This is my first post on RLFANS,as you can see i am a castleford supporter and season ticket holder i travell a 600 mile round trip for every home game.
My son actually played for W.T then moved to Sheffield.
My problem is that the two sets of supporters are trying to score points against each other when we should be supporting
Both teams,the best atmosphere at any games is cas v wakefield.
Lets get behind both these teams super league applications.
We need and want the heartland clubs keep the history of Rugby league,at all means expand RL but not at the expense of established clubs

Here I am, but if you bothered to read posts instead of being petty you will have noticed on numerous occasions I've said the RFL are doing franchising wrong and the way they are trying to do it will kill the game.

There's only one way a franchise system works, and that is how American sports & NRL do it - you get your core set of 14 teams settled, be that however long and then you expand OUT from there, you don't kick teams out over petty things such as stadia. The only way teams can be financially secure and in new stadia is to give them time to do so, these 3 year periods put undue pressure on teams to build stadia and potentially put them in financial disarray.

The problem is, as I said, the RFL's version of franchising is wrong and they need a serious rethink of the setup, the current 14 teams should be safe until they fold and teams should be added when the league is stable enough to be able to cope with the intake of new teams.

Another thing the RFL are doing wrong is the expansion, the current shotgun method they have of planting teams willynilly in random areas is clearly not working and the logical way would be to start a gradual spread with a bottom up approach, gradually work outwards from the heartlands by adding more junior teams and working up from there, this is the best way for expansion to work because not only does it make sense, it means there's a foundation in place for when there's a professional team formed in the future.

It's just a shame such a great sport has such an incompetent governing body who are more concerned with how a stadium looks rather than what the product on the pitch is like.




The fans of any team/teams relegated should get together and sue the RFL because I'm pretty sure any court would find the franchise criteria (2 different sets for different teams...) would be unfair/illegal and the fans would win, easily. I say fans because the RFL know this and have banned clubs from taking legal action, doesn't that show just how wrong they KNOW franchising is?

If you don't wish to add to the topic then don't, if its too difficult to understand ask a grown up.

Who's your son?

I am afraid that although i hope the league is expanded to 16, i just can't see it.

I am resigned to watching us in the championship but that is not a bad thing because it will get us back to propper rugby and hopefully we would be challenging for honours at that level.

sad to say I am in full agreement... from 13000 miles away I get up and listen to games against castleford, Bradford, Lededs Hull Saints Wigan et al... I will often not even pick up results of the games against the french, Welsh and Londoners... for two or three days... the last two times Trinity played on tv against the crusaders I didnt even watch the game on highlight...

they just dont get the pulses racing...