So it looks as though the RFL did indeed have a cunning Baldric type plan. But even if accepted, we still don't know what it would mean for the club; SL status or not ?

TBF what wirelegend didn't say is that Bilko said that he'd heard rumours but nothing was confirmed.

Would love to know the details of this bid, sounds like madness at first. I wait with baited breath.

Am i being a little cynical in thinking that the gate receipts may have something to do with this? As The RFL own Odsal, it would be in their interests to receive a portion of an 8,000 + super league crowd, rather than a 2,000 championship side.

Superleague(Europe)ltd ave just put a bid in to buy them. Is this not a conflict of interest????

Are SL Europer LTD and the RFL one in the same?

Bizarre twist

It would certainly seem so, unless they hand it over to somebody else to run and accept no interference.

Thinking about the situation, I wonder if their first priority is to ensure all remaining SL fixtures are completed and then to find a buyer who will come in with some ££. I would think it is still very likely that unless a big money backer comes in (£1-2 million) Bulls are likely to find themselves in the Championship next year simply because their income is insufficient to cover the cost of their players and ground.

SLE are a separate entity from the RFL and this deal was tabled with the approval of all SL clubs chairmen who held a meeting yesterday presumably to discuss this matter in full.

Sounds like all the clubs will own a little bit of the Bulls!?!?

Big step to save the Bulls. One that was absent for Wakey,Widnes and the Crusaders.

Perhaps like Northern Rock, it was 'too big to fail' ?

There were acceptable offers to buy Widnes and Wakefield and the Cru were beyond saving. In any case if you had the choice of Cru or Wakefield, I think Wakefield were the better option. SLE is trying to buy the Bulls to sell them on at a later date. It will be much easier for them to do it, as no doubt they won't want to buy the Odsal lease from the RFL. I see no problem with this so long as the Bulls are saved.

All those throw away comments when surprise result came out of "well maybe the RFL/SL told them to let xyz win this week for the good of the game" will now take on a whole new conspiracy theory level.

Sets a dangerous precedent.

Mark Lennon has a bit to say about it on twitter...

"lenno80: Can't believe superleague buying the bulls how about they pay my outstanding money from the crusaders 1st?? #englishsuperleaguerflajoke"