what goes up must come down

Lost the original reply I was righting so I'll keep this brief!

Expansion clubs will always be a sore point for traditional clubs who lose out on a place in SL. However if we want the game to grow and not slip further into obscurity it needs torch barers in these new markets. I would imagine the RFL judge these teams not on the success on the pitch or through the turnstyle, but rather by what they offer behind the scenes such as offering the new market to watch top RL if they wish and developing the schools and grassroots in their local area. London may not be a hotbed of top flight SL teams (thank God as otherwise there would be even more people complaining that their team isn't in SL!) but the game is much healthier at grassroots than it was 15 or 20 years ago.

As for the success of the expansion teams... London have been a steady SL team and have a challenge cup final behind them as do Catalans who also have a decent record apart from a poor year last year. Crusaders have had a poor year and a reasonable year but really need time to develop which they haven't had as the last two pre-seasons have been disrupted with moves and takeovers and the first year they lost half their squad.

Out of the current teams who look in doubt...

Cas seem to have a well organised and intelligent board who have developed the club and team over the last few years (beginning even before franchise). Traditionally they have a loyal support base in the town and their new ground will allow them to develop this and make them more attractive to away fans as it is in a fantastic location. I can't remember them 'buying' any players in but they have developed their playing squad by bringing players in and developing their own talent but there will always be a risk that any genuine superstars will be poached by 'bigger' clubs. If/when their new ground gets build the question will be whether any of the NL1 clubs who are looking likely to get the nod will bring anything more to SL - in my opinion they won't. Also, the last time they went down was because Wigan bought their way out of trouble and broke the Salary Cap.

Salford seem to be looking quite good with a new stadium now underway and a massive recruitment drive to try and bring some success on the pitch (a last hoorah for the Willows maybe or a need to justify their place in SL?) I've seen their recruitment with interest and just hope they've got their finances in order as they seem to have brought a boatload of players in as the last thing they need is to breach the cap.

Wakie seem to be floundering from one crisis to the other over the last few years off the pitch with financial problems and then a stadium that was approved and then wasn't as part of the land is on Leeds City Council land or something (I was on holiday when that particular story broke) This looks like being a major spanner in the works when it comes to getting a franchise - if they were in trouble with Belle Vue they're going to be even worse without a ground! In a way it's a shame as they've been reasonably successful on the pitch since they got back into SL.