With the unsurprising news that Toronto have been denied entry to SL next season and a possible place being made available can anyone see us being in the mix if the opportunity becomes available?

I realise that we are in the doldrums at the moment and have been for years but could there be a back door reprieve for Bradford becoming available?

Any thoughts?

Not a chance. It will be an 11 team comp. Its an old boys club. Elstone on a reported £400k a year. He's not going to do anything to upset the status quo. That means making sure the clubs are OK. An 11 team comp means no relegation and extra central funding.

Tomorrow expect the usual guff to be trotted out "we don't have the time to get a champ team into SL" the clubs have another free ride in SL with extra cash in their pocket.

Elstone was supposed to have been brought in to take SL forward. Im not sure he's done anything at all to improve SL. Just making sure the more vulnerable clubs have a more secure SL sport. Still...free pizza.

See this saddens me. Rugby League is a great sport and is has enough detractors without us worsening it from the inside.

With the exception of the Catalans the expansion to other areas outside the heartlands have been an embarrassing failure.

Time for it to become a 16 team top flight with top four play offs and a two down two up system in place.

They should really be giving as much support and opportunity as they can to Toulouse. That's your expansion club right there.

Depends on the influence Nigel still has and to be fair I'd prefer to fight to get back in.

The treatment of Toronto echoes the treatment of Omar Khan. Any club with the potential to outgrow/perform a 'hand to mouth' SL club out will be shut out. The waggons have been circled and I think the SL clubs will look at clubs that won't affect the chummy status quo.

You'd say Leigh should be set with their stadium and set up etc but the chance they'll be able to out perform a low SL club is too great so I guess they'll look at a club that will not pose a threat.

I honestly think it's time the RFL split completely with a more sustainable comp of us, Widnes, Toulouse, Newcastle, Coventry, London, Leigh, York, A club from Cumbria, the two welsh clubs and a couple of others. Approach C4 or C5 for overage - even if it's only one game a week plus highlights. Try build from smaller foundations and concentrate on developing the clubs base in their areas.

It's already a more 'national' league and if we want expansion it's the only way I can see it happening whilst the protectionists are allowed to run the game.

1. I doubt we'd be able to provide the proof of funding required to run a full time structure at a loss.
2. I doubt we'd last a year without going bust without the funds to run a full time structure at a loss.
3. Do we really want to run at a loss given what's happened over the last few years?
4. We haven't earned the right to be anywhere near the reckoning on the pitch which would bring the game into disrepute and we'd end up as everyone's most hated team again.

Given all that I reckon I'll stick a tenner on us being club number 12.

It wouldn't surprise me if Bulls were picked as team 12 due to RFL owning the lease at Odsal, they would rather have Bulls back at Odsal paying the 70k per annum rent. I don't think we are ready for SL.

Yeah 70K per annum plus the cost of repairing Odsal to the level it can get a safety certificate financed through advanced central funding payments in the belief we'll sell 20K season tickets in 2022

Aren't Sky demanding a 12 club competition for next year?

I think whoever takes it will be setting themselves up for an almighty fall. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't all sorts of conditions and reduced funding etc.

They will shaft who ever goes up. Why share the rapidly diminishing pie with underlings? They only need us for players....

Yeah I'm quite happy just continuing to build in the championship. Got some good kids coming through again who we're actually holding in to. In 2 years I think we will be ready to have a good crack at getting into SL. Never know, if things fall into place this year, we might even earn it on the field which is how it should be. There's not a Toronto, no one coming down and just one good team going up.

Toulouse or London for me. York can be an outstanding SL team, but like us probably best just continuing to build and be ready in a couple of years. Let's not forget they played 3 lost 3 earlier this year.

I don't think we're in a position to go back up into SL any more. We certainly don't have the team for it. Plus we don't have a ground.

But just for the number of heads that would explode if we got the nod... totally worth it

I can see where the clamour from Toulouse comes from and it makes sense in a way, but in regards to players? Toronto will have a few available I guess....

Bull mania at Odsal returns. Next stop the super dome!

Toulouse? I think the Toronto debacle makes Toulouse less likely and even throws the spotlight on Catalans who often turn out with barely six or seven French men in the 17. France RL are possibly worse than when they entered SL and if they both got to a final it'd make the Covid finals this year look packed.

My vote would be for London. The owner has invested loads over many years. They performed with credit in SL last time. If they'd had a stable ground I think there's a case they'd have been a real success story.

Toulouse got their application in quickly. It's almost as if they already knew.

The Featherstone chairman has gone on a bizarre public rant about how the decision to give Toronto the boot was down to self interest and greed from the very people they need to impress with their application that he then went on to confirm they would be submitting.

i think we're better of out of this for a couple of years at least.

Personally, I wouldn't rule anything either in or out. The SL clubs may well have decided amongst themselves the cash is better divided between 11 than 12 but Sky may beg to differ -paying pipers means calling the tune after all.

As for it being us, well I remember talking to a Fax supporting friend a few years back when they were looking good for promotion and he said " No, don't want promotion, it'll kill us, we're not ready". Even though the TV cash is much more now I tend to think the same for the Bulls, to be honest. We're just not ready.