One of the benefits is that it has made Halifax fans VERY angry (as it transpires). Especially when we dare talk about it.

And there's me thinking that Halifax graced Super League....memory playing tricks again.
We did have promotion and relegation in the early years of Super League......some clubs got relegated.

Well said

And there's me thinking that Halifax graced Super League....memory playing tricks again.
We did have promotion and relegation in the early years of Super League......some clubs got relegated.

Well said!

It was also to try & prevent clubs spending beyond their means & going under. As Wakey would no doubt have done (again) if they had lost. If Leigh fail again next season I can see them heading that way too.

And in later years SL teams could go BUST as many times as they wanted . Until the RFL and the rest of theSL teams said enough is ENOUGH.

Yeah, they did - and often went belly up at then same time as financial meltdown struck - this was the principal reason P&R was dropped and licensing was brought in.

Rugby league has always had the problem of not enough clubs at a similar level to make decent divisions. In soccer, there are four divisions, of around 22 clubs in each, between the top full time clubs and where the part timers start; in RL the part-timers start in the top four of the second division, or to put it another way, approximately 17 clubs down from the SL champions.

After and earlier attempt, in the 1960s, to have two divisions, which didn't last long, there used to be a total of around 30 clubs [all semi-pro], all in one division but playing different fixture lists in two separate [Yorks and Lancs] leagues. Then, in the early seventies, we went back to a first division of 16 and a second division of 14, with P&R. The difference was often too much though and the term 'yo-yo clubs stems originally from this era.

That split of 16 and 14 lasted until the start of SL, and despite changing the number of clubs and the way they gained promotion they've never got round the problem of too few clubs and the semi pros starting so close to the top.

If you want a soccer comparison with modern RL, promotion from the championship to SL, is a little bit like [say] promoting a conference club into the Premiership. Obviously it's daft, and would never work, but that is our eternal problem.

The problem is that the issue that led to them scrapping P&R has come back with the new Middle 8 concept

Namely that the eventually promoted club, whether it be the bottom SL club or the best placed Championship club, is inevitably niles behind with their recruitment for the following season. This season it could have been us - in the event its Wakefield. Brian Smith referred to it as starting a 400 metre race at the 450 metre mark.

It's completely unfair and ridiculous, and will almost definitely mean Wakefield will be at the bottom again next season, as we undoubtably would have been if we'd won on Saturday.

Everyone goes on about how we would have an extra million quid, but when all the players worth having are already signed for next season, and all you can pick off are the rejects and scraps, then what's the point of having a million quid burning a hole in your pocket?

Paradoxically if they'd gone with a straight 'one up one down' then this would have been avoided, since it was obvious that Wakefield would be relegated from half way through the season and they could have started to plan accordingly, whilst the promoted club -which would have been Leigh - would have been able to start SL recruitment much earlier than the second week of October.

Not quite. Bradford dropped 7 points in the last month of the season, and came 2nd by 6 points. It's unlikely the promoted team will be able to start recruiting much in advance of the end of the season most of the time. A little different for Wakefield, but it's not always so clear cut in terms of having a team so far adrift at the bottom of the table.

I expect that IF that happened then Bradford and Leigh would probably be invited into the top flight.

On what grounds do you think Bradford deserve sl.

How many times did you go bust in the last franchise. Your not.a big/famous club anymore. It's people with attitudes like yours that give Bradford fans a bad name. You did not win the league. You happily voted for franchising years ago when bulls were a top 6 team. In a nut shell you lot.made the bed now lie in it

Despite the fact that you are clearly trying to make a name for yourself by coming across as all aggressive with your whopping 23 posts, I will indulge you.

1. NOBODY on here has been more critical of the way that Bradford have been run in recent years. I stated, quite categorically, at the end of 2014 that we got what we deserved with demotion.

2. We ARE a famous club. We might not be very good at the moment but we are a well-known club. RL is not a big enough sport to dismiss some of the bigger sides in the game.

3. IF the aforementioned clubs were "with us" during the last franchise voting then why would they vote against us now?

4. Our travelling support is considerably better than that of Huddersfield, Wakefield, Salford, Catalans (at least). It is financially sound.

5. We are where we are due to financial mismanagement of previous owners who are no longer involved in the sport. We are rebuilding in the correct manner and I am sure that the other clubs realise this.

That will do for starters