Saddened! wrote:They are Catalans Dragons, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC, Leeds Rhinos, London Broncos, Newcastle Thunder, St Helens, Wakefield Trinity, Warrington Wolves, Wigan Warriors.
No shocks in the Super League clubs listed I suppose. I am slightly baffled as to why clubs who were willing to run an Elite academy setup now aren't allowed to. The likes of Cas and Hull KR have applied for licences but been turned down. Great news for Hull FC and Wakefield/Leeds who will now presumably have a better run of those areas, but I can't see how it benefits the sport?
It's also interesting to see them reject the application from Cas based on the presence of other academies in the area, i.e Wakefield and Leeds, but accept Warrington's. They have Saints and Wigan covering a very small area. Most age groups will only have one or two teams from Warrington in the top division, yet they get Elite status. I'm not suggesting Warrington shouldn't have Elite status, they clearly want to invest in their setup and bring players through, but it contradicts the ruling on Cas.
I also can't see how it allows a level playing field if Cas/Hull KR aren't allowed an Elite academy setup. That will surely impact the strength of their squad, particularly as the disparity with the NRL salary cap means less quality players will be available to import. How is that fair?
Those clowns running the game are absolutely ruining it and have no understanding of the grass roots of the game. They'll succeed in destroying the futures of young kids dreams and eventually turn more people away from the game of rugby league. Seriously, those fools at the RFL couldn't run a bath let alone a professional sport. They're a bunch of absolute incompetent imbeciles the lot of them.
