Needs one next year, but we should run a young team in it if we do have one

Without an academy team or u 21's we will continue to see talented young players being snapped up by the likes of Wire , Wigan and Saints while we pay for over the hill either aussies or ex SL has beens . Refreshing to see we have had none or little of those in the last cpl of seasons

Hope we hang on to our young stars = future of our team

anybody know the other results

Carcassonne 12 Sheffield 40

Toulouse 26 Halifax 58

Without wanting to make a song and dance about this... doesn't this comment show the A about T way clubs (and speccies) think?? (sorry JFFC).

IE, the prize money is what it is.... the club sets its win bonus knowing full well what the prize money is. It's not that the RFL money just about stretches to meet the bonus, it's that the clubs just about stretch their committed expenditure to swallow up all the money. And, very often, to leave them in debt.

I don't know if this is fact Wembley but I think that the clubs didnt know the format of the comp or how much money there was in the way of prizes untill they were well into the season, and I would have thought their budgets were already calculated by then.

A very good assessment of the situation.

I believe the RFL brought this competition in with the very best of intentions for the Championship clubs, but the practicalities reduced it to last weekend's format, which didn't generate the intended level of profit, all round.

You'll believe anything Alan.

Surely if this set of games was for the benefit of the champ clubs then all four would have been at home.As for the practicalities,the rfl had plenty of time to sort any problems out,failing that they could have postponed the comp til next year,i dont think anyone would really have cared

I have to say John when I think about this subject and the organisation of it I have a Regie Perrin moment and the spitting image scenes of Thatchers cabinet come into my mind.

I have Regie Perrin moments all the time these days were RL is concerned.Its a good job i have a club to follow cos i'd have walked away from the pro game quite some time ago otherwise.

Please don't go and trample on my beliefs. Think before you write, because there are those among us who still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy!

In the real world, I do believe that the RFL set out to at least pay lip service to the wishes of the Championship clubs. Once the impracticalities kicked in, I think they should have pulled the plug. Still, looking on the bright side, we could have had to 'do a Sheffield' and travel to France - and it's only six months till Santa Claus comes again!!

The game was pointless. We could have used the free weekend to play our game in hand against keighley.

Now we're going to have to squeeze it in somewhere.