So actual ' New ' RL clubs , would be

Gateshead , bottom of Championship 1 basically playing amatuers

Sheffield , doing reasonably well in the Championship , but not produced much local playing talent to my knowledge [ I await being proved wrong ]

Crusaders , less said about them the better

SWS , early days , lot of potential , as long as they arent pushed too far too fast

Toulouse and Catalans existed before , so dont count

Not a massive ' expansion ' if you ask me

What worries me most about the new re structuring is if they make the ' criteria ' too difficult for some clubs to bridge between the Championships it will take away the incentive for what few fans some clubs have left

In their desperation to bring in new clubs they will spread the money available too thin reducing the likelyhood of those clubs being able to build

They will take away the highly competitive element of ' The ' Championship once again removing the ' edge ' that is the last bit of incentive left

The structure at the moment is fine , keep what we have , keep P and R between the 2 divisions , find and properly finance a new club every 2/3 years , provide both funds and support to market the comps and the clubs at ground level [ to bring in local support ie fans ]and find ways of bringing in external funding collectively for all the clubs

.... or just you?




I take it you are a Bramley supporter or have a soft spot for them and feel indignant at my suggestion. Its interesting that you did not leap to the defence of Workington when a poster mentioned their potential merger with Whitehaven.




This is the first usage of Hunslet/Bramley posted by meThe problem with a merger is that the stronger club tries to retain its identity, ie Hull/Gateshead, Huddersfield/Sheffield.

What would happen if say Hunslet and Bramley merged but played out of the South Leeds stadium?'"

Im not a Bramley supporter, and feel no greater soft-spot for them than any other side (except of course my team), Im not indignant at you suggesting they merge, just feel it silly that you mention them as a possibility of merger, only to argue against it, when everybody im sure, even yourself will agree, there isnt much call for a merger between Bramley and Hunslet.

You have brought up an example, nobody, including yourself believes should happen at this stage, then argued against it. Why?

And I infact brought up a merger between Cumbrian sides. There is an argument, whether you agree with it or not, that says the Cumbrian sides MAY be better to merge, take double funding, and build towards a Cumbrian SL side. This isnt something which is applicable to a merger between Hunslet and Bramley, which wouldnt give us anything at all.

Dont usually post but thought id add my two pence, as an Oldham fan i dont think we have a god given right to be established in a new Championship if that is the case.

But i feel now we finally have our own ground ( i realize it needs alot of work) and are finally making a profit to balance the books after 8 venues for ''home games'' in 12 years, we have a basis to grow into a club which has a respectable ability to host rugby league at a higher level once again.

The fact we managed an average of a 1000 spectators at most games in a ground which had very little in the way of facilities which was the highest in championship one last year, says alot about our core support and also with your argument about clubs fluctuating, over recent years Oldham are a steady bet to be there or there about at the end of the year, we just cant handle play off finals

But were not the only teams in decent position in Champ 1 so god knows what will come of these changes, some attitudes on this board from those who's clubs arent at risk seem a tad harsh.

If I took your first post to be a dig at me and it wasn't, then that's my mistake. Nevertheless, I have already explained what my first post was and why it was written. If you don't want to take it for what it is, in context to the posts before it then thats up to you.

First line of my original postThe problem with a merger is that the stronger club tries to retain its identity, ie Hull/Gateshead, Huddersfield/Sheffield.'"

As a supporter of a CC1 club can i just say how much i appreciate SL fans telling us what we should and shouldn't be doing. Lets merge some SL teams as an example to us all.

