You're forgetting that I support Leigh, where our only non-Yorkshire away game this season is taking place at our own stadium!

Fair enough then let's put four teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Cornwall into SL and see how they go. Oh and while we are at we'll stop the Sky money just to even things up.

Would definitely be good to have both clubs in there. I can see Rugby League being a success in Coventry especially given that the Football team are struggling, city could do with a successful team.

Are there clubs in these areas ready for SL? If there are, wonderful, if not then we can wait until there are.

As for the Sky money, that is probably the single most idiotic thing I have heard anyone say on here in a long time, and Starbug is a long time contributor so well done on that! Why do you think SL clubs would stop selling their product? Are they also going to stop selling merchandise? Replica shirts? Why don’t they just stop selling tickets aswell. Im guessing by ‘evening things up’ you meant hampering clubs until they are all in as poor a position as yours?

Completely agree. Went to the Bears-Warrington Wizards game in the summer and was pleasantly surprised at how many turned up and how many volunteers they have etc. Cracking little stadium and the bar was spot on as well. Would think any visiting supporters would enjoy a trip there though I do sympathise a touch on those who have been in the habit of attending every away game in CC1 and then being left with some mammoth trips, but such is life and hopefully that can be sorted with a sensible fixture list.

Mrs Bear and myself will have to fork out for a new engine for the Morris Minor.

Here's the thing. Champ 1 clubs operate on a tiny turnover, half of which is centrally funded anyway. Their average crowd is between 300 and 600, and the playing squad is contracted almost exclusively on pay-to-play.

RL is now played nationally, but the pro and semi pro game is almost all along the m62. The midlands has kids leagues, u18s teams, an academy programme, a player pathway, a bunch of good amateur and student teams... And then what?

In the traditional areas, lads of a standard, but not the highest standard, can pick up champ 1 contracts without having to give up work or relocate. The success or failure of the new champ 1 clubs will depend upon replicating that. They may need, at first, a few players from the north, but if they are not generating their own local talent within a couple of years, it won't work.

Living in, and watching a lot of RL in, just such an area, I think these places can create a talent pool of local part-timers at that standard, very quickly. I could, now, pick a squad of 25 south west players capable of playing champ 1. That's the key, and that's all that really matters for the medium term viability of the expansion clubs.

We are not talking about losing anyone from championship RL. We are not talking about replacing a SL team, or demoting a championship team. We are talking about adding new teams at the third level of the semi pro game. Addition, not subtraction.

That is a valid point , in previous discussions I have suggested that new clubs get extra help , both financially and with more player options than the existing Championship clubs to make them more competitive early doors , but that they are excempt from promotion as long as they are recieving that extra help

It does seem as if all these new clubs , as in the case of the SWS are to be tied in with a ' parent ' SL club , making them a kind of feeder club , but it will be interesting to see how much help that actually does mean ? , wholesale dual reg or loan of reserve/academies will most definatley upset heartland clubs still in Championship 1

I suppose we must wait and see

On the BBC website in the video of an interview at Sixfields with Ralph Rimmer he says that the CC1 Northampton club will be on television on a regular basis. Is there a new secondary tv deal on the way for the Championships? I can't imagine that CC1 games will feature that often on Premier Sports and I doubt enough people subscribe or are able to subscribe to PS for it to have too big or widespread an audience if he was referring to that channel.

He says it about 1min20s into it just before mentioning that Wakefield can be seen on SKY.

rlhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/15987332.stmrl

Why shouldn't they get a local derby? It's not their fault that Doncaster are the worst pro club in their area.

You seem to be suffering from small man syndrome.

I suspect that doing it through NTFC, and not just promoting the Demons, will prove to be a good idea. Especially with a link to Wakefield to help.

I suspect that Northampton Town are desperate to have that stadium used all year round. So it'll work for them too.

When the Premier sports deal was announced , they did mention ' double ' headers , maybe this is where we will see this ?

It'll depend on what the cost will be to stage a game , and the money that comes back through the turnstiles ?

It's a good job the RFL aren't enforcing the minimum wage structures in the Championships , like they did in the u 18 s competition a few years back

Let's hope they don't lose anybody from the Championships , even if it is as a by product of a reduction in standards

Maybe so. It would be a good idea if they are going to broadcast double headers as the CC1 clubs could get a bit of a profile boost however small. Just a shame that PS subscriptions aren't more widely accessible.