Given the timing of the announcement and the potential implications of Crusaders withdrawal i.e. contracts not being fulfilled.

Would it not be better to announce the licences at the end of the season in future?

the thing that was most striking to me is the way that the speccy-man-who-cant-talk-in-public ended the announcement.

Something along the lines of... "we will talk to crusaders about their possible inclusion in super league" (of course may not be entirely accurate)

suggests to me this has ed off the RFL who wanted rid of Wakefield.

Not really. They could have just put Fax in.

Although I articulated it poorly, my point pertained to the fact that the RFL look stupid (expansion-wise)and have pumped money into crusaders. Plus there was the foreign players issue.

It was not that they have a beef against wakefield. Just they seem to really really want to keep crusaders.

I think that they will still bend over backwards in an attempt to keep them in super league. I figure it is far from over.

He actually said 'we will talk to crusaders about their possible participation in the championship'. Can't see that happening though, i think they've gone for good myself.

I get the feeling the RFL will wash their hands of Crusaders, now.
They've only been existance for a handfull of years, and they FAST-tracked them into SL, only for them to

Go into administration
Abuse the Visa system
withdraw their license at the 11th hour
made monkey's out of high profile people (to the sporting world) Harris, Thomas and now Senior
generally fail to live upto expectations.

Using a really 5H1T3 analogy (with tongue firmly in cheek, from the times I've seen it), it's a bit like Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth. No matter how many times "R Terry" disgraces himself, she always forgives him, until "R Terry" pushes his luck too far, and Vera will no longer forgive him. This will be the RFL's 'Vera moment' (told you it was a 5h1te analogy ).

One thing still puzzles me, tho

Brian Noble, very successful SL era coach, goes there (maybe with a little encouragement from the RFL) and they overacheive in their first season together, and get to the play-offs. He then jacks the job in immediately, with no other job to go to (save summarising on TV).......did he know something?