Definitely not a good idea.

Quite like the middle 8s,but if people want who ever finishes top of the championship and bottom of the super league to get an advantage and disadvantage why not start the winners of the championship on 2 points and the bottom team of the super league on -2 points,just an idea to reward the winners of the championship and punish the bottom team in super league,but they still have to prove the're good to get into super league via the middle 8s

That's why I don't like the idea of going back to straight promotion and relegation, that did need a club to spend a fortune replacing the whole squad to one likely to be relegated again. With the Qualifiers, even with a handicap in place you still have a chance to defend your Super League position. It depends how the club is run regardless of how promotion works, if a club completely overhauls the squad in a bid to stay up that's the gamble, if a club intends to build over years taking the SL money & publicity and getting experience playing at SL intensity even for one year starting off with the knowledge they're likely to come back down but intending to come down a stronger team than they went up it could improve them team & club if managed well.



Care to elaborate or just because reffy says so?

In my opinion it is a system you have thought up which would have ensured promotion for Leigh, it is a contrived handicapping system. Giving Leigh a 5 point start over Wakefield when there are only 14 available is a nonsense.

I dont think you can justify raising the salary cap to 1.4m for Championship teams. They are in there respective league for the simple reason that some of the teams were previously in financial difficulties and/or that there is insufficient turnover coming into the club for them to spend anywhere near the cap. The current SC in the championship teams is there to protect themselves. If a sugar daddy comes along to spend the money then the cap should still remain as over reliance on one persons generosity is very dangerous.

If there are any rules to be changed for the Mid 8s then the top 4 championship teams should be offered the bonus that any homegrown players who have played for there reserves and have been at the club for a certain period of time, there salary should become exempt from the salary cap. you have the added incentive of growing your own talent but also knowing there salary wont count on your cap allowing you to at least bring in a controlled number of players.

The superleague bottom 4 should have the transfer date brought forward by one month to prevent wholesale changes on the eve of the 8s. I do think that SL teams entering the mid 8s should maybe forced to name a 25 man squad for the whole of play offs before they start as it becomes a completely different competition.

i do agree the rules need tweeking to make it more balanced and the above are examples only but increasing salary caps is a dangerous precedence to set

A sugar daddy would probably not entertain the championship under the current set up.
You must remember that the top 4 championship clubs need to be able to compete against the bottom 4 SL clubs, and that means better quality players hence spending more money and a higher salary cap.

Cokey at that time of the year when the mid 8s are to be played you will find it very difficult to bring in quality players before any deadlines as theybwill command big transger fees which count on the cap also bringing a player in at the beginning of the season will tie up a fair chunk of any cap leaving your squad pretty thin on numbers.

It isnt just a case of raising the cap for the sake of being equal its all about being able to afford to spend up to the cap in the first place and not harm the club in doing so.

Hence my suggestion that homegrown talent should not be counted on the cap

I think It's a matter of a opinion. We have different opinions on this and that's fair enough.

If Championship sides are expected to play against SL teams,then the salary cap should be the same for both,if it can be afforded.
As for a club that can't afford it..It's another thing to strive for.I don't see what the issues could be putting that in place,otherwise we are just stuck in stalemate.

Totally agree. The Pie minister is probably living in cloud cuckoo land.

It's alright saying give cap dispensation for homegrown talent if we were playing in an ideal world where that talent isn't cherry picked by SL clubs. The Championship cap has to be raised to somewhere like 1.4M if we're realistic about having regular movement between divisions. Wakefield are probably the team most likely to be picked off at some point because they haven't spent the full cap for some time now. If a club like Leigh or Bradford go up they'll probably spend closer to the 1.8M cap and the goalposts will be even further away for aspiring Championship clubs.

you mean like
Club Trained Player Allowance
The intention behind this allowance is to reward Clubs for developing (and investing in the development of) Players.
Any Club Trained Player shall be deemed to have a maximum Salary Cap Value of £40,000. Any amount paid to the Player in excess of £40,000 shall be disregarded in calculating his Salary Cap Value.

A ‘Club Trained Player’ is a player who was on the Club’s register for any 3 full Seasons before the end of the Season in which he ceases to be eligible by age to play at Under 21 level.
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Correct, they'll just become feeder clubs...Which isn't right.

I can see the RFL adding a bonus point system to the qualifiers, before raising the cap next time round to be honest.

It's likely we'll lose to Widnes on Sunday while Wakefield will beat Sheffield so we'd still miss out on the million pound game even with a 5 point start. I think 5 points is a reasonable start for a team which had only lost one game out of 23 over one which has only won 3, might have prevented them from admitting to throwing the whole regular league competition which is surely bad for the competition & sport.

As for the salary cap Championship clubs do need to be able to spend closer to the SL clubs they're playing but obviously have to be careful of clubs over spending. As it stands isn't the £1Million cap only available to clubs that can prove they have the money & there's a lower cap for other clubs? Another tier at say £1.4M for clubs that can show they have the money & a financial plan could help.

If the salary cap is moved closer then your handicapping system would then become unfair. Things to look at ....Salary Cap and Transfer Deadline. You are looking for 4 best clubs from 8 all should start on Zero.