Quote: Sheffieldliam "The RFL have put forward proposals to restructure the championship and championship one. Article here: Is that article about this www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/21026

Quote: Sheffieldliam "The RFL have put forward proposals to restructure the championship and championship one. Article here: Is that article about this www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/21026

The RFL intends to further expand the Co-operative Championships during this period and the initial deadline for Expression of Interest submissions from clubs is 12pm on April 11. The RFL’s Chief Operating Officer, Ralph Rimmer said: “These are truly exciting times for the sport and any club that is deemed suitable for entry will receive full support from the RFL to help make this a success. “A club may consider themselves ready to enter in 2012 however others may wish to work towards entry in a few years time, 2013, 2014 or 2015; we want all of these to register their interest. “There can be no promises made to any clubs at present but we want to test the waters and see what’s out there. After working with all the submissions we’ll be in a better position this summer to ascertain whether there are any new clubs ready for entry in 2012 and what further additions could potentially be made over the following years. “The Co-operative Championships is a fantastic competition which was seen by 1.5 million TV viewers in 2010. The clubs are also involved in two high profile cup competitions in the Northern Rail Cup and Carnegie Challenge Cup. “The current 21 clubs in the Championships consist of founder members of the sport with a rich heritage such as Leigh, Oldham and Batley as well as relatively recent additions from Gateshead, London and South Wales. “There are a number of great facilities such as Leigh Sports Village and the Stobart Stadium Halton and clubs have credible attendances, with eight clubs posting at least one home gate over 2000 last season.” The Co-operative Championships is a semi professional Rugby League competition for clubs in the leagues directly below Super League. It consists of two divisions called the Championship and Championship One with annual promotion and relegation between the two. Full time staff are in place at each club who receive annual financial support from the RFL and every player is contracted and paid accordingly. A salary cap is in place for both divisions and all clubs have to pass minimum facility standards which include having more than 200 seats (more than 500 required in the Championship) and have an enclosed ground with floodlights. These standards are set to rise in 2015 as it’s recognised the majority of clubs compete in stadia well in excess of minimum standards. Clubs are asked to register their Expression of Interest by April 11 with an email to Chris Thair in the RFL Club Support unit

The RFL intends to further expand the Co-operative Championships during this period and the initial deadline for Expression of Interest submissions from clubs is 12pm on April 11. The RFL’s Chief Operating Officer, Ralph Rimmer said: “These are truly exciting times for the sport and any club that is deemed suitable for entry will receive full support from the RFL to help make this a success. “A club may consider themselves ready to enter in 2012 however others may wish to work towards entry in a few years time, 2013, 2014 or 2015; we want all of these to register their interest. “There can be no promises made to any clubs at present but we want to test the waters and see what’s out there. After working with all the submissions we’ll be in a better position this summer to ascertain whether there are any new clubs ready for entry in 2012 and what further additions could potentially be made over the following years. “The Co-operative Championships is a fantastic competition which was seen by 1.5 million TV viewers in 2010. The clubs are also involved in two high profile cup competitions in the Northern Rail Cup and Carnegie Challenge Cup. “The current 21 clubs in the Championships consist of founder members of the sport with a rich heritage such as Leigh, Oldham and Batley as well as relatively recent additions from Gateshead, London and South Wales. “There are a number of great facilities such as Leigh Sports Village and the Stobart Stadium Halton and clubs have credible attendances, with eight clubs posting at least one home gate over 2000 last season.” The Co-operative Championships is a semi professional Rugby League competition for clubs in the leagues directly below Super League. It consists of two divisions called the Championship and Championship One with annual promotion and relegation between the two. Full time staff are in place at each club who receive annual financial support from the RFL and every player is contracted and paid accordingly. A salary cap is in place for both divisions and all clubs have to pass minimum facility standards which include having more than 200 seats (more than 500 required in the Championship) and have an enclosed ground with floodlights. These standards are set to rise in 2015 as it’s recognised the majority of clubs compete in stadia well in excess of minimum standards. Clubs are asked to register their Expression of Interest by April 11 with an email to Chris Thair in the RFL Club Support unit

Good news, would be great if teams like hemel, bramley and nottingham can join the proffesional ranks and spread the word.

i want coventry & edinburgh to step up

The more the merrier, we want as many sustainable sides around the country as possible, 5 or 6 teams in the mold of the scorpions, around the country could be hugely beneficial to the sport.

I'll reserve judgement on Bramley until they can get a team out this season I think.