P&R was abolished for a reason. Relegation last year would have set Widnes back a long time and Sheffield would now be getting flogged every week, probably with other SL clubs cast offs. Licensing shouldn't be dismissed as not working after just one and a half licensing periods. There should be at least a couple of more periods before any discussion is made.

The main problem with the SL structure is too many teams in the playoffs, as most of the playoffs teams are decided already by this stage of the season and the second half of the season just trundles along until the playoffs start. Reducing the playoffs would mean a more intense fight for playoff places but the season would be over for the teams in the bottom half of the league as the season goes on, but pro sport is supposed to be about winning to try and be the best, not winning to try and avoid being the worst.

One of the best ways to increase commercial revenue is more exposure to a wider audience on the BBC. As there isn't going to be a new knockout comp introduced anytime soon the best solution is probably to split the playoffs between Sky and the BBC and, if the BBC can't replay the Grand Final in full, at least have more extensive highlights on the BBC than there usually is.

If they sort out the funding of 24 clubs then option 3 would work and bring meaningful games week in week out. I doubt they can find a solution though in time foe the vote in July

The level of funding would have to be pooled and be directly linked to where you finish at the end of the season.

There is about £20,000,000 available from the RFL/TV money to fund this set up....

Divide this by 6, with 3 portions for the top table, 2 for the mid table and 1 for the bottom set and you have the following scenario:

Top tier £1.2 million each
Mid Tier $825,000 each
Bottom Tier $410,000

The financial step up between tiers is not "massive"....and as the clubs in the bottom 16 start to develop their players, then they will climb. The potential hammerings when the top 8 face those at the bottom will become less prevelant as the teams playing from positions 9-24 will have a lot to play for.....and after a while, those in the mid 8 will knock off the top 8 more often.

A few rules need to be put in place. If a player signs for a club aged 16 or over, then regardless of if he is off contract or not, a set fee has to be paid to that club should he move to a higher ranked club.
Scenario: Dixon is at London who are in the mid section. He is off contract at the end of 2015 and agrees terms with Wire to join them in 2016. To stop the bigger clubs cherry picking stars like this, there needs to be at least some form of renumeration for the club that trained him.....not a massive amount money, but £50,000.

Stadiums and their requirements need to be to a certain standard, but more so on health and safety grounds.....the empty boxes at Salford and Saints point to fans wanting a safe place to watch the game from, not a prawn sarnie. For now, grounds like Bell View, The Jungle, Odsal etc are fine.....they will develop when the demand dictates they must....putting the cart before the horse is not the way forward IMHO.

The above is only "thinking out loud: by the way......I am sure it has more holes than swiss cheese

Change is coming.....let's hope that the RFL and the clubs make the right choice for the future of the game

????

Only a select few will play 3 Origin games and some of those might not even get a play off game. If you are a top player for a top team including origin, you could potentially play in 31 games per year in the NRL. In Super League you could potentially play in 36. 5 weeks is a big difference, hence why Super League starts in early Feb and the NRL starts in March. That's a lot less time in training / time off. Better still every NRL club gets 2 bye rounds to guarantee time off throughout the season. You would have to get knocked out of the 1/4 finals of the CC to get the same in Super League.

How do you suggest the amateur game is funded?

Not to mention referees, internationals etc

as I said, swiss cheese...