Expansion ...a sensible approach?

Quote: Kelvin's Ferret "RL has to take risks to develop into a game which can make a proper claim to being a national professional sport, with a real international system on top of that. I'd love it if the RFL (and the RLIF for that matter) had substantial resources to put behind expansion, but the flatcappers would only scream their heads off, they already indulge in fairytales about London being "bailed out" with millions of pounds of imaginary money, what would they be like if real money was put behind investing in expansion?'"

If there were the money there I would support this, but we don't live in an ideal world and the sport doesn't have money to spend funding clubs like the Crusaders. Some common sense is needed, for example if giving Harlequins an extension on when Lenegan needs to sell up will secure their long term future it needs to be done, but if Crusaders need the RFL to invest several million pounds a year to be kept afloat in Wrexham (hypothetically speaking) then to me that would be money better spend elsewhere.

Quote: Kelvin's Ferret "
Besides the whole flatcapper arguments for softly, softly expansion, not too far away and not too high up the league structure so it doesn’t compete with their own interests are just rubbish, they know as well as anyone there’s no point in doing it at all if the results aren’t even going to trouble the little fish in the little ponds. If many of the flatcappers had their way we’d be trading SL expansion clubs for a few more mediocre “traditional” clubs nestled conveniently in the “heartlands” who don’t bring anything new to the table except maybe a romanticised view of RL “tradition”, and this in return for an implicit admission that RL should just settle to be a small time regional sport.'"

I've seen too many expansion clubs sent to the wall by expansion too fast (my own and several others nearly did too), to agree with this. Though if we are to fund expansion areas I think the money should go in investing in juniors and maybe multiple semi-pro sides, rather than a couple of token SL sides, to get the grassroots in place first. If it were a choice between keeping Wrexham afloat in SL, or having Bridgend, Hemel and Nottingham in C1 and keeping Gateshead and Skolars there I would support the latter. I am prepared to wait for natural growth.

As an example until this year the RFL did virtually nothing for the game in the midlands, but this year a condition of the Sport England money is that they invest in grassroots RL across the country and thus we now have a midlands development officer. While the difference hasn't yet reached the top midlands amateur clubs at first team level, the difference at junior and merit league level is very visible and all this without a SL or even semi-pro side.

Unfortunately with no pathway to semi-pro and no longer amateur season this could be lost to RU in the future (or at least players will play both), and having a SL club 100 miles away in Twickenham and another slightly closer (distance wise, not time) in Wrexham really won't help.

RLFANS.COM MERCHANDISE

RLFANS.COM SPONSORS & HELP