Quote: Dropkick Murphy "You can call the two leagues anything you like, but the reality is the second division will not command anything like the same interest as the first and TV revenue will be split accordingly. This would be a relegation out of Super League for four teams, not a promotion into it for six. The second division will still be that even if you do give it a nice shiny "Super League 2" branding.
It seems to me to be an attempt at reducing SL to ten clubs without admitting it. This may or may not be a good idea - I know plenty of people believe it is - but either way just be honest about it.'"
I would certainly acknowledge that it is indeed demotion of 4 clubs at present. But these lower clubs are not playing SL standard rugby and their finances are 'the tail wagging the dog' at present. So the salary cap can not be raised to retain our better players, the RFL have to pay to keep Bradford in the league, and we have to reduce our youth training by 50% because the bottom clubs can not afford the £100k to run them. SL ought to be a lot more competitive and hopefully that will provide better games for speccies and TV.
But this is not the only result that comes from the change. People have long claimed that P&R should be brought back as an incentive, and this system would deliver it. Also, the second division / championship would have more money to spend on building their business and better players. It ought to reduce the big jump between the two leagues and at the very least reduce the yo-yo effect. This system at least attempts to address one of the major failings of the licence system at present.