Where are these franchises that you speak of.
We have no club in Liverpool and Salford, close to Manchester are on their backside.

Correct. Especially after New York joins in 2020 or thereabouts. And a damned good thing too.

But I do hope Boston and Montreal join soon after, to create a north American conference with clout.

It has to happen. The future of the game depends on this vital expansion to markets that actually want the game unlike the desolate wastelands of post-industrial Yorkshire.

You obviously weren't around when SL was set up. Heard all this nonsense before about superclubs and mergers.

What actually needs to happen is for France, Canada and the States to have good domestic leagues themselves (and in France's case higher profile and professional).

Football did it by having countries that invested in their own domestic leagues big time, not by having an odd team or two in a league based in another country. If SL is to become like a champions league then fair enough, but the domestic leagues in each country also need to grow otherwise what's the point? The lower league outside the SL Champions League also needs massive investment as well. That isn't happening.

Because of lack of funds, you may create a SL with some international teams in it, but they are still localised and will not spread. Massive investment into domestic leagues is the only way to truly spread the sport and not this gimmick of international SL.

An example - apart from Catalans and Toulouse that have been around a long time, have any other french teams really grown beyond where they were before Catalans joined SL? Has there been a massive influx of french players in the last 10 years? Is France now brimming with RL clubs? No to all those questions. Therefore having a token RL club in SL does not really expand the sport.

Domestic investment is needed to help France grow into a true RL nation. The same will be true in Canada, USA or any other nation. SL might be more diverse with Toronto etc but it's a false economy in terms of spreading the sport. These new teams will stay regionalised and a gimmick until domestic leagues are given the true financial support they need (and in France's case, deserve).

To match the French leagues

And here we are 23 years later treading water with clubs like Wakefield waiting for the £1,800,000 survival payments, playing out of a decrepit old stadium in front of shrinking crowds.....not exactly "super" is it?

Merged clubs will work, but they won't be cheap.....if there was a top flight of SUPER CITY CLUBS and the HULL CITY club was a co-operation between FC and HKR, with both those clubs still playing in a 2nd tier.....there's potentially a 20k fan base there.....if you had a potential 20k base delivering £400,000 on game day at the gate, you'd have investors lining up.....but if you say "not ever going to support anyone other than HKR" then let's carry on for the next 23 years or until SKY realise that we aren't that "super".....

No one in hull would support that you do realise. Mergers don't work simple. I sometimes wonder to myself if rugby league should just know its place and strengthen what it's got. Keep the traditional clubs identities. Cause a 'global super league' filled with 'SUPER CLUBS' and mergers don't seem so super to me. Call me a flat capper...

...fire away. I am all ears on how we turn a division of 6 contenders and 6 makeweights into anything other than what it is now.....8,500 average gates, but in reality only 5 teams hitting the break even number required......and believe me, SKY won't come back with more money next time, so if we don't open new markets up, we may as well prepare for RL as it was pre-superleague....

This merger worked well.

FFS man, give it a rest.

We currently have 12 SL clubs, with 1 of these being French.
If you merge the 2 Hull clubs and put Cas and Wakefield together, that leaves you with 9.
I.m not sure what you plan is with Huddersfield, Salford and Widnes, maybe we just strike them off or, throw Huddersfield in with Bradford and Widnes could merge with Wire.

Do you have any evidence that Sky will contribute more money to RL if there were either fewer clubs or that the games were played in front of larger crowds ??

If we have fewer clubs, necessarily there would be fewer fixtures (or, even more repeats).

We have already sold our soul to Sky and whilst everyone has been happy to take their money, the spread of games over 4 days in the week has further reduced attendances but, you go for it.

How attractive would our sport become with say, 8 SL clubs playing each other 6 or 7 times a season

Not forgetting Balmain and Wests Magpies

Quote: Leigh_Manning "Hull isn't a County'" https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... ly-1848729

Quote: Leigh_Manning "Hull isn't a County'" https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... ly-1848729

If it wasn’t for mergers, the Huddersfield giants and their sub 5k attendences wouldn’t be in superleague. Just a shame we never got to find out if the eagles could do better

Regards

King James

Sorry, but we have, and the general Sheffield public aren't interested. That said, if all fans were as passionate about their club as those they do have, then RL would be in a far better place.