Nobody's suggested it will be a charitable enterprise. Wigan understand that they can reap the benefits if RL develops in South Wales. Presumably, Wakefield feel the same way about Northamptonshire. There's not always a distinction between what benefits individual clubs and benefits the game, as you seem to believe. Ultimately, if the game is stronger nationwide then all clubs will benefit.

TBH I wouldn't read too much into the Wakefield link up with Northampton anyway, I believe that Northampton were Wakefield's designated partners when Super League clubs were paired with Midlands amateur teams and that's where that has come from. If Wakefield do help then great, but it's not like Wakefield are establishing and running the club or anything like that, Northampton aren't going to enter into anything that puts them in a worse position.

What's the difference between a Rugby League expansionist and a suicide bomber?




You can reason with a suicide bomber.

So far, I think the only thing we've (the amateur club, Demons and Knights) done with Wakey, is have one of our U16s games played as a curtain raiser to their game vs St Helens, in 2010. It was our opponnents, North Derbyshire, who arranged that though, not us.

We tend to be more involved with London, having three players (2 U20s 1 U18) in Quins/Broncos. They've taken the occasional training session and checked the occasional game of ours.

That's partly true, but it comes back to my earlier point about the pay/costs in the semi-pro game. SWS have shown you can field a credible team of part timers outside of the m62, who can't yet command a high enough wage to give up work and go full time in SL. If only one or two of those lads make it, of course Wigan want first dibs, which will justify their investment in business terms.

Meanwhile we're attracting lads, and kids, into the sport from a much wider geographical base... And, if the local player supply grows, and the fanbase grows, those clubs may, in time, progress up the pro game, too. London hasn't been a rip roaring success, but it hasn't been a disaster either, and the cost of living there, plus the constant relocation of the pro club, makes that a special case. But even there, we have McCarthy-Scaresbrook, Tony Clubb, et al, stepping up to higher things. If each of the four expansion clubs produces 2 SL standard players in 5 years time (when kids is 13 turn 18), then the whole game is richer at every level. So what if they sign at Wigan.. Someone else will move elsewhere, and the overall size and standard of the player-pool will grow.

I say only partly right, because the SW had a partnership with Leeds. Of course there is a business motive. Build the brand, find the talent. But Gary Hetherington is also driven by a personal commitment to develop the game for its own sake and benefit. I've never dealt with the Wigan or Wakefield board, but I'd expect Gary's not alone in having a personal love for the game as well as a professional commitment to one club.

Last off, where the club and whole sport co-incide: a pro game televised with clubs in Northampton, Gateshead, Wrexham, Neath... And three new areas not yet announced... Is a much more attractive and valuable competition for broadcasters, newspapers and sponsors, than one just along the m62. That brings more money into the game, for everyone. Even at the development end, it will be so much easier to overcome the 'league isn't played here' we get from some schools, if there's a pro club down the road. But what an all-round boost if Northampton RL are covered on 'South East Tonight' and the Northampton Gazette (or whatever it's called)

Gary Hetherington - he really had sheffield's interests at heart eh? And he has wonderful things to say about clubs outside of super league!

Didn't you mean Gary Hetherington has Gary Hetherington's interests at heart?

I can only talk from direct experience of the support given to the south west, which has been fantastic, and which is over and above anything of simple self-interest. Besides, if all the SL clubs were run as effectively as Leeds, the sport would be a whole lot stronger.

You mean the Gary Hetherington who set the Sheffield Eagles up with his own money? The one who brought in and paid people like Mark Aston out of his own back pocket? The Gary Hetherington who worked selling double glazing to fund the semi-pro Sheffield Eagles? The Gary Hetherington who was coach and chief exec and owner, and who took Sheffield from literally nothing, to semi-pro then to SL before selling out to the chairman of a huge international electronics company?

That Gary Hetherington? yeah he hated Sheffield.

That's the one. Scumbag. Now he's at Leeds. Best place for him

You will find no argument with me there

The tie up with a SL club just pushes us closer to ' feeder ' status outside the top flight Joe , something I don't particularly like , but can see happening

My experience of Mr Hetherington leads me to believe he wants RL to be a sport for big city clubs rather than traditional heartland clubs that would benefit his own club as well as the sport in general , but if we suggest something similar , we are condemned for it