Why not?

I agree. That is why we see featherstone and Halifax (for example this year) making the Qualifers and then tailing off knowing they have achieved the goal for the season but are not really set in SL at the moment. Arguably not many teams could cope which promotion including my own.

Is it really ideal that we have KR this year and either Leigh or Catalans next year playing in a league when they will be the only real team with a realistic chance for promotion back?

Expanded SL is the way to go for me but instead of locking teams out like before work with clubs to grow academies, support bases, marketing etc and invite teams to SL in 2s preferably.

It would take planning and time which is where it probably falls down.

That sounds fair enough, but make it a level playing field and no favouritism. Featherstone or Halifax should be given the opportunity to gain promotion by meeting the criteria just as much as London or Toulouse.

That's how I'd do it. I also agree with Parkside Freddie above that everyone should have a fair chance, though naturally some teams will have an advantage due to size/budget etc. We want the strongest teams, both on and off the pitch, in SL regardless of who they are or where they are based.

Congratulations to Widnes by the way.

They offer nothing financially, when your team go to France it cost the club the thick end of £30k, yet when they come to your club they get nothing back in revenue from their fans.

Guess if you are happy to have an M62 competition then you will agree with this.

Cause them are the facts once Catalan go down. Can't even call european super league an English super league once it happens.

Given that the sport and the health of the sport is bigger than my personal club loyalties, yes. I've historically been a shareholder at Bramley Buffaloes - the sort of club that club's like Leigh have tried to keep out of the higher ranks of the game by voting against automatic promotion into League 1.

I dont get the "fair chance" arguement.
Unless we are going to pool all of RL's resources and then share them out equally, "fair" doesn't come into it.

You have clubs at all levels where they have vastly superior resources and they have a better chance of success.
However, money is no guarantee of success (Catalan or Warrington being prime examples).

Sport should always be about what takes place on the pitch but, it's not "fair", it's sport.

Everyone likes a winner but, equally, there is nothing better than seeing the underdog succeed.

With Toulouse, Toronto, London and whichever club loss its spot in SL all likely to be battling it out at the top of the Championship next season, it's going to be difficult for Leigh or Catalan to bounce straight back up.
Indeed, the bottom 4 in SL next season could be severely tested when The Qualifiers come back round.

As for the "discussion" of whether Leigh or Catalan bring more to the comp, it matters not.
Their respective futures will be decided by 80 minutes next weekend.

Leigh on their own patch, with a partisan crowd, have no excuses.
It's their game to lose.

I'd love to hear McNamara's inspirational team talk though.

Well, you can since England is situated in Europe.

might as well call in the M62 super league. but some small minded fans prefer that.
the championship will end up having a better geographical worldwide spread than our premier competition.
the small minded attitude of Rl fans is what contributes to RL low appeal. the game is very close to being put on its last legs, if sky pulls the plug on us were finished.

The Sky TV deal runs until the end of the 2021 season - so I don't quite think anyone is on the "last legs" just yet.

I would imagine that by 2019, when someone at the RFL should be thinking about a new deal the TV landscape will be quite a bit different, with options for competition from streaming services (Amazon / Neflix) together with possible interest from terrestrial channels, Sky, BT and Premier Sport.

I agree that the sporting landscape is changing, only this weekend I read about the RU struggling to get a sponsor for the 6 Nations (may Stobart should get in touch with them).

It's every club's fault that there aren't more / better sponsors in the game. It's not just the RFL's responsibility to generate commercial revenue and reach new audiences - every club carries the same responsibility at a local level.

Wigan's latest accounts reveal a drop in sponsorship of around £300k if I recall correctly. That's a failure that needs calling out just as any failure at Red Hall does.

"One more game lads then you can really put your feet up", I'd imagine.

The wrong team has been relegated already. Widnes shoukd have gone down. Thats the last two years the bottom team managed to survive. That stated, they managed to pull it out of the bag. At least Huddersfield changed stuff around before this year. Osterich Widnes are likely to keep Betts in 2018 although he's been out of his depth for years.