Crusaders have a lot of away games early season but their next two home games are aginst Catalans and Quins.
Crusaders could win them both!
I was impressed with their first two home game's crowds and although 250 ain't that high at least it's a start.
Should they win those next two home games then the fixtures v Saints Warrington and us will have near enough a full house.
The move to Wrexham might not be the disaster we all feared.

Maybe a tad rash on my part. But it just annoys me that heartland teams are overlooked for these expansion teams. It is good for the game, don't get me wrong. But these expansion clubs need teams to play at the end of the day, and if they keep going under they won't have anyone to play!

With enough time in the Championship they could have built a good fan base, bringing more people through the gate and doing the game in wales a lot more good than it actually ended up doing after being fast tracked. Surely the financial stability would have been miles better had they built up a fan base, and been given time to actually build as a club.

i would like to see widnes and a cumbrian club in SL , never mind another french club. I would not like to lose any of the curent teams that are in SL right now , even though it is inevitable. Could we not merge the hull clubs ( joke )

250 isn't bad. Some established "heartland" clubs would struggle to match that. Its not far from Hudds to Wigan for example, but I doubt they would bring much more than 250 to the DW on a Friday night.

I would love the Crusaders make it work in Wrexham be great if they can finish in the top 8 but maybe a top 10 would be more realistic.

I would sooner have a Welsh team than another French team in SL

250 is pretty good going, considering Toulouse got 850 for their home game yesterday. Removes all 'on field' criteria for their next application and once again renders the whole franchise process a joke.

I have to agree. The RFL should just forget the whole 'franchise' applications because they evidently don't stick to them. If they did Widnes Vikings would have got in last year.

I'm all for expansion and for trying to 'spread the word' of our great game, but not at the expense of certain clubs. It makes a dull atmosphere when you have an empty North Stand. I like many people would love to see Widnes or Leigh back in Super League or any Lancashire teams for that matter.

Salford are a team that I think are going nowhere. They have a poor squad and that is reflected in their gates. They've been unlucky that some of their best players have left them, but they have not replaced them. They are a team under serious threat. Crusaders RL are getting their act together. Les Catalans have always been strong (just might need a different coach!). As for Harlequins I'm not sure. I can never see them getting healthy attendances like I can with the Crusaders and Les Catalans. We've tried and tried, but it's just not working.

Who were Catalans prior to Super League? UTC? Be interesting to see what crowds they were getting before they came into SL.

I think it'd be great if Toulouse could get a SL franchise up and running. The game really needs to expand out of it's heartlands.

For some reason though it's struggling for recognition outside the north - how 'Quins haven't taken off I'll never know. Yes they're deep in union territory, but that code is absolutely dire. League is so much more entertaining, I'd have thought people would have got over their snobbery by now and gone down to support 'Quins.

The sooner Toulouse come in to Super League, the sooner we can get shut of both them and Les Catalans to spearhead a new French league, that will benefit the international competition no end.

The Aussies need to do the same thing with NZ, and later, PNG.

Suits me.

Not seen this mentioned in any reputable press yet. When they say "according to newspaper reports", they mean speculation in 1 newspaper, not an official press release.

I'll wait to see the official story emerge.

No they dont

League in NZ isnt strong enough and never will be for a full domestic league. If you think the south of England is union heartland then try NZ.

Get Barrow in! Went to the Challenge Cup game there last season and there was a cracking atmosphere

Martin Saddler has posted the following on VT:

The RFL has now issued a press release stating that Toulouse do indeed have to reach the 2010 Grand Final to apply for a 2012 Super League licence.
An RFL official told our correspondent Mike Rylance that they didn't have to, but it seems that the RFL got it wrong.

Widnes fans are asking him if Toulouse have also apologised for saying they knew this to be the case 18 months ago - he hasnt yet responded (probably becuase he can't).

What an utter farce by the RFL.

If I was Widnes I would insist on a truly independant audit of any franchise decision.