If it was to work each club would have to feel that they were equal partners as well as the fans.
Ideas for that would be some sort of arrangement where Cas colours home kit, wakey colours away kit, Fev colours cup games and u19s with it reversing the following season.

You would need some sort of museum at the new ground charting each teams individual history , hall of famers etc and how it led to a merged team.

You would need to look at subsidised transport from each teams old ground. Town centre to any new stadium ( at least for three years to get things established).

Each team to have amateur semi pro teams in the second or third tier with the best players feeding through to the merged team.

A clear support from the merged team to all the amateur teams in the Local area to build links.

A number of supporter events to build links between fans of both teams ( a bit like Sam's team on SKY).

Sponsorship from local firms feeding in etc.

To be fair as unpalatable as it is it is the only way to go IMHO.

And i know that the Giants would dissappear without Ken Davy before anyone throws it in.

can't believe we been through this talk so many times in yrs past

Super League has got far to expensive for the majority of teams, it is only top flight teams like Salford, Huddersfield and Leeds who have backers with lots of cash that are enjoying the ride, the rest are hanging on by the skin of their teeth and trying to sweep their problems under the carpet. SL will in a few years die because it cannot sustain itself, the governing body is trying to retail SL to Premier League football and it will never happen, why? because it is too expensive. Look at us, new stands to pacify the RFL, we are also threatened that if we don't get a new stadium we will be out of SL by default. Who the hell do these people think they are? Sky sports put lots of cash into SL but they practically run it to meet their own ends they don't give a monkeys what knot about the fans its all about getting paying viewers. It would be great if we could go back to the good old days with the BBC involved.
I would not support a merger, I support Wakefield Trinity.

Wakefield Trinity forever merger never

If any sort of merger were to happen I would support the newly merged team.

As would I - it would be sad at first and maybe a lot of it would be curiosity value but over time, it would build its own traditions and history and with a bit of success on the field, could attract a massive fan base from all over the district. All 3 clubs would bring tremendous value to the table - WTW, whilst cash poor, would bring a new stadium and the keys to the city.

Done properly, it could secure RL in the District for generations to come - I love the game, so that's what interests me the most.

No to a merger from me. That would be me and RL done.

That 's exactly how I,now an old git, see things Bren.
People cannot really be lovers of RL if they say merger would lead to them disassociating themselves from the great game.

Wakefield first, RL a distant second. Might watch the odd game on tv but i wouldn't spend a dime on a merged team. But there is plenty more to life than rugby league, i'd find something else to do with my time and money.

You would.

At first, you'd sit at home with your arms folded and bottom lip firmly out; then you'd see snippets on the news about the new stadium being built and the WY super-club signing some marquee players and your interest would be piqued. Then you'd watch a game on telly and see the new stadium rocking and Daryl Powell coaching the team to victory. Then you'd sneak to a game or two to see what all the fuss was about. Then you'd buy a ST and take your kids and watch the new club finish in the 8 and make a decent fist of the play-offs. Maybe even a CC run that involved actually beating a SL team or two, then you'd be hooked.

And so it goes.

I can't see how that would help at all, each club would still get the die hard fans that refuse the merger and they would still have the bills (although smaller) that they have now! You are essentially talking about relegating Wakey and Cas and creating a totally new team, I can't see who would turn their backs on their own club and follow the new. If it happened then it would need to be a total replacement for the other two IMO.

I could see the value of a feeder team in the lower league, to create a pathway for young players and an opportunity for injured players to achieve match fitness etc; it seems to work in Aus. I'd probably watch both.

DG's point about links with community clubs is a good one; from U7's onwards, the kids of the district should be steeped in and allied to, the super-club, so there would have to be a really strong focus on building and maintaining good relationships with *every* community club in the district - shared training facilities, coaching workshops, S&C work, fundraising and resourcing etc etc.

Nope. To be honest the way I feel about RL at present (and have done for a while) i'm all on to go now, its only blind loyalty to the club i've supported since I was small boy that keeps me going. A merged team wouldn't be my club anymore and I would have no affiliation to it and as such it would get the widest of berths. So what if it even gets to wembley, I watch two teams I have no affection for walk out there every year, that would be exactly the same to me. And Newmarket? Theres no connection there either as Wakey would have never played there. It would just be another modern stadium knocking around, big deal. I'm afraid merged team really would not interest me in the slightest but maybe some it would, each to their own.

Have you ever visited the planet Earth

I don't remember anyone championing a merger 12 months ago when we won 7 on the trot, hit the top 8 and had loads of money, what the hells changed.


A merger may well work given time for future generations but i doubt it would work "present day"

I hope you don't mind the slight edit

Just fed up of being a bottom side 'on the brink' once again and I think a merger at Newmarket would in the long term be a good idea.

I don't count last season as finishing in the Top 8, on wins we were ninth.

Fwiw I agree with Bren, people would take their ball home initially but if they loved the game most would eventually come back.

Id go watch dewsbury or batley rather than a merged "calder" team. I love the game yet I find myself with a massive disliking for super league and sky sports and wouldnt mind having nothing to do with either if it came to it.

I believe that WMDC is only capable of supporting one SL on a sustainable basis. I also believe that any merged team would need to have Wakefield as a part of it in order to tap into the greatest population mass in the district.

I also think Brens points are valid provided the team could progress financially over the initial 'bedding in' period before it started to gather momentum.

El Rey also makes a valid point in that this discussion seems to crop hope only in times of weakness. However when
one possible partner is weak the other one is usually stronger and for this reason I don't think it will have happen.

Cough cough ,

That's what I'm thinking about - hence my uncharacteristic departure from Planet Earth.

I'm weary of maintaining the illusion tbh - it's as clear as the nose on my face that the District can't support 3 teams in any way other than as perennial strugglers, persistently eking out a living on the fringes of the modern game; if something radical isn't done and soon, the sport itself will die a death in this area.

If one of the 3 clubs get a sugar daddy, the other two will die; if none do, all 3 will. The best alternative to that, in my view, would be for all 3 clubs to get round the table and with their combined resources, thrash out a plan for the future of RL in the Wakefield District. If that doesn't happen, it will be taken out of our hands.

What a load of nonsense! , the opportunity for a merger to work (if there ever was one ) has now gone. It was only a means to fit into the franchising framework.

As things stand we need to finish in the top 12 next season. If we do we stay up and if we do not we go down a division and rebuild.

Anyone who thinks merging two teams on their backsides into some sort of Superleague superpower is even a possibility must be off their rocker.

We have always had to sell players to survive , and have always found new players to take their place ,no one is irreplaceable.

What about a dual code setup - Trinity and the old Wakefield union team both playing out of Newmarket, similar to Leeds. Would it bring in more sponsorship, higher the profile of rugby in the area and increase the fan base.
Probably would never get off the ground but just a thought

to my knowledge Wakefield don't have a union side any more, think the closest is Sandal RU

They still exist on paper, although they don't have a team they are still non playing members of the RFU and the Yorkshire RFU. I think they tried to team up with Bradford Bulls about 10 yrs ago but never got going, Sykes played for Wakefield RFU I thinks while at Bradford