Those teams in the championship now can only spend £300k on player salaries. The SL clubs will spend along a range of £1.1 million - £1.8 million so even the top KPC clubs are limited to 20% of the budget of a team in the mid range of spending in SL. From 2015 those clubs in the second 12 will be able to spend up to £900k (treble what they have been able to spend up to now). The spending power of the top 12 will remain unchanged so the gap could lessen for the top KPC clubs significantly. In recent years Cas who, no disrespect intended, are likely to be one of the bottom 4 in the top 12 in the early years at least were beaten by Barrow and Featherstone and were very lucky to beat Halifax, Huddersfield, a top half of SL team scraped through against Batley. Though those are rare instances they were involving teams with at best 27% of the budget of their opponent. When that budget is 75% of that of their opponent then the difference is hardly stark. A club coming into the middle 8 from the 2nd 12 beating one of the 4 sides coming from the top 12 is not likely to be so rare an event as those past cup shocks. A "SL2" team may only need a single win over a "SL1" team to gain promotion in any given season particularly given the presence of the 4th v 5th playoff.

As you say time will tell but the raising of budget potential for the second tier largely removes the forced chasm in finances. A club with three times the playing budget may not be wholly part time but have a core of FT players. Nobody knows what will happen but the drastic changing of the (potential) spending power of the top KPC clubs bringing them much closer to the lower end of SL means that even the recent past is not as accurate a yardstick as many seem to think it is.

For me a floundering Rovers in the championship is better than no Rovers at all so yes, I'd still be happy.

I still think you will get yo-yoing of super league teams with this format as well. Whichever 2 teams drop at the end of the forthcoming season I would assume would be in the top 4 of the championship the season after. So in reality you have 6 SL teams fighting for 4 SL places. I don't think the current championship teams will get a look in.

This.....

There seems to be a focus on the top of the championship being competitive with the bottom of SL as if that would make the system a success. It wont. If the top of championship is competitive with the bottom SL because the bottom of SL is miles away from the top of SL in terms of quality, the majority of the bottoms SL clubs season becomes entirely meaningless and will be filled with blowout scores.

If the top of the Championship is competitive with the bottom of SL because they massively up their game, we risk seeing the same thing happen at the bottom of the championship.

This system working necessitates that the bottom of the championship are competitive with teams who are competitive with the top of SL. If it doesn’t we will see massive gaps in quality, a poor league and huge blow out scores.

There is no-one arguing we are likely to see the Swintons and Whitehavens competitive with Leeds and Wigans. Its all very well cherry-picking a few close results, but it ignores that the majority of results in SL v lower league games are blowouts-, in recent years we have seen Wigan put 60 on Leigh, Bradford put 70 on Donny, London put 70 on Dewsbury, Salford put nigh on 60 on Whitehaven, Catalans put nearly 70 on Sheffield, Huddersfield put 52 on Swinton, Leeds put 60 on Leigh, Wakefield 50 on Donny, Wire 112 on Swinton, Saints 70 v Fev, Wire 80 v Keighley,

If they hadnt brought in this league restructuring,I think the lower leagues demise wouldnt have been far away,how a lot of clubs have survived until now on pitiful crowds is a mystery.I think your club would have been just hanging on with Halifax,leigh and thats it.

So what should we focus on? top of super league is that it?thats not what this is all about,its about HOPE .Hope because even if a club hasnt got a cats chance of gaining a foothold in the elite crop it can have a damm good fight to get their and back by sponsors who are willing to back a club(they wouldnt touch stuck in a league without hope) .sleeping giants can rise,wouldnt have been saying that if wigan had been relegated 6 years ago

Hope is a pretty dumb way to run a business. Sponsors arent going to want to be involved in a sport which is boring, where the winner can be known 99 times out of a hundred. People are going to tire of watching sides run up scores. Swinton losing by 112 points isnt going to attract them sponsors or fans.

But im sure you'll agree 'some' hope is better than NO hope?Lets be honest if Rugby League died that death would be hastened if the same structure remained in place.Example Sheffield have been form team 2 years on trot but winning is surely a pyrhic victory in this present form in effect you win but winner bugger all in the championship.So at the present rate it was gonna fold,the reason i mention hope and yes hope is psychologicaly and otherwise a positive aspect of any top league coaches mantra believe me.Case in point forgot which club in championship had a very good sponsorship pakage in place but lost it because of the faffin round early on in voting for this.Sponsors wouldnt give a moments glance to clubs STUCK in a meaningless process but would given that their is HOPE

Hang on a minute what super clubs are losing by 112 points?Im sure any side that fought through the middle 8 playy off has earned their place in SL on merit,ok they gonna get tonked but 112?.

But the new structure only makes promotion a dream (not a reality)
Some of the top CC clubs will increase their spending on players, in the hope of gaining promotion.
Bearing in mind there will be 2 SL clubs relegated at the end of the coming season who, as many have already said, will be favourites for promotion. This leaves 4 or 5 current CC clubs dramatically increasing their spending to "chase the dream" and they may all fail in their quest for glory.
What will this do for their financial state ?
Also, what happens to the lower end CC clubs who, haven't any realistic prospect of promotion.

nonsense

Swindon lost 112-0 to wire. No super clubs will, championship clubs with no money, no fans, small stadiums might

Aaaah you see they are hoping we forget that the increase in championship funding and the restructure casts adrift everyone else. It's a whole game solution you see, as long as the whole game is the top SL clubs and a few championship clubs.

If not all the championship clubs have a chance of promotion what a waste of time it will all be, they might has well just have 1 up and 1 down then at least if they are good enough they will go up