London Broncos chief executive Gus Mackay in an article on the BBC Rugby League website seems to be arguing once again for London to be given special treatment. He argues that whatever option is chosen London Broncos must be in the top division . Frankly I am sick of double standards . I agree that it is better for the profile of Rugby League if there is a succesful London club but it must be ON MERIT and without any special favours such as extra overseas players. Lodon crowds have been pathetic this season and there doesn't seem to be any real appetite for League whether they have a suvccesful team on the field or not . Whatever new structure we have it must be based on clubs finding their own level based on performance on the field and genuine promotion and relegation .

I think the operative word in that statement is 'successful' - so long as the current lot are in charge, there appears to be little or no chance of that being the case; it's a bloody shambles.

I'm afraid trying to expand RL to the South of Englans has been and always will be, a failure. There just is not a market for it. I cannot see that there ever will be, sufficient to finance and keep a team in the top flight on merit, whilst there is the game of Rugby Union in existence. It is simply unfair to more or less give a place to a London club because of the piped deam of Southern expansion. Up in the northern heartlands, we supporters have been supporting ourclubs and pumping money into RL a long time, some of us fo decades and I take exception to the possibility that Trinity or any other established Norhern club should get second rate treatment compared to a poject Southern side. It isn't on and I've had enough of it, especially as it clearly is failing

If RL is ever to grow, we need a presence down South. If you look at how many youngsters are playing the game in London, as a result of London RL's community work - I'd say they merit their place already.

Agreed, there is no doubt that RL in the south is a major success but, not as far as SL is concerned.
The problem comes when, if as expected, a traditional heartland club(s) gets axed and London keep their place.

I've said for some while that the sport needs some clear publicly stated objectives so that the game can move forward.

So why don't the RFL do things right and provide some funding for development officers to work with the junior and amateur clubs in the South?
That doesn't necessarily require a SL presence in London.
Let London Skolars and Hemel develop themselves in the lower leagues and if they can progress from there then so be it.

I thought that the RFL had given some funding/staff for the development aspect of RL in the south ?

I say forget the French, forget a team in London and promote it across the M62 corridor again where it is wanted. Give support there to make the teams stronger, give help and assistance to ensure no long standing club goes into administration. Make better what already exists and if good enough then other parts of the country will want to take part.

Other parts of the country are taking part.
The problem for RL is that we want to be seen as a major sport and be taken seriously in the media but, as a sport we are to insular.
It may be that the sport cannot expand successfully outside the north of England but, if the is the case, we can only expect to be a small time sport, which eventually would end up being something just above amateur level and most of the current 2nd and 3rd tier clubs could disappear.
In order to prosper, we have to be able to attract investment and sponsorship ahead of other sports and this becomes more difficult if we are seen as a sport played only in northern pit villages.

It would be great to think that Rugby League could be introduced to all 4 corners of the British Isles wirh successful teams in North and South Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as in the south of England. But hang on why stop there, what about the rugby leage mad dwellers in the midlands, the rolling Suffolk downs and the Kent coast. Yea right now we have a reality check and back down on planet earth it is a strk relity that this will never happen. The grown ups who manage our glorious sport must forget about trying to force feed our game on others who have no interest in it whatsoever. I think the Wales fiasco is a prime example and London crowds are not there. I know lots of youngsters are now playing Rugby League in the London districts but that is because the facilitiies are there not because those guys "darn sarf" are now converted to our glorious game. There is and will always be a divide between union and league and so be it, nothing wrong with that. There should be funding to develop clubs if the clubs in question can put a good case forward to be elected to the league but these should be no guarantee of continuity in SL. Imagine the reaction if London retained their licence and Wakey or Cas or any of the established teams loose theirs. Red Hall "get a grip" and stop trying to fix something that is not broke.

To attract significant investment/sponsorship and to be something more than a local game it's "expand or die" and none of us want the sport to die.

As someone already posted ,expand through Hemel and Scholars.
The correct way.
From the bottom tiers upwards.
Must have posted similar hundreds of times.

Am i right in thinking that even if they were 'put' in the top league, based on current performances they would be dropped into the 2nd tier when the season/leagues split as was proposed?

Based on that proposal, i would say they would be better starting in 'Super League 2' winning a few games and 'getting a roll on' both on and off the field. Surely more spectators will come (admittedley not loads!) should they get some results and be up near the top of there respective league

This is something that has never happened in the history of our game, ever. Up until the addition of the new clubs into C1, only one club in a century had been able to make the jump from amateur to semi-pro, The London Skolars. No club has ever been able to make the leap from amateur to semi-pro to fully pro in the entire history of our game. Asking an area to start at the very bottom and work their way to the top is asking them to give up on ever being at the top.

Just because something hasn't happened previously doesn't stop it ever happening.

Why can't a club like London Skolars go on to reach the top if the development is allowed to continue and they get the most important addition to any RL Club - a wealthy benefactor.

Why is that worse than letting London continue to make the sport look a laughing stock playing games in front of empty stadiums? Guaranteeing them a presence in the top flight and forcing a "Heartlands" club to drop out because of that is surely worse (although obviously not to you as it wouldn't be your club that got the boot).

The top flight should contain the overall strongest and most viable teams - that is not London!! and never will be!