Expansion can only happen through marketing and providing a great game day experience in areas identifies for expansion, and the RFL should be contributing to the marketing budgets of Newcastle/Gateshead, South Wales, Coventry and London (don't care which London team). It's criminal that there seems to be no clear strategy from the governing body for growing the game outside heartlands other than get a little giddy when a rich person comes along for a few years with a big idea to build a club (see Toronto). I agree with a poster above, if this does not happen then the game will die in 30-40 years.

Atomic, I see your point that Rovers task is easier due to the work done by Leigh. However, I think the changes have only worked for Leigh so far as without changes to the cap I do not think you would have been promoted and therefore Rovers would still be in Super League.

Talk of expansion, mergers and growing crowds always makes me smile. Advertising and promotion will help grow an existing team if done correctly, there will be some buy in from people who can identify with this and will maybe go along and support it.

The problem with expanding past those boundaries is that unless it’s a sport people have grown up with, played at school and as a child it will be impossible to spread into an area outside of an established one.

There seems to be a view that there are millions of people just queueing up to go and watch RL, there aren’t. The people who are already bought in tend to go out of a sense of loyalty rather than enjoyment most of the time.

Building and selling a sport from nothing is unprecedented to my knowledge, darts and snooker could maybe claim they have done it but they are one off sports not a habitual attendance sport. RU was already played heavily at schools and league was used purely as a way of making money doing something similar. We missed the boat in the 80’s / 90’s to expand when RU was at its lowest ebb, since that boat has sailed we are now the Betamax to RU’s VHS, a better product but unfortunately no one wants it.

Using franchising in the NFL and NRL as an example are wide of the mark, these are both major sports in their country we unfortunately are not, what is being suggested is tantamount to claiming ice hockey can become the biggest sport in the uk.

The current RFL are reaping the failure of what has gone before and I’m afraid their only option now is to prop up what they have and not break whats left.

I think that the championship is a much undervalued competition, sadly neglected by the hierarchy at Red Hall.

A complete re think is required below super league.

Marketing is the key to success, a lesson which I am sure Toronto will excel at this year.
I for one would not begrudge a RL executive earning more than Nigel Wood's salary instead
of trying to recruit top performers on the cheap.

All level's of RL suffer from a lack of media exposure and that should be the number one priority.

I would move mountains to persuade the ITV companies Yorkshire/Border/Granada? to take our product, even if it meant giving it away. Who knows, the Welsh, London and Midlands television companies might follow. A weekly highlights and a grass root section should have widespread appeal.

Similarly could not the big regional newspapers Manchester Evening News/Yorkshire Post be approached to sponsor the league or a cup competition. We need to get more column inches in those papers.

We need to get the game in the media more often in order to keep the fans talking and looking forward to watching their local heroes again.

So,you don't support a level playing field then?

Spot on. I find it hilarious to read all the posts about expanding to all 4 corners of the UK when we can't even expand particularly successfully to Sheffield or even, as it would seem, maintain a presence in Bradford.

Agreed. But some fantasists would call that a "flat cap" mentality

Sheffield have had a decent championship team for a number of years.

Bradford have gone bust spending too much money chasing promotion at all costs.

Bradford have gone bust twice in SL under no threat of relegation , it's not even bad management either really , bottom line is playing out of Odsal just isn't viable any more

Problem is the RFLs attempt at saving the Bulls has just made the situation worse

You are describing making the game comfortable as it dies because the cure might kill it.

I agree with you. But there are some Championship clubs that could in theory do what Leigh have done. I am thinking mainly of Halifax - a team that has fallen on hard times but would get the fan base back if they could get sorted. On the other hand, you could argue a club like Salford isn't scalable, despite having a sugar daddy. You just can't ever seeing it get to the next level in terms of support. You have to wonder about Wakefield and Huddersfield after so many years in the top division with all the funding - how far have they progressed?

It will be interesting to see if Leigh can consolidate their position in SL and what happens to their fan base if they do - and will they pick up fringe fans from other local clubs?

Possibly, but the cure's we are talking about are tantamount to slaughtering a goat and hoping the the gods are favourable to us.

There is no evidence in any modern day sporting context that starting from a failing perspective, destroying what you have and expecting to rise like a phoenix from the flames, could work. The nearest I can think of at the moment is ladies football but in essence that is running off the back of football and is still viewed in limited numbers.

You need to start from a solid base, grow from grass roots and get the kids on board. Even then at best we are a minority sport and always will be, there is no place for RL at the top table once we realise this, accept it and size our sport around this fact we will only damage not cure.

Leigh will have the bad the best chance to reclaim fans both last year and in the early parts of this year, coming from a club that was in this position 10 years ago we saw an initial spike, then if you become an also ran it can get pretty dull and you start to lose more than you gain. Saying that they may kick on again and win something, tough ask though