championship this year is going to be in big trouble , because dropping into what is essentially an amatuer expansion league will kill their fan base

you paint a gloomy picture my friend...

what would it take for you to go to matches again ? what needs to change to make lifelong fans like you go back to the LSV ?

A return to P and R

And/or

A change of attitude from Leigh's management , and prefferably the RFL attitude to the Championship clubs