I wondered the same myself Ste, I think they will have a draft system. Not sure what I think of a shared academy. Koukash talked about asking Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester (Rangers amateur club presumably??) too.

If we get it right, and it's big enough (ie doesn't limit potential players from joining because we only want 25 altogether and the areas could produce 10 each or whatever) then it could work. But I can't see how a draft could work if you have some pro and some semi-pro clubs. I guess for the players' sakes the full time clubs would have to take all the ones they think they want on FT contracts and the semi-pro would choose from the rest? Fans from all clubs would soon get fed up if another club ended up with more players that make it

Anyway I suspect it will never happen!

At the minute players are ring fenced by each club in the end I believe it will be a draft system

Have you seriously just stuck you head above the trench, explained some facts and truths about Salford ( and how the 250k a year on an academy could be better spent) and not expect to have you head shot off on this forum?

I think the current statistic is 1 player in 17,actually makes pro status with the current academies.That may change with the FC/KR set up but something like a Super Academy with different outlets can only strenghthen the game and the players.

Maybe academies should be removed from control of clubs and rfl fund them on a regional basis. That way the game has gauranteed quality and systems in place not a the whim of a club end of year financial results. Players from the academy could either be signed as and when by clubs or enter a NFL style draft system each year. Academies in hull, wales, London, Cumbria, couple in Yorkshire, couple in Lancashire, merseyside etc. maybe. 12 elite regional academy league controlled and funded by the rfl is the way to go?

Leeds, Wigan and St Helens do a good job running academies and producing super league players. Why should the RFL take over running these? Teams like Salford and Leigh just need to step up to the plate and put some time, money and effort into producing players.

There is already a midlands academy and a north east academy run by the RFL, which is a good thing as those areas don't have a super league team, however there should be no need for the RFL to run them where super league clubs exist.

Agreed. Reducing the amount of Academies won't strengthen the game, how will reducing the amount of opportunities for young players be good for the game? It's like the preposterous idea of a 10 team league.

They do seem to be going the way of Regional Academies. In the U19's league, there was a Cumbria Regional side last season, obviously the City of Hull Academy, I believe there's one set up in the Midlands, one in the North-East (run by Newcastle?). London are also still running one, and Bradford also in the Championship.

The rest of SL have their own, barring Salford now and Leigh, so maybe as someone suggested they can collaborate and get one set up.

It would be pointless for those clubs that are good at running an academy to give up, so maybe the answer is that those who aren't good at it hand over to a RFL regional academy. Those that go with an RFL regional academy see their academy funding diverted into that. A draft system is then put in place for those participating in that system. It's important that lower league sides are covered too, because that will give them a stake in the system and will allow money to pass down from SL by selling their picks e.g. Rochdale Hornets would get the first pick from a "Manchester Academy", the other clubs in the "Manchester Academy" could buy that pick off them, or if nobody within the "Manchester Academy" wants to buy then it gets opened up to clubs outside e.g. Saints or Leeds could come in and buy the pick. It would act as a transfer from the richest clubs in the system to the smaller clubs in the system whilst stopping bigger outside clubs muscling in. This process would be written into the contracts of any young player entering a regional academy.

But won't you end up with lads getting signed to clubs they don't want to play for? What happens when the next big Cumbrian talent comes through? As it stands he can get scouted and signed by Wigan or whoever, under your system he presumably gets drafted to play part time in League One at Barrow/Whitehaven/Workington. From there he may give up on RL and get a normal job (I know for a fact young players at part time clubs are on buttons), or otherwise never reach his potential compared to if he had signed for an SL club. OK you can say 'well the SL team will just buy him/the pick' but that only works when the League One team wants to sell. They might want to keep their big talent regardless of whether it is in his best interests to play for them. Meanwhile a lower quality player gets the same position at the SL club purely because he is local.

I know what you are saying but, Lads can only ever go to a club that want's to pay for their services, regardless of which academy they are playing at.
The one thing for sure is that the fewer academies that we have, the easier it becomes for everyone to see who the standout players are, at which point, inevitably, it will come down to pound notes and which clubs have the deepest pockets.