That's right, they didn't.

Quote: Mild Rover "That's right, they didn't.'" they probably shouldnt file accounts that say so then, its a little bit naughty news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 417462.stm

Quote: Mild Rover "That's right, they didn't.'" they probably shouldnt file accounts that say so then, its a little bit naughty news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 417462.stm

RL will never be popular outside of heartlands until we get at least one game a week on FTA TV. Most people don;t even know it exists let alone decide if they like it or not.

Ta - you said it so I didn't have to.

2007 - about £450k lost. 2008 - similar. 2009 - £298k lost. So unless you happen to know that we did about £1.8m this year, you've been a slightly naughty Smokey. Or a bit dim, whichever you prefer.
It isn't a great situation, without people making it out to be worse still. Current creditors' bill is £1.52m.

So vaguely back on topic, an increase in Sky cash would be welcomed by a good number of clubs. £3m sounds like wishful thing, sadly.

What is the challenge cup ratings like? One match per week on FTA is never gonna happen though.

For now BBC could at least start putting the highlights show at a more attractive time for viewers.

2 things , it isn't expansion to Perpignon and Toulouse , they already play pro RL there

The argument you make is the same one I make for not having Toulouse in the Championships , except the drain is on much needed RFL central funding that one would hope would be spent on the Championships , unless of course the only reason they are in the Championship is a pre entry for SL , so the money spent will be ' SL ' money

and it's practically bankrupt as well!!!!

In real terms how much would the lower league structure be any different if the £250000 you quote remains in the RFL coffers ? if the RFL gave the money instead to the twenty or so C/C1 clubs annually would things change that dramatically ? In any case i'm sure the wise men at Red Hall would find other ways to waste the money
Expansion is a dead cert if/when TO enter SL - crowds will increase,not neccesarily from Toulouqse but it's surrounding areas ie 50/100 mile raduis (southern france is mainly 'rural' - fans are not on the doorsteps of the clubs as in the north of england - france is a big country !)
with respect,you can't compare english & french RL crowds - a simple equation - Limoux will attract say 1000 + crowd which represents about 10% of their population - how many C/C1 clubs can boast 10% of their population at their home matches ? - i'm sure Carl Hall at Donny would sell his granny for that !!! maybe Leigh also !

The ' structure ' , wouldn't be any different , nobody has suggested it would , it is however 12 grand per club that could be spent on marketing the competition and the clubs locally , if the money was just handed over to the clubs there wouldn't be any ' dramatic ' change no , but then again would the SL clubs turn down another 100 grand if it was offered ?

How is ' expansion a dead cert ' if Toulouse Olympic [ a professional RL club ] continue to play proffessional RL , it would be no different ' expansion wise if Leigh got in SL , unless you mean SL expansion , not RL expansion , is that what you meant , if so make yourself clear , there is a difference

Who has ever suggested anything of the sort?

What your doing here is typical Kipperman. Invent a ludicrous argument and then refute it.

obviously SL expansion - fans would even come from Perpignan area to see TO13 in the SL for example - Championship crowds would remain between 1500 - 3000 depending on the success of the team due to the fickleness of us RL fans

So when you say ' Expansion ' , you mean expansion of SL , you see that is very important , because we have all been fed the brown smelly stuff that it is expanding the sport of RL , not just SL , as that expansion will help all the sport , when in fact it wont , it is all about the SL clubs improving their own prospects for the future , not the whole sport

'expansion' as the term is used regarding Leigh for example and TO in the Championship is just another word for an increase in crowds,depending on how successful they are as long as they remain in that league
'Expansion' for Leigh and TO if they reach the SL is a different matter - a team like Leigh (as Widnes will find out) will mean an increase in crowds obviously plus any other SL benefits from SKY whereas SL for TO would mean 'expansion' in terms of general interest of the sport in the south-west of france which would mean higher crowds obviously plus the benfits SKY would bring PLUS a major boost to the sport of RL generally.The SW of france isn't like the north of england either culturally or demographically - the majority of the northern english folk have access to SL rugby literally on their doorsteps.In sw france this isn't the case so an SL team at Toulouse would open up a whole new audience to rl in france.
Whether a TO team in the SL is a good or bad thing is a completely different subject.
I'm not disagreeing with anything you say but you have to understand and respect the basic differences between the two countries to appreciate my sentiments.

This is a very basic point and one which is absent from anything I have seen.

What constitutes expansion? How is success judged or measured? How do the RFL show that RL expansion has in fact taken place?

Is it the number of people playing the game? At what level? Attending matches? Or pins in a map? Watching on Sky?

What are the targets? When are they planned to be achieved?