It's great to see Cas playing so well. Just think if it wasn't for the franchise system, their team would have been disbanded and they would be starting all over again.
Salford are struggling and would normally be dreading relegation and considering throwing money at a desperate cause. They can build gradually (along with Celtic) and do a Cas.
In the meantime teams like Widnes can build up the club and get back where they belong in 2 and a half years time. Well done the Rugby League.

You do realise what you've just done, don't you?

Now look what you've gone and done.

Up to now I'm loving it. All we need now is to get that first win under our belts.

I agree entirely. The results Cas have had so far have been outstanding and if the threat of relegation had loomed last year, I doubt we'd have seen 18-year-old Richard Owen playing so much, let alone score 13 tries last term and 4 tries in 4 games so far this year.

It was expected by a lot of Cas fans. You could see at the end of last season that the team had got to grips with the speed and intensity of the league, with the right recruits, we could only progress this year.

Hopefully we can maintain this form, although I expect us to drop down the table across the rest of the year, let's hope we can scrape a play off spot and other teams can use their franchise similarly.

I suppose this can be seen as updating the issues surrounding franchising.

Let's not rehash the old arguments.

As long as it stays as a civilised discussion about what is happing now, as a consequence of last year's decisions, this topic stays open.

If it moves into the old terrain, with the familiar baiting, it will be locked.

Awwww.

Spoilsport

I think so far this season Cas and Wakefield are the one’s who have benefited most from the franchising. Half a chance we’ll see Celtic Crusaders get into the top eight if they get a few wins under their belt which is pleasing also.

Other than that I think its just same old same old for most clubs. Hull FC always have either a brilliant season or a dismissal season. Hopefully this year we’ll see the black and whites back to their best and competing for Old Trafford.

Wigan time will only tell but I feel that they’ll be heading on the one way road to doom come the play offs. Huddersfield I had high hopes for after that epic win over Catalan Dragons but it looks like its going to be middle table for the Giants.

The Dragons I feel are a marked team and easy targets for the rest of SL after been underrated for the majority of the year last year. Bradford won’t do a thing this season and have been on a downward spiral since their salary cap cheating Old Trafford win over Leeds in 05.

Saints had a similar start last year in the league but I feel that its going to be one season too long for two players who have seen better days. Warrington will only win if they beat St Helens once this season.

I’D say Hull KR / Harlequins mid table. Leeds Rhinos have got it all going for them at the moment with a great mix of academy lads and international superstars. Where winning games despite playing some of the worse rugby I’ve seen us play since 06. I think once we get Brent Webb back this Leeds team will be indestructible.

i can't help feeling that although the league is a more level playing field, the overall standard has slipped.
im going to get to as many games as possible but i fear the four nations could be embarrassing.

To be fair to Cas till we had a 1 bad season where we got religated and it knocked Cas back 5 years we was always a top 6 side and won plenty matchs all what happend is that we have been given a chance to bring our top youngsters through and build a side.
Im not saying we will end up in the top 4 but most Cas fans was pretty confident that we would make the 8 because last year we was not a million miles of the mark but we had a few who was not up the standed requied for Super League.
We brought 9 decent signings in and now we look better for it.
So in my veiw the Franchise systam does work.

if, and i assume you do, you have some good youngsters waiting in the wings, do you think 2010 and 2011 could be big years for cas?

Anything can happen but i dont see why not, i believe we intend to spend full cap next year for the first time we have some great players that are underated like netherton, evans, jones, feather etc, who are all out to prove a point, and for the first time since 2004 we have some stability. We also have some excellent homegrown talent, (westerman, owen, shenton etc) that are getting better and better, and we have some younger kids trying to break through that are looking good (arundel, walker, gledhill etc). Like i say anything could happen, but i reckon cas have every chance of beeing a top half of table side.

Could be 2011 but what will say our Schools in Cas and the region are the best in the country winning every thing in site at every age group and if we use our brains which we are at the moment surly they will come through the systam and make us a powerfull team for the future.

Only piece of the jigsaw missing is a new stadium at Glasshoughton and Castleford can be a flag ship club.......................it's all gone quite again.

You beat me to it , I was going to post something similar last night but with the sites being down wasn't able to

Yes early days but undoubtabley Cas have benifited through not being relegated and are showing what some stability can do

So yes at the moment you would have to say that Franchising is looking to have been positive for the clubs in SL

Now if juniors are given thier chance this year then that would be another plus

I'm off for a lie down …