I agree, it does seem that, when it comes to expansion, the RFL are just winging it. Which I think is a mistake. One that the RFL have already made with Gateshead and Paris and seemingly one they have not learned from

Me too. I'd hate to think of my hard earned cash going to the rahrahs!!
I doubt it would ever happen at amateur level so I'd just watch that instead.

RL will only survive if it can attract more money into the game. This can only be done by expanding, there simply isn't the money to continue if the game restricts itself to the heartlands.

but that has to be balanced against the long term.

I'm thinking long term the game either expands or dies.

And I'm thinking short-term the game cannot afford to expand (or even maintain the status quo ante).

So we have a classic Catch-22.

And its ALL down to money - or lack of.

Anyone got any answers?

Well, RAB raised £1K just like that for the player fund.

Maybe another whip-round to save the game itself?

When I lived in Bradford I cannot think of one school which played rugby league, and I believe that is why recently on this board very few Bradford born players were found apart from recent years. Even Jack Kitching the only Bradford born player of the forties started with Bradford RU. I now live in S Wales and both my grandsons play League at school, one at Caerphilly and the other in Bridgend. The recent Europe cup win was basically a S Wales side. There are now at least a dozen sides in the summer competition and I see Blackwood in Gwent will play for the first time in the Challenge cup. Yes, the Super League side as been a disaster, but don't throw out the baby with the bath water. A very strong side could be made up to play in the National League without imports.
I do hope the clubs vote for a Welsh side in the National League this season, they won't regret it.
Incidentally over 6 rugby league stars were born in the street I live in, the last being John Devereux. In the village itself there were three Rugby leagueLions, and every Rugby League competition has seen one of our players from the vill age a winners medal. Only last year one of our club record holders at Halifax had his record of goals for a season broken. Our nearest RU ground is Swansea so local players round here enjoy the RL competition

Very interesting and encouraging, that. Definitely requires a

All the Bradford secondary schools play in the power gen schools cup.

Are they playing league regularly beside the cup at school? If the game doesn't expand very soon we shall become a nursery for union, already despite Eastmond signing a two year contracy he is talking of going to union where the money is bigger. Because there game is wider spread they automatically get larger tv rights than league. Never forget their international game rakes in the money.
Unfortunately our World Cup last year was a flee bite in revenue compared to union. Also to rub salt into wounds we had a lousy performance which I am sure affected our own super league attendances. One light on the horizon is that even the bosses of union are realising their game is becoming very boring, and with tries also drying up.

Expand or die. If Sky pull out of Superleague then we'd be screwed anyway, we'd be literally forced into a merger with Union or our pro teams would go bust.

If SKY/Media pulled out, wouldn't that be the case for all but all professional sports though . . . . soccer included.

I guess so.

At the end of the day were always going to be second fiddle to Union, they have just moved too far ahead of us profile wise and money wise. IMO a merging of the codes will never happen because in 50 years they'll be the number 1 rugby code across the whole world and we'll effectively have nothing to offer them that they don't already have in abundance.

We'll never expand rapidly because we don't have enough money and Rugby League fans are just too parochial. We can't challenge Union in their strongholds but we can offer people in those areas an alternative. If we stick to our working class/middle class roots and market it as an ordinary mans/family sport like lower league football then we'll attract people who are disenfranchised by the corporate greed of the Premier League and Union.

. . . . hell, I bet you're fun at parties