Premier (10)

Halton Simms Cross

Pilkington Recs

Bank Quay Bulls

Wigan St Cuthbert’s

Barrow Island

Golborne Parkside

Rylands

Ashton Bears

Walney Central

Widnes Moorfield

Division 1 (12)

**Blackbrook

**Latchford Albion

Bold Miners

Shevington Sharks

Albert Park

Folly Lane

Haydock

Oldham St Anne’s

Wigan St Patrick’s

Roose Pioneers

Blackpool Scorpions

Leigh East

Division 2 (12)

*Wigan St Jude’s

*Halton Farnworth
Thatto Heath

Ince Rose Bridge

Clock Face

Adlington Rangers

West Bank Swans

Leigh Miners

Orrell St James

Burtonwood Bridge

Widnes St Maries (X)

Golborne Parkside A (x)

Division 3 (12)

*Langworthy Reds

* Blackbrook A

Saddleworth

Dalton

Haresfinch

Heysham Atoms

Hindpool

Woolston

Spring View

Ulverston (RTn)

Moss Bank Bulldogs (X)

Widnes West Bank (X)



Division 4 (12)

*Rochdale Mayfield

*Blackpool Stanley

Leigh Central

Eccles

Leyland Warriors

Cadishead

Higginshaw

Bamber Bridge

New Springs Lions

Pilkingtons A

Irlam Hornets (X)

Widnes Tigers (X)

Division 5 (12)
*Bolton Mets

**Waterhead

St Helens Wild Boar

Blackburn Knights

Newton-le-Willows

Eccleston Lions

Hindley

Rochdale Cobras

Bury Broncos

Chorley (N)

Westhoughton Lions (N)

Wigan Bulldogs (N)



Division 6 (13)

Haydock A

Wigan St Cuthbert’s A

Crosfields

Folly Lane A

Simms Cross A

Rylands A

Leigh East A

Blackpool Scorpions A (N)

Moss Bank A (N)

Haresfinch A (N)

Latchford Albion A (N)

Woolston A (N)

R.Mayfield A (N)





(X) Third and fourth placed.

* relegated or ** relegated for failing fixtures as per rule 6.7.

(N) New teams

hmmmm...Moss Bank still get promotion despite forfeiting a game? Seems that rule is a bit hit and miss on when and who it applies to.


And yes, I am STILL bitter!

blackpool scorpions A are not a new side in div 6 , they were in that league last year.

From a personal point of view, Woolston win the league for the 2nd time in 3 years (the other time we finished 2nd) yet teams who finish 3rd, 4th, or who concede games get promoted with us...........rubbish

when was it confirmed that blackbrook had been relegated from the premier division??

Bulldogs in 5 are not new either....but all thats been done here is copied from what NWC sent to clubs last evening.

personally, common sense has prevailed to put the A teams togther in 6 and let the rest of us battle things out in 5. Hindley and Cobras are very strong in 5 though...and some good derbies for us at Bury (Bolton and Blackburn) as well as fixtures against two sides weve beat in freindlies.

Div 3 looks a bit of a nightmare if your a small club from the south of the counties...4 long trips north, i can imagine a few unfulfilled fixtures in that division.

and plenty of salford derbies in 4

Never seen Ulverston before, why are they straight into 3?

And what's happened to Milnrow & Newhey, they won 6 last year but no sign of them?

Ulverston are returning and have been deemed strong enough to go in 3, though why Hindley and Milnrow both started 6 last year in the same circumstances i do not know...

my info on Milnrow and Newhey was that they we're just about OK for numbers last year but struggled off-field and some lads have gone to other clubs this year making them unviable...

When we fell foul of the rules and forfeited one game we weren't allowed promotion despite being clear winners of Division1, yet now that gets overlooked.

When we then dropped out as Division 1 champions we were told we had to start from the bottom when we applied to come back.

Grrrrrrrr...it makes my blood boil!

any news on opening fixtures?

Monday next week at league meeting i presume...

(which is when i was expecting the division structures to be fair!)

both pilks teams too do the double this year!

division 4 and the prem

Spring View looking Very strong this year

The Cadishead Rhinos .v. Irlam Hornets games will be worth a viewing this season.

Is the new Chorley side a reformed Chorley Panthers or separate

Some things don't make sense. Haydock A finished near the top of 5 last season, and Bury finished rooted to the foot of 6.

