Personally, I'm ok with the French clubs in SL and I believe that Catalan have added something extra to the competition.
However, trying to include clubs from North America into a "localised" competition is just not practical.
Primarily due to the travel involved plus of course the logistical aspects of where they "fit", with academies etc and lets not forget, that despite many expansionists saying the additional costs are negligible, whatever the cost of travelling over there once or twice a season, this is additional cost for a cash strapped sport.
Unless of course, "we" replace the English clubs with overseas sides and manage to maintain the Sky cash to split between fewer clubs, which would more than fund the experiment.

Well said. Let’s hold the game back because wakey and Salford can’t afford a trip over

There lies the problem Triny is missing. With Catalans, London, Toronto, TO......reliance on away fans has to change. That shouldn't be a reason not to accept them, home teams need to work harder. The game is changing and needs to change fast

You are a pr1ck of the highest order aren't you LeBron? I'd hazard a guess that if somebody worked out what % of a team's average home gate travelled over to Perpignan for the Catalans away fixture then Salford would be in the top 2 or 3.
I also assume you probably don't have a job yourself based on the amount of time you spend on here so can only assume you've never made the trip yourself due to affordability? Give me a shout next season and you can share my cab....

Hey guess what folks, the magic weekend is not MAGIC at all. It's just an extra round of fixtures at a neutral ground. They could have it on Uranus for all I care !

1) Where did you buy your crystal ball from ?
2) Are only Super League fans allowed to attend these MAGIC events ?

Alicante could be good, Benidorm not far away and holds 29,500. Cracking weekend away.

So, those wishing to "promote" the sport, dismantle the game in the UK and "export" it to N. America.

I'm not sure that the breakaway in 1895 would have taken place if they had been told of "the masterplan".
I do agree however, that the roots of RL in the UK are both it's strength and weakness.

The breakaway in 1895 was about creating something that people would want to pay to see, in order to be able to pay the talent fairly for their time.

The times may have changed, but the goal is the same. I think those in 1895 would look at the sport today, with falling crowds and stagnating player salaries, and seriously think about changing things.

We've been over this before. Expansion is not the end-goal here, its merely a mechanism to improve this sport and make it more relevant in the 21st century. If the heartland clubs could do that, expansion isn't on the table.

Being a non-worldwide barely thought of sports doesn’t hold back Gaelic football or hurling.

They’re never seen trying to “expand” their games, trying to find an international audience. Coming over to Manchester or Newcastle for a Magic Weekend to stir up interest in Great Britain for Irish sports that absolutely nobody would care about.

They concentrate on their bread and butter and develop the teams they’ve got.

I don’t know about hurling but Gaelic football certainly made “expansion” type moves and attempted to change its nature with exhibition games in other countries and tie-ups with both Irish Rugby Union and Aussie Rules. And also include overseas clubs/counties in their leagues/comps.

As Bramleyrhino says, if the heartland clubs were working then expansion wouldn’t even be mentioned. They’re not, and haven’t run themselves properly in the last 30 years. And that is not the fault of any attempts at expansion. The RFL haven’t given extra funding to any expansion club, unlike in the NRL where they backed the Melbourne expansion club and it massively improved the competition.

I’m a lifelong RL fan. I don’t enjoy RL because it’s played in small northern towns. I enjoy RL because of the nature of the sport, it’s honesty, it’s toughness and violence shown on the pitch combined with its values and lack of violence off the pitch.
If RL could be a league of:
Leeds
Hull
Newcastle
Manchester
Birmingham
Leicester
Coventry
Liverpool
Plus a few London clubs

It wouldn’t make the sport worse because they’re not local.

In RL I think we have a touch of the Phoenix Nights about us. Trying hard but ultimately in the wrong direction for an outdated view of what people want now.

In answer to the poster - " him " with the sentiment of your wishes on your posting, I am sure wigan, saints, warrington, huddersfield will be in total agreement with you ! How silly, there is no culture of RL in the named areas you pointed out, what a success storey of events that would be ?