Genuine question here.....did the inclusion of the 2 South African sides generate any "extra media" for Union? I suspect Toronto will get some press if they get promoted....then radio silence will be as usual in the off season, followed by a couple of media blasts at the start of the season and then normal service will be resumed....anyone who thinks Toronto are the answer either wasn't listening to the question or doesn't understand it.

I can't see anything other than London going down this year, with the highest points tally of any side to finish bottom, which is a shame really, because they've shown some real guts and teamwork this year and they'll have all their best players stripped away and will have to rely on their kids to survive next year.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/re ... s-in-2019/

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/re ... s-in-2019/

I'm one of those who think that if Leeds finish bottom their will be a rule change to stop them being relegated. It could be along the lines that whoever wins the Championship Grand Final will not be promoted with some rarely known rule.
I don't think Hull KR, London or Wakey will be afforded that luxury.

If Leeds go down, I think it would be good for Rugby League and the Championship.

Lets be honest, they have been more in the middle 8's more than most in the last few years and have basically 'floated' in terms of being in S/L.

My head says though that it will be London which is a shame. They have punched above their weight with a team to be fair, poorer than the Leigh side that got relegated (after finishing 11th !) and a team better than Widnes that got relegated last year.

People feel that the quality of S/L isnt as good this year, but I honestly think that some Championship teams are simply catching up to supers leagues level. Its going to be really interesting to see how both leagues pan out come September.

Apart from Winning it less than 2 years ago that is.


Look we are a poor team at the moment and there's many factors that has led to us being in the position we are in, if we finish bottom we deserve to go down, its as simple as that.

I just don't think that would be a good thing for SL, losing the best supported club in one of the biggest cities isn't good IMO I would say this if it was any of the so called 'bigger clubs' as well, losing Warrington, Wigan, Saints, Hull FC, Catalan, Cas would not benefit SL.

I don't particularly want London to go down as it will be a shame.

Personally I think it's actually a great opportunity to go to 14 teams, I'm not even sure who would be complaining about it. Let's say SL announce today that relegation is scrapped and we are going to a 14 team league for next year with straight home and away fixtures. No one goes from SL so we keep London (and yes Leeds) Toronto automatically gain promotion and the championship playoff goes from 1-5 to 2-6.

Who loses out in that scenario? the Championship clubs now have a better shot at promotion, SL keeps its teams including London who can build on the 'Success' of this year and Toronto come in plus another Championship side.

The idea of relegation in SL is inherently flawed as we don't have an even handed fixture list at the moment.

I think that means sod all when its basically a one way street they might have the greatest home attendances albeit a declining one but they bring nothing by way of away fans to bolster other clubs ticket sales. When you compare the away fans of Hull, Warrington, Wigan and Saints they are in a different league compared to Leeds. Obviously you have to consider the Fickle Fans Factor but the away support of the Leeds fans is just plain abysmal and doesn't reflect the so called high and mighty mentality of their fans on this forum.

And the rest of my points?

Its not about being high and mighty it’s about being pragmatic

Leeds will bring more away support than a lot of clubs especially London, Catalan and Toronto but then I’m a firm believer that it’s up to a club to bolster their own support not away support.

Leeds have had 3 out of 4 seasons being frankly rubbish yet they remain the best supported club, losing that is not good for SL as a whole.

You may have noticed from my many previous posts regarding Toronto that I dont believe that they (or any other N. American sides should be in SL).
However, although there will be very little coverage in the press, where RL is a taboo Northern Sport, there will be interest amongst the fans, just as there has been with them in The Championship and if they were to replace Leeds, there may be little overall effect to attendance numbers- despite their lack of an away following - which is totally understandable given that nobody could reasonably fund 12-15 trips over the Atlantic to watch their side play every other week.
The derby games with Leeds would be heavily affected but, overall, there really may not be too much in it and of course, if they replace one of the smaller clubs, attendances would increase overall.
However, unless they are successful in SL, the spike in interest will likely fall and the real point of interest will be that, IF they start to get beaten regularly, what will happen to their home attendance.
As for London going down, I'm not so sure.
They are, at least, fighting for points in every game and right now, it's a genuine 5 club dog fight.
Huddersfield look a lot safer and Trinity less so but, a couple of wins would see any of the current 5 hit safety. It's just a matter of which club fails to get the 2 victories.

As other CAS fans have said.... If only we could of kept our recent good league record Vs Leeds into this season.... They could be 4 points behind London now.

I think London will be the team to drop. Losing to Wakey in the last game.

And if Leeds had kept their decent record against Hull FC at home and Salford away we could be 4points clear from the rest at the bottom.

Things like that mean nothing.

If my auntie had balls, she’d be my uncle, as we say in these parts

And the scenario highlighted should not be dismissed, and I am sure it has already been discussed !

Shouldn’t believe everything you read. Check BARB and straight away one week early stands out.

That article says Round 2 Hull vs Cas got 128k....it actually got 150k

Whilst Wigan vs Leeds the next night apparently only got 119k....no it didn’t it got 186k