If Catalans go down, next year will be the most geographically restricted top division since before the game went professional in 1996. The game will have lost its club in the capital, its only French club, one of its few big city clubs with 10k+ crowd potential in Bradford, and its short-lived Welsh venture.

Nobody will be able to claim RL is doing anything other than going backwards. It'll be a literal truth.

The trouble is with the clubs you mention is , they couldn't run a bath.

Catalans, London and Bradford all competed in Wembley finals. Bradford were the dominant team in the competition for several years. Catalans and Bradford averaged crowds larger than the SL average. All three were/are RL's sole presence in media, player numbers and sponsorship markets which are larger than anything we still have except - maybe - Leeds.

There is no pretending that losing these three teams from SL is anything other than a major contraction of the sport in terms of support, sponsorship, potential players, and profile.

What can you do though?

It's a sport and thems the rules. Would you like to see non heartland and big city clubs exempt from relegation?

Yes. It's not a coincidence that the loss of these teams has coincided with the return of relegation.

I would bring back licensing in a heartbeat. No system in flawless, but a system which directly caused our sport shrink substantially in just a few short years is a system which a sport like ours, already struggling to attract sponsors and fan interest, cannot afford.

Ahhh that closed shop policy. Promotion and relegation add excitement to three game. Whether the structure is quite right I'm not so sure. Catalans have been in regression for ages. They only have themselves to blame, year in year out signing journeymen on big contracts. Not to mention their coaching selections. A year outside SL may give them a chance to sort themselves and improve, ala Hull KR. London don't get enough following, regardless of what league they're in. Catalan can bounce back. I think bradford could potentially too in years to come.

Come on Leigh

Thing is Bradford is situated along the M62. Also you make it sound like the sport is to blame when in fact the club should got themselves into precarious positions. I'd also like to see the evidence where the sport was made richer by the presence of London and Catalans.

Oh without a doubt, it is the major flaw of this system, or any p + r based system.

I know people on here disagree, but I'd much prefer licensing, with the obvious issue being that it would have to be done properly so that anyone who deserves to be in SL or can operate at that level can get there and be given, as you say, time to build.

Given that all of their games are televised and that they're getting respectable home crowds, I think its fair to say that more people in France are watching Super League than they did previously. I'm not sure what Norwich and Bristol have to do with it.

Its nothing to do with me hating Leigh as one poster said by any stretch. I'm fairly indifferent to them. I just think that for the good of the league, a Dragons win is a better result.

No, I'm a Leeds fan, but I'm sure you realise that in a group of 15,000 people, you are going to get a wide range of opinions. Some will be at one extreme, others will be at the opposite extreme and most will be somewhere in between. I'm pretty sure you don't have any idea where my views on the Leeds coach sit, but you've made that judgement anyway and then thrown in some childish insults for good measure. I'd suggest that makes you quite silly.

You have said a couple of times now that I know "#### all" but haven't yet offered up one counter argument. I'm sure you realise that but, for the sake of having a decent discussion, I'm more than happy to listen to reasonable arguments as to why I'm wrong. You never know, you might be able to teach me something. Your move.

I picked Norwich and Bristol as just a couple of examples of places that would be oblivious who stays and who gets relegated in SL. We have an obsession to grow the game anywhere but in Britain.

There's also some implication of blame of the sport (not by you btw) that Catalans are in the position they're in, when in fact it's down to (Robinson aside) succession of poor coaches, poor recruitment and apparently a poor club culture off the pitch.

ATEOTD, if Catalans stay up, great. If not, well theyve got some interesting matches to look forward to against Toulouse and Toronto.

Look at Rugby Union always had a problem with crowds for Club games ( and sponsorship)

Then hey presto the Heineken cup playing johhny foreigner where you don't get huge amounts of away fans and then the game moves on to new levels. Financially publicity wise and attendance wise.

The pro 12 lets in south af'rican teams who bring no fans to away games and guess what it attracts more money and publicity.

In RL we still have numpties who think that the game can survive based onM62 clubs serving about 4 million people.

Look at cricket the county game is slowly dying
so what do they do change the format more 20 20 and sell it around the world. IPL now gets more money ( outside of India)than the whole of RL in the world put together to watch Indians and the best players play a mini league.
As the game contracts it will get poorer and harder to market. Everyone will go to alternative sports we will be left to a smaller pool of players. Kids do not play RL like they used to.

Losing London was bad ( much of sky's money came from London). Losing Catalans will be worse.

It is just another example of the death knell of RL. In 10 years it will be a semi pro SL if indeed some of the top clubs have not gone to the dark side.

I tend to think that anyone over the age of 30 before the age of digital technology should be banned from posting on threads like this as they are so far in the past they are just waiting to become extinct like the dinosaurs.