I can see London being awarded a place. The obvious need to make the game national and that needs a club from the capital in the top flight IMO.


The toss up is then between York and us I feel. 
I think past pedigree may just tip the scales in our favour there. 


I would like to see Salford out with us, York and London making up a new 14. 

Arguably, they have better stadia. But that’s it. Better cases? I don’t think so. 

If Salford are penalised enough, there’s a small chance we’ll get in as a top 12 IMG club. 


Otherwise it’s a top 2 pick. And those criteria would seem to be weighted towards what 9 SL chairmen want. (Both Hulls voted against, Wigan abstained). 


And the SL chairmen want more money, long term. And that is a better tv deal - which would suggest big city uk clubs with name recognition outside of the M62 and/or more travelling away fans. And we tick both those boxes. 

Maybe as supporters we need to be a bit more positive about our own club. The multiple teams we run, stable play off side in the Championship for several seasons, great support and everyone mentions Bradford when talking about SL - positive or negative comments.

Oldham as far as I am aware are just tenants at a football ground that other than the one new stand is pretty old - hardly top class facilities. They have spent some money on players recently but then we've seen that before at other clubs and it hasn't been sustained. Really struggling to see how what they have achieved so far trumps the likes of York/Bradford.


London are an interesting one, Hetherington is clearly there for a reason and will hold some sway with SL sides.


York are clearly strong in many facets - the biggest question mark over them is the support. They seem to struggle but perhaps SL would attract new fans.


Toulouse - I'm just struggling to see the appetite for another French side in SL right now. I expect the Bulls will still be aiming to get in on IMG points rather than by committee decision and deservedly so for the hard work they're putting into the club fo turn things around.

I honestly hope we get drafted into SL in the most obviously corrupt way possible, the meltdowns will be hilarious. I don't know how many of you frequent the TotalRL forums, but the sheer hatred for Bradford on there is quite something. Lots of posters with enormous chips on their shoulders about us for one reason or another, so all of this malarky with Nigel Wood will all be worthwhile if we end up getting handpicked, just to see it boil their p!ss 

There is an obvious reason for the addition of a panel, rather than just the IMG scoring and that's to admit London - there is no way Hetherington doesn't get them into the comp under this model, leaving one or two other spots if Salford don't come through their troubles. 

I don't think the SL owners want another French team as they bring no money to the party, so that's tough on Toulouse but the probable outcome and then it's 3 into 1 or 2 spots from us, York, and Oldham both who have much better facilities than us - this won't be nailed on for us at all.

How do better non corporate facilities at York and Oldham increase Leeds and St Helens and Huddersfield’s short term income which is the priority? 


I put in non corporate facilities as our corporate side is comparable with many current SL clubs

While it looks like the pieces are being moved in our favour I'm taking absolutely nothing for granted.  We've seen rumours like this for nigh on 13 years.    

If we did go up we'd need to buy almost a whole new side.  I would also expect Noble to move "upstairs" so a new head coach would also be needed.   As for Odsal it looks bloody awful and the pitch size is an embarrassment but it apparently ticks all the right boxes. Facilities for corporate, floodlights, big screen, 5000 covered seats etc.  


York have a better ground  (do they have primacy of tenure?), better side on the field, but I'm not sure how they significantly increase their following.  York isn't really a big sports city.    It's a nice away trip but they wouldn't bring a lot of away fans in comparison with most SL sides (apart from Hudders).    


London are bound to be in the mix.  Hetherington hasn't gone there for the jellied eels.   I can see them being the "expansion club" that get a spot in place of Toulouse.   To be fair to them they bring more fans than Toulouse and they produce a lot of decent players.  The game needs a presence in the capital city.  


Oldham have just spent big on their side, and for all that they're not very good.  They have potential but haven't been top flight for 30 odd years.  That means they'll have to market their backsides off to a new audience.  


I don't expect Salford to remain in SL given their ongoing shenanigans - where's that bridging loan again?   Their owners remind me of some of the shysters we had to put up with in the past and there's no guarantee they'll pay their players beyond the last fixture.  No player is going to sign for that club permanently while the drama continues.  


I occasionally look on TotalRL.com and the hatred for Bradford is hilarious.   If we do go back up I'll be straight on there on the wind up.  

It's not just posters on a forum. It's journos. Retweeting it's to get Bradford in.  It's hilarious. 


We'd comfortably be in the  top 14 IMG gradings. The special panel is to do a couple of things IMO. 


1. Make sure Salford aren't in SL. They actually lose very little IMG points for the farce of the last year. 


2. Make sure a club likely to be outside the top 14 in the IMG table gets into SL. That team is London. But still "ItS tO gEt BrAdFoRd in SL" even though having a special panel makes it more likely of not being in SL. 

I sort of agree with that.   The Salford owners seem to have little interest in RL, in fact I'd be surprised if that club is still around in it's current guise once the fixtures are out of the way.  


I think getting London in is actually more beneficial to the game in this country than promoting Toulouse.   It's not "fair" but then London got a leg up to SL back in 1996 so it's nothing new.  

I've been told there is no chance Toulouse are one of the 14 the other clubs have no apatite for another trip to France and the coach full of away support is deemed as a waste of a spot. 

Well said. The Bulls have been a stable and steadily progressing club for a number of years now. Our academy continues to produce real talent, proving its value time and again, and we've been building toward becoming a top 3 Championship team over the last three seasons. The club has also invested in improving what was a long-neglected stadium. It's not perfect but at least we are attempting to make improvements.

We remain the best-supported club year on year, not just in the Championship, but better backed than several lower-end Super League sides. The fanbase is passionate, loyal, and still among the strongest in the sport. When you take all of that into account, it's easy to see why bringing the Bulls back to Super League seems like a no-brainer.

Yes, the club has been dormant for a few years, but the untapped potential here is massive. Regardless of what decision the RFL made, some fans were always going to find fault, that’s part of the game. But if you look at the bigger picture, Bradford has earned the right to be seriously considered. The foundations are in place, and the ambition is clear.

Agreed, the venom out there against us in other forums is unreal, so for that reason I hope we get up in the most shady way possible. But as Bulls supporters I hate to say im expecting in the words of Mick the game caller.. Heartbreak for the Bulls.