Haydock A are now in 6 and Bury are in 5???? Doesn't make sense to me.

it makes a lot of sense....

the league have made the decision to be fair to new clubs who can only put a single team out - from one week to the next new clubs in 6 find themselves facing non-A team players and being heavily beaten, or no-one cos a team doesn't show up. Add to that the fact that some sides in 6 were very good and could easily go up to Div 2 or 3 (Hindley and Milnrow were both as high as Div 1 before dropping out, and Rochdale Cobras have a really strong squad winning summer competitions!)

...it's no wonder the NWC has been shrinking for nearly 20 years - who would want to bring a new club into a set up which is stacked against them from the outset?

This is much much better - at Bury we have friendly wins against Div 5 sides, we were pretty competitive against most in Div 6 (the three clubs i just mentioned being the exceptions) yet it was hardly a fair playing field...3 teams didn't show up (and only told us after 1pm on match-day - all were 'A' teams!), and a couple of sides were stronger than they might normally be as their first (or second) teams were not playing.

as Bury secretary our club was almost made unviable becasue of 'A' teams not travelling and we had already paid for pitch hire etc...

an A team division, and a division for single team clubs makes far more sense if the game as a whole expands.

all that said...i can't see how promotion to 4 will work. i think the A teams should have an equal chance of going to 4 as the sides in 5.

Maybe should have called them 5 and 5A?

i thought that, but at the end of teh day, we're all adults!

As a player at Bury it was maddening to train hard for a game, get psyched up, turn up, get kitted up, strapped up, warmed up and then find out another 'A' team had cancelled. Plus we'd paid for the pitch, food, etc, so we ended up having to eat loads and drink loads to console ourselves.



We were a brand new team made up of around 10 experienced RL players, some RU players, some RL lads who hadn't played for many years (myself included), and some brand new to the oval ball. We competed very well in the majority of games, but it'd be hard for any team with such a mixed, inexperienced and it times, small, squad.

The first few weeks of the season were good, we were getting match-fit and hardened, and starting to gel. Then 'A' games were cancelled, the weather moved in, more games cancelled, etc. We had 8 games in 7 months, including a 2 month gap. Some players lost interest, training was hard to promote in the bitter winter months - it was bloody hard going.

As mmp said, several teams in 6 were a much higher standard - Milnrow and Hindley had come from higher divisions, Rochdale got stronger as the year went on (with some good player acquisitions!). Other teams such as Simmies 'A' could call on very high standards of players, especially when the first team wasn't playing and/or first teamers were coming back from injury.

Div 5 looks a fairly even and competitive standard and we've already beaten a few of them in friendlies. I appreciate the move by the NWC and can't wait for kick-off.

My concern is if new teams go straight in to a league, and take a beating week in week out, then come 10-12 games in, will they last a season? I think Latchford in Div 2 had serious problems last year due to the lack of numbers.

Also, should an 'A' team be denied the right to progress up the leagues? Our 2nds are now in Div 1 after starting in Div 6.

IMHO, the Hindley & Milnrow situation last season was wrong - they both should have been in a much higher league.

And just to clarify, and I can make the assumption that mmp was talking about us as we are the only club with a 3rd team, our firsts and seconds had matches both times we played you. If anything, we had a few 3rd team regulars out with injuries when we played at your place.

Good luck in Div 5, I hope you have a successful season and are able to continue the good work already started. Hopefully there will soon be a junior section at your club, as in the long run, thats where the biggest part of our squad come from - progression from Junior to Open Age.

sorry....i wasnt refering to anyone in particular just making a general point. (though simmies have three sides and mayfield will as well this year).

It's no problem - it can be a bit annoying when you turn up to play a team and end up playing their first team pack!

yup...especially when you consider members of our pack have never played until this year...

which is why its tough to have A teams mixed with 'development clubs'. having myself played the likes of newton, blackburn etc., and with us having beated eccleston and westhoughton, i'm looking forward to teh new season as it also gives us better scope to grow the club...

firts couple of games we had it advertised and a bout 100 showed up. but with the first two failures to show we decided to stop advertising as it was too much hassle...

Agree with that in principle - though I do feel it's more vital for a new side to get regular games - players can handle losing, but putting all that hard work in and being let down on match days, going months without a game, etc, is more disheartening imo.

The issue of 'A' teams is a tricky one. There has to be some form of guarantee they will turn out as much as single team clubs, but I agree they should get a fair shot. Some second/third teams seem to play as and when they feel like it, and some don't really seem to have enough players, and it's those that make life difficult for the rest, who do the league justice.

Who do you play for mate?