After tonights results i think the sport i love is making a fool of itself.
How can Widnes say they are competing in SL when they get 76 points put past them.
Bottom team in SL score 36 points with no reply against a team above them in front of a crowd of 2,268
This is not taking a pop at Widnes but im not sure why there in SL 4th in 2009, 5th in 2010 and 5th or 6th in 2011.
How long can the likes of Featherstone, Halifax and Leigh keep attracting sponsers and investors without a bigger picture.
Then you have teams like Keighley who have ambition again but when you can not go any further where does it all end.
Bradford in trouble, Wakefield who have had money problems, Crusaders gone bust and now in Championship 1.
Let the smaller teams have there day and who knows what they might achieve in the future.

Oh great, just what everyone wants, yet another thread knocking franchising.

Tell you what, on the weekend of April 14/15 there'll be enough "lower" teams to show what they can do. There'll even be some in the following round and they can really show what they can do.

Aren't there enough threads on here that you could have contributed to, without the need to start yet another one?

With Respect, how many fans can Featherstone get? It's a town of 14,000 max. I'm not knocking them, they love RL there, and they'd be a great addition, but from an RFL point of view, I can see why they don't include them.

You are seriously attempting to use the newly promoted team being beaten by 76 points as an argument for yearly promotion and relegation?

You can't use Widnes as any basis for P&R purely because they weren't the best Championship team last season, or indeed any season since 2001.

The problem is that we currently only have 7 clubs good enough for a 'super' league.

If all the other clubs were at that standard then we would have the best club league in the world in any sport.

It is no surprise to see those top clubs as the top 7 in the table though.

I do believe that Widnes, Hull KR, Castleford, Wakefield and Bradford of course... all have serious potential to reach the top as Warrington have through a new stadium and a little success. OH and investment. Salford and London however don't seem to be up to much. Salford still have not seen the dramatic increase in crowds you would expect from a new stadium.

We need less teams in the top league which will create a MUCH stronger second tier which would be seriously competitive.

Castleford
Wakey
Fetherstone
Widnes
Leigh
Salford
Halifax
London
Sheffield


Sounds like a cracking division to me.

Then MAYBE, you could have promotion and relegation between these top two divisions. IMO though it would have to be a play-off between the bottom team of the top division and the top team in the second, to make sure the new team is an improvement. Hopefully the second league could be operating under a SC not so distant from the SC of the top league though.

Firstly though we need years of success for the league with high viewing figures to gain a huge TV deal in the future which will allow clubs to be sustainable under a high cap which could compete with the NRL and the Aviva Prem. Will it happen? Probably not. But that is the only way for major growth to happen in my opinion.

When such a league exists with a higher profile it would be much easier to expand the game as shown in the NRL.

Try looking at it from a different perspective:

Flatcappers - 6 v 112 - Expansionists

Is this a wind up I am sure I took a poll on here about P+R in the last week.

in 2005 Leeds beat Wigan 70-0 iirc, these scores come and go, it happens in all major sports from time to time.

They also put 70 on Saints too, I'm sure you will remember...

Lets put it another way.
To all the SL fans out there, if your team wasnt in the SL would you want the system to stay as it is.

At the minute, yes.

doesn't anyone else just miss the pure EXCITEMENT of a relegation battle, something to keep fans interested whether your side is at the TOP or the BOTTOM?

How many "battles" have we seen though? Yes Wakefield v Cas was exciting but how many teams have been/would be relegated long before the season's out? The gulf in class between SL and Chanmpionship is just too great.

you're right, but isn't that gap just going to become greater in the current format?