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Crusaders out to make way for Widnes.

Wow shocked

That one's come totally out of the blue

Egg on faces all round, I think

It's made the RFL's expansion policy look a bit silly
The Cru's look a bit silly (I don't think the illegal players fiasco has helped them, tho)
The whole Cas/Wakey ground issue, which has made the sport look daft.

I feel a little sorry for the Cru's fans who have made a go of it, supporting a brand new team, and expecting to see top quality SL action every other week, then next season, they'll be getting Featherstone etc, from then on.

Apologies for any offence to other teams mentioned.

Widnes didn't get in last time because of Crusaders (wrongly)
Now when Crusaders go Halifax don't get in (wrongly)
Don't get it!

It says they withdrew their application on BBC. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 189659.stm

It says they withdrew their application on BBC. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 189659.stm

Keith Senior will be signing on at this rate

All this makes the R.F.L. look very silly.

The Welsh experiment failed again despite bending over backwards to keep it going.

The Halifax chairman on Sky Sports absolutely blazing.

Would not be surprised to see some form of legal challenge from Fax.

If i were the Halifax chairman i'd be furious, i'm glad for the Wakey fans but the only reason they got a new licence is because the Crusaders asked for their application to be withdrawn.

So if the Crusaders pulled out of the franchise application then surely their should be 2 places up for grabs as i don't see how Wakefield would meet the criteria for a new franchise, their is no way that they will be in a new stadium by 2012 which was one criteria and their current ground doesn't meet the franchise requirements, they have been into administration, the crowds they get are fairly poor.

When you compare that to Halifax, they have kept their nose clean for quite a while now, their stadium looks like its upto SL standard and its coming along nicely, they won the championship grand final plus they seem to get decent enough crowds considering they are in the championship.

Baffling, obviously were not privy to the Wakefield franchise application but their is now way that they will be in a new ground by next season plus the crowds will more than likley remain the same.

To be fair Rob, Wakey have made proposals to cover most of the ground and input more seating at Belle Vue as a temporary measure, so although not "Premier standard" it will meet most criteria in terms of capacity, etc for an "SL" standard ground.
This only needs to be in place by the start of the 2012 season, which as it's only temporary I can't see why they won't be able to do this.
On the other hand, average attendance is extremely poor and the finance side obviously fails due to almost going bust.

Halifax's problem last time was due to The Shay which has now been solved. I dont know about their youth development but without the monetary advantages of SL, they surely can't be asked to match SL teams on this directly?

I would love to know the reason how Wakey statisfy the criteria better than Halifax do...

We didnt get an A grade license? 4 teams did we was not one of them.

What was our average crowds over the last 3 years? (08-10) I'm sure it was more than 9K each year but can anyone confirm?
Apart from that we meet all the other criteria 100%. (Banking on our turnover being more than £4m which if not I'll eat my hat)

YES WE DID

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/23 ... es-awarded Explains the RFL's decisions One of the A grade licences have gone to Wigan I imagine a few of their posters will be slightly tumescent at this news.

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/23 ... es-awarded Explains the RFL's decisions One of the A grade licences have gone to Wigan I imagine a few of their posters will be slightly tumescent at this news.