It's hardly suprising.... www.superleague.co.uk/article/25 ... ford-bulls However, one question the interviewer didn't ask Nigel Wood... Does this guarantee BB a place in superleague? I suppose this goes without saying. Personally I think it is disgusting that this should be allowed, where were the RFL when Blackpool amongst others went into administration, they made it even more difficult for clubs in the lower leagues to survive let alone help them out of the mire. Once again it demonstrates the contempt the RFL and Super Dooper League have for the lesser clubs, it seems that we are still regarded as the "Dross" that our Maurice once described us as. Is it now time for a breakaway?

It's hardly suprising.... www.superleague.co.uk/article/25 ... ford-bulls However, one question the interviewer didn't ask Nigel Wood... Does this guarantee BB a place in superleague? I suppose this goes without saying. Personally I think it is disgusting that this should be allowed, where were the RFL when Blackpool amongst others went into administration, they made it even more difficult for clubs in the lower leagues to survive let alone help them out of the mire. Once again it demonstrates the contempt the RFL and Super Dooper League have for the lesser clubs, it seems that we are still regarded as the "Dross" that our Maurice once described us as. Is it now time for a breakaway?

With all the ' them and us' over the last few years is it
really a suprise that this is being proposed ?

Having thought about it, now that the RFL have set this precedent, it should apply to all clubs within the Rugby League “family”, so this means that in future any club that is a member of the RFL will have the same treatment and no club will ever again go into extinction like Blackpool, Highfield, Mansfield et al.

I should coco….

its not the RFL who is buying them out but Super League Europe ...

And lets face it, they arent going to buy a club, and then put it in the championship, lol!

I'm sure its about buying more time and getting the Bulls to the end of the season. I'd be very surprised if the Bulls are in SL next season!

And the CEO of SLE is also the CEO of the RFL, conflict of interest maybe.

It may well be SL(e) but it's the same people, the point is, I think, that the governing body, whichever or whatever it is, should not be buying clubs, unless it is willing to buy every club in the so called "family".
This is, as Stevo this evening eluded to, is setting a very dangerous precedent.

I suppose there are two ways to look at this. One is the conflict of interests argument and why wasn't this offered to Crusaders or Wakefield and it does set a precedent. On the other hand, the Bulls were clearly not going to get an unconditional offer and were probably days from going out of business. This way at least it ensures their existence and SLE will probably be like the administrator until a suitable buyer can be found. I don't think this is a long terms solution. We don't want clubs going to the wall and RFL have said the Bulls could suffer relegation. Time will tell whether they carry this out.

Will other clubs be offered this lifeline in the future...?

I think a lot of this is due to the timing of when the B*lls imploded. Crusaders folded at the end of the season. Meanwhile Wakefield were bought out. The B*lls have hit trouble mid season, so it was actually in the interest of the RFL and Super League clubs to bail them out. Had they gone under, other teams would have lost out on gate revenue because of unfulfilled fixtures. Sky wouldn't have been too happy either. It had the potential to create a domino effect.

It's certainly something they need to look at in Super League. The salary cap should stop this from happening. But when only a handful of teams can afford a squad to the full cap and others are getting in to financial difficulty trying to compete whilst also trying to fulfil franchise criteria something is wrong somewhere.