Bearing in mind neither Salford nor Leigh are picking up the tabs for building their respective stadiums. They may have to chip-in for the fit-out element of the stadiums, which, I would imagine, is comfortably offset against the maintenance costs of The Willows and Hilton Park respectively.

Leigh have survived, comfortably, being outside SL, having visited only once in eleven years.

Don't lose sight of the fact it is only three years. Twelve months ago, it was debatable whether Widnes Vikings would exist, full stop.

IF I had 25k to invest in one yes but I haven't . there are no issues licence wise as I already have my own operators licence it is just the set up costs tbh or I would have done that by now .
Nice to hear off someone with a sensible view though

Just been reading the Widnes board.

Look's like Dalton is about to slit his wrists.............

Yes I got the impression he was a little bit upset by the decision!

I feel for them and wanted them to make a return. Nonetheless, the topic that 'kindly requests no posts from Celtic fans' is the best. What a topic name that is!

I think this is a sad day in that Widnes were not admitted.

They have a good stadium and a strong fan base (OK current team is gash). Financially it would be better for us, Saints and Wigan as we all would have big crowd derbies. We do not with Salford or CC.

I do not expect CC to be around in 3 years time.

These things happen.

But to hope that Rugby League dies? That's a pathetic statement in itself.

Jeez, anyone would think the world has just ended.

I can understand them being frustrated but some of their comments are a bit over the top.

They must have known that the position they found themselves in at the end of last season they would be unlikely to be successful in their application

Interesting statement, may I ask why?

Yes you may.

All previous attempts at establishing RL in South Wales have been failures.

The fan base there is for Union and it will be for ever.

I expect Cetic to go the same way as Cardiff last time and all other incarnations.

Like it or not RL in the UK is primarily centred around the M62.

Edited for contemplation

Sorry if its been mentioned, But will the play-offs still consist of 6 teams?

Fair enough, but...

Before Catalan (who are a massive success) there have been a few French teams who have failed.

Personally, I think it is RU strongholds that need assaulting. The fans down there already prefer rugby to football. We just need to show them how dull their game is in contrast to ours.

Of course the game is centred around the M62, the northern union and all that - but we have seen London/Quins up until recently perform reasonably well. As I have mentioned, Les Cats are a runaway success at the mo and Wales is a massive untapped area also.

I can see your point though, I would have thought Widnes had a stronger bid than them, even without the expansion policy.