Very true. So it would need to be someone with a vested interest in RL expansion i.e. the rfl or to a lesser extent sky. I think DH would have to walk away and all other avenues would have to be exhausted for either to get involved (if they were prepared to anyway). I think it's time to take that risk of new investment or bust.

When DH leaves new investment will come forward, but will it be enough for SL

I was thinking out loud at work today about the future of the Broncos and I couldn't really come up with a lot of positivity, as you could expect.

The Broncos were called the Broncos after a link up with the Brisbane club and that got me thinking. Rugby League is up there as national sport in Oz so there is widespread interest in the game out there. As interest in the game is limited in this country, surely heading to an area that has a huge following would be better for finding new investors. A possible link up again with an NRL club was something I thought of. Obviously the downsides for potential investors would be the exchange rate and distance between London and Australia.

This!

The Club is worth $0 so why bother trying to "sell it".

Much better it is offered to any bidders who provide a detailed and specific business plan to grow not only the club, but also the game in the region (with assistance from the RFL).

We are constantly told by the RFL that there are thousands of London based RL fans buying tickets to games and watching on SKY TV....if an "investment" group can be found who believe they can tap into this market, then they should be given the club, with a 30% London weighting on the cap.

The trick is to forget the sport side of it......the business has a product that it needs 10,000 people to buy into.


Saracens have essentially started again this year...their year 1 went pretty well I'd say. MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE THEY ENGAGED THE FUCKING LOCALS

Hopefuly not - all that would probably mean is a continuation of the short termism that's blighted the club since Ernie Clay founded us to 'make some brass'. We need to drop down a level and rebuild from the bottom up, from the pictures on the Barnet forum the Hive looks a good place for us to go, but I appreciate that they don't necessarily tell the whole story.

Drop and it should be The End! - I see no big future for London Skolars or Hemel Stags, both are doing things better than we do but it is simply not attractive to people in London at that level, you look at Championship Clubs and attendances are depressing except for a few clubs, but then only a few regularly attract 10,000 in Super League!

Hemel are having their season as a semi-pro club so it is far too early to say but remember that Skolars have only just started playing in a suitable league.

For most of their semi-pro existence they've been in a similar situation to Broncos now; rooted to the bottom of the table with guaranteed humpings at home. I think things look much more rosy for them at the moment. The new teams are more to their level.

Hemel dont have the population to support a full time professional team in SL.

Skolars will do but will have the same issue of not owning their own ground and needing a big investor to back them.

The need for a decent London weighting will still be needed (which an investor will have to fund) if they are to have any chance of being competitive and maintaining financially viable support.

Cant see it when LB are gone.

Hedgehog King, Snoopy is completely right, Northern clubs do not realise that all of them have over 100 years history and purchased land and ground or were often gifted them by Town Councils!

To compete with the rest of the top clubs in the RFL in London with wages and high costs is near on impossible and not having your own ground is a major problem, the cost of land now needs a very rich investor or benefactor to get a ground of your own which will then allow other cash raising opportunities other than match days.

Hemel do own their own stadium. It's not too hard to imagine that Skolars might do one day.

Not all northern sides are that old actually. Doncaster dates back to the 50s, Whitehaven / Worky to the 40s and Sheffield to the 80s. Even Castleford are closer to 90 than 100.

It is considerably larger than Castleford though I'd agree that it's unlikely to ever support a full time team.

why? hemel is more big enough to support a pro rugby league team, the question is not the size of the town but the desire to support the sport! AKA London Broncos

As with all good marketing ideas......he stole it from the cougars

London Broncos needs Mr Hughes to step away (take Gus for a souvenir if you want Dave) for the club to survive.

Okay I should have said many of then are 100 years plus, of course Sheffield are from the 80's and so better than many of the well established Championship clubs.

Hemel unless as I have said ground standards are dropped will need a lot of work & money to develop their ground.