Agreed.
They do have to find ways to attract new supporters and with Doncaster having some success lower down the food chain, this could further erode their potential to attract new fans from this area.
For now, without a new stadium on the close horizon, they will have to cut their cloth to suit what is realistic and this may be the rationale behind Mr Ferres' comments.
To drop down a division would likely mean an end to SL for a very long time indeed so, I dont think that avenue will be taken (unless the RFL have a cull in SL numbers)
Lets hope they get themselves sorted and that their supporters keep the faith.

I have always really liked classy cas, even after '96! It is a shame in a weird sort of way that the game is growing to the point where the income needed to be sustainable in the top flight means that small town clubs can not stay at the top. I guess it is the price of progress?

It would be if there were other options to replace them , but there aren't , and there wont be for a very long time , if ever

Thanks Mystic Meg.

But we all know that's the failing of this ludicrous system we have in place. This is not Australia, and the sooner we understand that then we can develop our game within our culture and restrictions.

Cas, HKR, Widnes, Wakefield and Salford are on a par with Fev, Fax and Leigh but the latter group can never quickly replace the former due to the current structures of the game and the distribution of funds.

The gap is great and getting greater, and we have no policies to close it.

A very basic check would have told you that Fev's current ground wouldnt hold Wakefield or HKR's average attendance. They arent on a par at all.

The gap is growing and will continue to grow because some clubs, arent able to operate the level of others. Why some people cant accept that fact no-one knows.

Its funny but I had a look to see what Featherstone's biggest attendance was, expecting it to back you up.
They got 17k in 1959 against St Helens. How on earth did they get that many in Post Office Road.

I hope they do well because they are working hard at it.
I do fear though that time has eroded the Featherstone village enough that they will never get big crowds coming, even if they sign the Aussie test team.
Saying that, they would get more if either Wakefield or Cas failed, and would probably get more than London right now.

I would advise that when you stand up, make sure you get all that sand out of your ears.

I would advise you, that when you stand up make sure you haven’t tied your shoes together and a responsible adult is nearby so you dont hurt yourself.

By using stadia in ridiculously dangerous ways. It always amazes me when you see pictures of thousands packed in to stands which clearly aren’t fit for it. God knows how sports clubs were able to get away with it

I wear slip on's for that reason, how do you get the sand out?

Well a lot of them lived in small communities with no saftey barriers on roads, no seat belts in cars and worked down the pit so this probably wasn't seen as particularly dangerous.
Lets face it, before the Bradford fire and Hillsborough disaster, we all stood in tight crowds that by todays standards were not safe.

I can remember going to Wigan and having to squeeze through a big gateway to get out. With 20k+ behind you that was a bit hairy. And they hada little bridge acroos the beck.
I went to watch Wigan and Warrington at Sts for Lancashire Cup Final and can remember crowd surges where I was completely seperated from my dad and could hardly get my arms up tos top the crush. Great atmosphere I have to say but i'm a big lad (teenager then) and people smaller than me were a bit frightened.

So I loved the old days, but happy with the nice shiney stadiums we are building in Rugby league now.

So the answer to the problem is ?

So having less competitive clubs is progress ?

The problem is one you have invented to fit your narrative.