Quote: DaveO "At the time of thr franchises I don't think any of those clubs were in a position to be be realistic SL teams. Widnes had gone bust the year before (or into administration) so that would have been a real risk. Leigh kicked up a fuss but have gone backwards since and Barrow and 'Fax were not as good then as they are now.
Cumbria is probably as hard a place to set up a team as is Wales. There just isn't a big enough town to provide a large enough fan base and the idea of a Cumbria'n side has never been popular as it would have to be based in one of the towns so would be associated with it.
Dave'"
My point was more that Rugby League in general tend to rush into things which would have a greater chance of long-term success if they were built up gradually from a solid base or given a bit more thought. I admire the fact the game does try things, but maybe we could do it better sometimes.
Hence we get examples like Origin games, PSG, Gateshead and now Celtic that sound brilliant initially, but are then dumped at the first sign of failure or collapse due to financial/administration issues (Celtic are obviously still going).