This could well be the final nail in the coffin for so many fans, talk about here we go again we are changing formats every few years as the crowds shrink the TV interest recedes and the fans are just totally fed up with it all. Surely they must realise that the mundanity of endless loop fixtures is seeing fans just despairing.

We really must look like idiots from the viewpoint of the general sporting public looking on. We have the best game in the world and a group of administrators who don't have a clue how to capitalise on it. We needed most of all a big clearcut at the top and hopefully a charismatic leader who could drive the game forward, but instead here we are lining ourselves up to keep the RFL intact, Rimmer who has failed miserably time and again(just remember him trying to justify the Academy fiasco) in post and , keeping the Super league Clubs running things to suit themselves.

If ever there was a formula to P*ss off even more supporters it is growing to a sensible 14 teams before shrinking to 10 with 4 clubs in danger of crashing and burning, with countless loop fixtures involving a club playing the same 9 teams, leaving 10 Clubs getting richer and looking after themselves and another ten struggling. It sounds as it the Championship Cliubs will vote for it because we have waived a bit more money under their noses, but what a disaster this would be.

Franchises a 14 team league and pulling up the drawbridge for say a 3 year period whilst the game developed more home grown players and sorted out the debt and issues thrown up by Covid in a jeopardy free atmosphere, before all clubs are re-assessed, might have worked as would 14 clubs with one up one down, but this just looks a real dogs breakfast to me. in fact, I think it will finish off a lot of fans who are teetering on the brink of packing up anyway.

Im not going anyway near a merger except to say that any such new club would have to build 90% of its following again from scratch because it would be an instant end for most fans from both sides of the City.

Some interesting ideas here: https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/lo ... -the-dice/

Some interesting ideas here: https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/lo ... -the-dice/

The sport isn't seen as a commercially attractive investment opportunity because of its huge geographic limitations. Until that's sorted it's a case of ever decreasing circles.

Dont think that is the problem Mrs B
No sport is commercially attractive unless its gets TV coverage and in the case of R/L that needs to be terrestrial TV.
There are many sports for example Badminton,which is good to watch and play yet receives no TV coverage even though its an Olympic sport.It even gets poor coverage during the current games.
The reliance of Sky money is a noose around the neck of the sport and the current RFL have just sat back making very little or no effort to promote the TV game outside of Sky.
The other problem we have is how to get supporters into the grounds and in my opinion there should be only one live super league game per week played on a Sunday at 19.00 allowing supporters of other clubs attending their clubs games to get back home and watch the live match if they want.
The rest of the TV games can be screened same day but not live.
This way you are not restricting TV coverage only live coverage.
Until we can somehow turn the tables on Sky this wont happen but people outside of R/L dont buy a Sky package to watch R/L that is why to build this sport we may have to take some backward steps to go forward and produce some attractive proposals to some of the Terrestrial TV companies so the sport is promoted nationwide.

Exactly. Some would argue without SL funding and really that’s where the money comes from for survival of most lower tier clubs and SL clubs. Sky money is paid to them and dribbled down accordingly. If the game continues on the same lines then it’s quite simply dead. In the same scenario it can no longer continue waiting for big brother to make the calls. Changes are required to support and supply funding to the lower tiers. As you say that requires a new TV deal for the lower tiers, specifically the second tier,as that will carry more weight with the inclusion of demoted SL sides. If the deal includes SKY again taking the broadcasting rights of the lower tiers, then it’s worth nothing to the game.

A view from the third tier of rugby…

I’ve supported Doncaster since the mid-1970s. Yes, jealous of all the success you guys have had over the years although I still have a video of Donny beating KR at Tattersfield in the late 1980s!

I fully understand why ‘loop fixtures’ are very unwelcome in the top tier along with playing the same teams too many times in a season. Championship One only has nine home league games in the season and it’s simply not enough to generate interest in the first place or get new people interested as the season progresses. It’s certainly not good for our finances either.

I’m not a fan of licensing although I appreciate the stability it brings (and respect the views of Tony Smith on this). The weakness of no promotion is that the top teams in the Championship have their better players ‘cherry picked’ by Super League teams and keep banging their heads against a brick wall until the franchises are reviewed.

The biggest weakness of the current promotion/relegation structure is that there is a financial cliff edge. Super League teams dropping down fear for their future, rather than see it as an opportunity to rebuild and come back stronger. Until the top teams in the Championship receive very similar levels of central funding to the bottom teams in Super League this problem will never be resolved.

A new restructure of two teams of ten would help to give the second tier a much better chance of getting a media deal which would potentially increase the total amount of money coming into the game.

More innovations with nines competitions, Yorkshire v Lancashire games, international weekends, etc is needed.

With the proposed new structure, should Donny get promoted this season, they’d need to finish in the top six in the Championship next season or else they’d be coming back to League One the following season. It’d be a tough ask to be able to do that. I do fear for the teams who don’t make the top 20. I hope they’re not dumped and forgotten.

The quality of rugby in League One is relatively good and very entertaining – can’t wait for the Dons match versus Hunslet this afternoon. League One provides a decent place for younger players to play against experienced men allowing them to develop for the greater good of the game.

One day, the RFL might stumble on something that works as they seem to work on the basis that if they try enough things they may eventually get it right. I am concerned for the game as we cannot afford to keep losing fans by chopping and changing all the time but on the other hand, we need to find something that works and benefits the game we all love.

Good luck to all you guys for the rest of the season.

Everything I’ve suggests the first season is 14 teams then dropping to 10 top teams, you can safely say it will be the additional 2 plus Leigh and probably Wakey.

Yes but this is RL. Leeds finished in the middle 8s as I think did Warrington and in my opinion there would be some judicious rule changes to ensure they were in the top flight for any inaugural 10 team comp. Maybe a "lite" version of franchising or something. Speculation obviously but with untapped opportunities potentially in Canada, France, London, and the Big 4 being a pre requisite, it doesn't leave room for 2 clubs from Hull in a medium term top flight IMO.

I guess the big question is what the objectives of the game are now.

Surely it has to be to grow the game's appeal, extending its fanbase and commercial attractiveness. Any strategy needs to be clear about what it is, and critically isn't, prioritising. E.g A strong and diverse top tier vs maintenance of heartland clubs whose attendances will only ever be, say, 1k. Everyone will have a compelling narrative - founders of the game in its heartland vs brave new world, risky oppprtunities. The same situation we were in at the time of Framing the Future and the essence of those recommendations, bar move from winter to summer, has essentially been disregarded, hence a broadly similar debate to the one 20 years ago. I simply don't see how we can progress as a sport unless fundamental changes are made, and reshuffling the current deckchairs on the Titanic won't do that.

https://www.totalrl.com/sky-driving-rfl-restructure/ This is interesting, proposals are being driven by Sky.

https://www.totalrl.com/sky-driving-rfl-restructure/ This is interesting, proposals are being driven by Sky.