They're happy enough when they are receiving winners over losers pay.

Is playing SL Alliance closer to SL intensity than playing in the lower leagues? There's more at stake playing competitive fixtures surely.

I'd say it would be if it was mandatory for every team to field and 'A' team. In a proper competition with worthwhile rewards at the end of it. and 'A' team training with the first team, all using the same plays and the same style of rugby at the same intensity would strengthen the game no end and allows players called up to the first team to slot into the set-up with not too much of a shock.

Why would a local lad working his socks off want to get picked up by Rochdale where it doesn't matter how well he plays, he will always be dropped for a SL player who cant get a 1st team game and needs game time. Must be soul destroying to know that he will always be picked over you no matter how hard you work.

The game should be creating a pathway which creates ways for players working hard to progress in standard, not drop lower.

I would prefer to have an Alliance competition, but even taking finances aside, I wonder if there is really enough talent going round in the UK to support having a good quality reserve competition on top of an Academy.

If we want to have a functioning multi division league, where there is credible promotion and relegation, then it is better to try and get more quality in the second tier, so it becomes wasteful to have a bunch of players that are better than those in the second tier, hanging around SL reserve teams. I'm talking here about players that are over 21.

Would be good to understand how the Aussies do this. My basic understanding is that there are two systems, some of the Sydney clubs field sides in the NSWRL (effectively running a reserve grade in a second competition), but others like Melbourne Storm and the Queensland clubs don't have a formal reserve grade so have link ups with teams in the Queensland Cup and allow them to use their fringe players. The Queensland Cup is then quite a tough competition and some fringe NRL players have got great experience there. I could be wrong on this so happy to be corrected.

My main concern about us using an Alliance system is that it would be a substandard competition that doesn't really mean much and was just used to give players a run out every week so they retain match fitness, and it would result in players stagnating.

Or it could mean that previously discarded 19 year olds would carry on and receive another 2-3 years full time training at a professional level to improve them further? There might be a bit of a reduction initially of 19 year olds dropping down to lower division teams, but after a few years those reserve players from year one would be released and could then start to filter in to the championship with a few years more full time training behind them?

It also allows players such as Patton, Sita, Matt Davis, Mamo etc to continue training and playing in a team that has the same attacking & defensive structures and set plays etc as the first team.

why not run an A team comp which is also capped with players only allowed to remain in the club for 3 years after U19's?

That way clubs would keep hold of the players they believe would are worth while and will be pushing for 1st team shirts, whilst the rest that don't get picked could be offered up to championship clubs up in a draft system like NFL?

Those sound like interesting ideas. I guess the real barrier at the moment is that not all SL clubs could afford to run the teams.

If you have an A team comp where players have to be under 22, then what happens to older first teamers who have had an injury lay off and need to come back to get match fitness, can you have say 3 players per team over 22?

A draft would be good and would make the championship interesting. Again I fear the problem would be the disparity of resources amongst the Championship teams. For a draft to work well you would want to have all players released from SL clubs to be put in to an off season draft and then the lower Championship clubs get first pick for the better players. The problem would be, if the lower Championship clubs could only offer meagre match fee payments, whereas there was some team at the upper end of the Championship willing to offer full time terms or nearer. So the better players are never going to go for that.

A team is out dated. It rewards mediocrity. Investing in the youth is the key.

So what happens then to fringe players aged 23 like Patton....does he just get discarded and given up on so we can focus on youth?

Get rid of the scholarship - leave players with their community clubs until they sign professional with a club. That increases the quality and number of junior teams and avoids players becoming disenchanted with the game if they miss out on scholarship whilst creating a pathway to open age amateur rugby and an affinity with an amateur team, hopefully increasing the numbers playing at that age.

One academy age group at u18's. Avoids three age groups contesting spaces in one team which restricts game time for young players.

Have an u23's or u21's league with say 5 overage players permitted - in effect a reserve league in all but name.

Compulsory running of the two teams for all Super League teams. Abolish dual registration, use the loan system (minimum one month) if you need to.

The recent "reserve" fixtures were generally low quality with Warrington often resorting to borrowing Rochdale's squad players to make up numbers. I seem to recall in the last season we ran a team our match against Wigan was cancelled twice (and never actually played) as Wigan couldn't raise a team!

Need to bring back under 23 sides, with allowance for older players returning from injury etc like it used to be.

But as has been said some teams won't/can't pay the money it will cost

The high volume of injuries and suspension in the modern game supports a large squad but not 2 teams worth.
'A'team has no place today.
To have a squad big enough to run 2 teams means bringing in mediocre players to stock it or risk not having enough players to raise a team.
A first team squad of quality and a team of youth with spots for squad members out of selection IS the way.

I was a fan of 'A' team too!