Excellent. Maybe this will attract major sponsorship (after all we are told no major company is interested in small, northern towns). If it does, we may then have the spectacle of Super League clubs throwing matches in an attempt to get relegated! Knowing RL such a farce is entirely possible.

That's quite funny 8.5/10

Seriously though, those 4 away fixtures will prove massively expensive for some of the clubs at the lower end of the Championship and of course, it will be 4 home games with very little away support.
Coupled with the likely loss of KR, who look like they may be promoted, I bet they (the Championship clubs) are really looking forward to the severe loss of revenue.

It could make the middle 8's a real logistical test as it's possible that those 4 clubs could all make the "qualifiers" next season.

Even if Catalans stay up maybe average crowds in the Championship won't fall all that much because of the skewed effect of Toronto's home fixtures if they're getting 6-7k and rising? If Catalans come down they'll probably still bring in 4-5k for their home games.

Could be chaotic booking flights for the middle 8s. Getting part time players to take all that time off for 2 extra overseas away fixtures too may be a problem.

I agree about average attendances but, my comment was more to do with the lack of away support in those 3 or 4 fixtures and the loss of KR who generally travel away in numbers.
If you put the loss of away support and the additional travel/accommodation costs for the team + staff for the overseas trips, we are talking substantial numbers, especially for the smaller clubs at the lower end of the comp.

If a club has to rely on away fans coming through the gates in order to be financially viable, then they need to take a long, hard look at themselves.

This obsession with away fan numbers is a strange one amongst UK RL fans. Page 1 and it's a discussion on away fan numbers. Fks sake.

Whether clubs should rely on away numbers is not really the issue.
It's the "hit" that each club in the Championship will take, both on their income and expenditure.

I know that you can understand this but, you appear not to want to acknowledge the fact.

I've said on many other threads that it's great to have some of the expansion clubs on board BUT if, all we are doing is increasing costs, without getting some additional revenue, we are, largely, wasting our time.

However, IF there is significantly more income from sponsorship, say from French / Canadian TV or advertising then great, lets fill our collective boots.

Personally, we should have Toronto and possibly Toulouse in SL, where clubs are better placed to stand the additional costs and we should be re-negotiating the TV deal to reflect the greater "draw" of these clubs.
However, the current structure, which is certainly to remain, for now, doesn't really allow for this.

How about clubs stop feeling sorry for themselves, stop relying on away fans/handouts, and go out and market their club & it's home matches properly, generate new revenue streams & even encourage new investment at board level.

There's a reason these clubs have been bobbing around with their heads just above water for so long, and that's because they're plodding along just as they have done for decades, relying on the same old fans & the same old sponsors.

RL has to rid itself of these attitudes and try and progress forward otherwise before too long, Sky will stop caring and we'll be left with nothing. If there are a few casualties along the way (and I hope there isn't) then so be it.

At the lower end of the Championship, away fans, even if only numbered in hundreds make a massive difference to their financials. Central funding for them is minimal, and most don't have "sugar daddy" directors propping them up.

It makes for an interesting league next year and potentially a new dawn for RL in the northern hemisphere.

Not sure there will be a middle 8's next season - are there not rumblings of a restructure for the 2019 season

If so, they need to decide quickly during the closed season. We need to know what we are playing for at the beginning of the season although I suspect that, as usual, the RFL and SL will wait until 75% of the season has gone and then change the rules to fit their hidden agenda in order to assist their favoured teams and restrict the others.

It was a big problem for Barrow Raiders who had to play at Toronto twice this season, players were having to take 6 days holiday leave from there jobs on top of working visa problems.

We do - because if not it leads to all sorts of rumour mongering and tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorists making stuff up.

Seriously though, it surely can't be beyond the wit of the clubs and RFL to agree some structures and stability for a few years can it? If every club knew where it stood you would get more chance to do proper long term planning (unheard of in RL).

When did this happen? Can you give some examples?