This is the RFL's way of saying the dog ate their homework.
Leeds: will support RFL if their boss gets the nod for the top job in future.
Salford: will support RFL as is an ally of tub'o'lard
Widnes: Will probably sit on the fence....for now but could be swayed.
Catalan: Probably not in the plans for the sooper dooper 10 team comp....no skin of the broadcast partners nose either way and probably not spoken to by IL
Wakefield: In need of cash and probably not prepared to gamble (yet)
Castleford: In need of cash and probably not prepared to gamble (yet)

I don't see the RFL being in a strong position. There is not a cats chance in Hell SKY would buy into a comp with only leeds as a viable drawcard....that would leave the RFL with their good buddies at Premier Sports.

Let's hope they all sit down and work something out, because if this is allowed to fester on during the RLWC then I can see it ending badly for the sport in general.

Massive few weeks for the game! on the field we have a World Cup that could either boost RL and take us forward, or flop and keep us in decline. Now off the field we have all this. Scary but exciting at the same time.

you think this is exciting? Get yourself down to watch London broncos the stoop...hang on, the Hive....hang on, Griffin park,...oh, wait a minute, The Valley! or should that be Harlequins Rugby League

Maybe the rfl were including other things not so far mentioned in the restructuring which pushed these chairmen over the edge.

Maybe they were waiting to see if a Wigan vs Warrington final sold out before making complaints (nothing more embarrassing then complaining that the sport isn't advertised right only to a week later have a sell out final).

Maybe, live the republicans they are trying to use the time dependent nature of the upcoming World Cup to get things changed (chairmen have complained for years about the rfl on deaf ears, with ticket sales seeming relatively decent so far having issues should be the last thing the rfl want) maybe they'll go a step further and threaten to withdraw their players from the World Cup if the rfl continue to refuse to listen to them (I don't know if they actually can do this its mere speculation)

Whatever the reason, I agree the rfl has been poorly, inwardly thinking, run that lurches from one gimmick to the next - I cannot for the life of me see them building anything like a long term strategy for the sport which is something every chairmen should be concerned about. If you look at saints Wigan Warrington, commercially they are doing about as much as they can, for them to continue to grow, they need rl to grow and they have every right to demand that of the rfl.

There is a very interesting split of clubs though for and against.

For what it's worth, my opinion is that the whole bureaucracy need an over haul from top to bottom, the central administration needs control of the amateur and youth teams (which a separate body has currently) all the way through to the very top - especially with the proposals about reducing the number of academies. The refereeing system needs over hauling as well, my brother was a ref for youth teams and the meetings and support are a joke according to him - and it's no wonder we can't create refs as good as is needed. Then with a good strong message, marketing strategy and PLAN, we will see the improvement as more kids get involved at the bottom , work through the system, and into our sport

There can't be a split. A split will simply mean the end of RL as a pro game.

Saints and the like voting for a split would mean a nice shiney new stadia, empty with no team playing there.

The shareholders of the clubs would have spent alot of cash on nothing.

You can't run a 6 team league, even with Wigan and Saints in it, even a 10 team league is pushing it.

It sounds like more of a childish tantrum by those clubs. But the PR will do the game no harm at all.

A split wouldn't kill the game, there would be 10/12 teams in An SL that administers itself. I don't really think a split would be all that damaging, it's preferable to avoid it. I also font think this is a childish tantrum, there have been murmurings of discontent for a while about this proposed structure, clubs can't allow themselves to be bounced in to it.

Whatever happens, whichever faction wins is pretty much irrelevant. What is important is they put a structure in place that is the right structure, the best structure for the next 20 years minimum.

From my reading, some clubs just weren't mentioned. There wasn't necessarily a split. The article just stated that it was believed those clubs were in support.

I don't know the ins and outs so I could be wrong, BUT....

Could it not work like the Premier League in football? That stills fits in the FA League and cup structure but does it's marketing seperately.

No need for a complete split and could be the shake-up the game needs.

I think they proposals will be 12 teams. P&R. Top 5 play offs. You know, the system we had when we were arguably the strongest we've ever been.

I think the idea of the split league will cost Wood his job. If the RFL went with the system mentioned above, we would have had it all done and dusted now.

Interesting times

going back to what didn't work before would just be silly.