Very sad but the best thing that can come out of it is that other clubs will think twice about cheating the salary cap.

On the plus side, Dewsbury is a damn sight closer than Barrow.

That's one the reasons why Rugby League hasn't expanded as it should. People too lazy to travel a few miles.



I like long trips.

Depends how expensive they are

Not a problem for ESO, brummie.



And worth pointing out that we'll only have two games outside Yorkshire next season, both at Leigh - if we play each other once (which admittedly is a big [size=150if[/size). Not exactly globe-trotting, is it ?

Good, I like long journeys as long as it's somewhere I haven't been before. That's the annoying thing about rugby, I feel like I've been to every ground about a million times, always somewhere new to go with football. I can't wait for my first ever trip to Adams Park in Wycombe at the end of the month, not because I think it will be a spectacular ground in an exciting town, simply because it's a part of the Earth I've never visited.

I'd love to get South Wales Scorpions in one of the cups. Only ground outside SL that needs ticking off.

Have a chat with Martin.

He's been to about two million grounds, all on public transport.

No chauffeur driven limo for him.....

Part of a competitive league system is the travelling to home or away grounds and the negativity of some about travelling is so disappointing. I love travelling to all the home games (320 mile round trip) and the away games of eg 10 min walk. It is such a shame that so often RL CEO/Chairmen just go using their business acumen in very detrimentable ways, which harm the name of the sport, the town and the supporters, and often as ego trips for themselves. It happens far too often.

Claims of not getting business's support for their team must surely (and only supposition here) have something to do with business not being entirely convinced of the claims made to them. The gazing through rose-tinted specs at what the club/team can achieve by manipulation of finance, broken promises and the occasional journeymen out for a fast buck make a mockery of the situation and then the "honest" chairman/directors get all the flack for their endeavors with tight budgets.

Some fans are blaming the RFL for the points deduction and thus "killing" the club, er the Chairman killed the club first with his apalling mismanagement and fiddles , oh sorry, illegal betting. The RFL are not guilty.

Sympathy for the club is the important aspect, sympathy for the screwed supporters and a good riddance to the manipulative management who have killed a sport they supposed love.

Good luck to Raiders. The fans deserve a decent deal after this debacle and I hope that as a resident of the town we continue to have a team to support, no matter what level it is at.

Is the way forward a single league ? No. With the way the RFL pander to SL there would be even less chance of getting a club "promoted " under even franchise arrangements.

The thing is it keeps on happening - why is it - Barrow - Crusaders ???leigh - are Fax Ok - (it's a question not a statment) there are so many clubs that seem to live beyond their means and it often seems to be the "management" that let it happen - WHY - there is no real money in it - even getting to super league dn't give you that much it must be just plain ego building - but it sickens off the fans and the majority of the players - so lets just tell all those dic heads .... if you want to build yourself an ego - but a F$%&ing football (association) club and leave Rugby League alone!

I don't have negativity towards travelling away Shorteagle, I've missed one away game in the last two seasons, I just stated I'd rather go to Dewsbury than Barrow.

But - significantly - you said it was nearer.

It's because nobody wants to put the work in to achieving anything. Everybody wants things now. It's not just sport.

The unfortunate thing is, and I'm no supporter of DJ, he is taking all the crap etc but there are 2 other directors [he is CEO and Chairman, and they MUST have known what was going on as well as the accountants who (or DJ) have not provided the "books" for a couple of years for the "public" to see the income and expenditure as should have been done. Illegal payments [in the RFL terms re salary caps for travel/housing/etc etc are one of the major problems along with match betting and 1st try scorer etc can only be described as stupid. (Shaun Leaf, Sean Long etc etc.)
DJ has tried to compare payments, such as travel and accomadation, as separate to salary etc, as is in 'normal' business worlds, but the rules are clear within the salary cap and basically, he is a loser on a lost cause. Just because he feels the players travelling from Hull, Leeds etc should be special cases for Barrow. He shouldn't have either offered stupid wages in the 1st place or got players from so far away, or both. South Wales Scorpians are coping (allegedly). The RFL should have penalised Celtic Crusaders more in line with the Raiders punishment with their illegal immigrant players, but I suppose because they were an expansion team in SL there are different rules..



RFL to Crusaders



RFL to Raiders



Something needs sorting at the RFL...........try sticking to the same rules FOR EVERY CLUB

I agree there does seem a bit of a rules for some rules for others mentality which is totally wrong,also a much as you would like the development of the game to be widespread,At this moment in time if it is strong in areas then why not make it stronger,Were phissing in the wind expanding the game,Why not make the game stronger were the people and the fans want it to be,Apart from Catalans there has been no substantial development in any other areas,The rugby league have been too busy trying to develop the game and looking after others when it should have been looking after there own,Clubs in Yorkshire/Lancashire/Cumbria have been there for 80 odd years,They are the ones that should be looked after,Im all for development but not when the established clubs are being plopped upon.Would you see the rugby union pushing the Leeds Carnegie and leaving someone like Bath to one side,No they no when theyve got a good thing.Always play to your strengths.

Clubs in these counties have been going bust before Crusaders were even thought of. With views like this the Eagles would never have existed. The one thing that puts me off rugby league is the insular nature of some of its supporters.

In RU several traditional strong clubs have gone to the wall or have plummeted down the leagues thanks to the league structure and professionalism - no sympathy or help from the RFU for them.

Correct, that's not to say I wouldn't have gone to Barrow next season. I'd rather go to a place I've been before that's twenty minutes away than one that's two and a half hours away.

And we always beat Dewsbury

I wouldn't say that. They were champions when we got promoted through the playoffs.

Wakefield for instance.

The truth is yes, the Cheating Crusaders have had every support from the RFL and still failed. Surley this would tell the RFL something about expansion? i.e. It doesnt work? Or is that too simple.

Your right, to deduct the Welshies 4 points and deduct Barrow 29 points does seem a bit extreme, Barrow nust have done something REALLY bad. Lets wait and see when that info become public.

Congratulations to Halifax - 2009 champions in my eyes.

Interestingly Doncaster are the only Yorkshire team in Championship 1.

Thanks for reminding us !

Good point, will Barrow now be stripped of the 2009 title seeing as it was won in voilation of the rules?

Thought they said this wouldn't be happening?

Fair enough. Very strange though, if you win an olympic medal and you are then found guilty of cheating, they take it off you.

It's the rugby league though they make rules up as they go along.