i am tempted to say that this is a good thing, but i can't

the rfl change their mind more times than the wife getting ready for a night out. they are saying that now, but most likely by the end of the year will be saying something different. the goalposts will be already on their way to a new position.

they are saying this to try to soften the blow to us when it is finally delivered. not much consolation is it??

like many others i am becoming increasingly disillusioned with superleague and what it has to offer. in 3 years, nothing has changed.

If/when we go into NL we will have to be very good to get back in as i think Toulouse could be favourites for promotion.

toulouse fit the bill, wouldn't surprise me if Edinburgh bring a side into the championship soon leading to superleague 2018

The thing is Toulouse would have a better chance of gaining a license if they were not in the Championship. There is still the clause that permits the RFL to invite any overseas club to apply for a license without having to pre-qualify.

If the plan of having Catalans in superleague was to improve the performance of the french national side then it hasn't worked, they have gone backwards. So having another french team in Toulouse won't make a jot of difference if all they are allowed to do is pack their squad with overseas players. A major policy shift would be needed to make it justified but I don't think the quality of young french players is there to support that. And with french rugby union being so cash rich then its not likely to change soon as the best youngsters tend to go where the money is. That said it wouldn't surprise me to see the RFL throw a load of money at them in the hope that something comes off.

Interesting article on loverugbyleague.com re catalans. Saying maybe they and tolouse should revert back to the French league and make their own competition stronger in order to create a more competitive Anglo French competition in future years. They basically say the idea of les cats (to strengthen the French national squad) has failed and they've now been dumped as wnglands opponents for an exiles squad.

It is good news that the chance will be there to return should we get the chop but i reckon we will be a long way down the pecking order of clubs the RFL will want in SL. Therefore we will have to pull out all the stops to make sure we are the outstanding candidates.

How confident do you feel you'll still be in Super League next season ?

Brilliant news! My preference for the long term is there to be a 16 team league (possibly split into East and West). But in the short term, i do believe there should be a clear pathway for those clubs who develop and suceed. Whether that's at the expense of Wakefield or Castleford is at the RFL's hands but there must always be that hope or dream of SL

Very true.

The Catalans experiment was supposed to strenghten the game in France,if anything it has weakened it.

Not very.

Not very at all I'm afraid. As long as we don't finish bottom I will be happy to still not have seen my team relegated during my time supporting them.

I'm the other way round, in that if we finish bottom, at least I can turn round and say that we would have gone down without franchising. Makes it easier to rationalise. Although at the moment we dont look good for coming back up, a shiny new stadium and an owner willing to invest, we might look a better prospect than the rest. Would need to win something though, which would make it exciting, with every game crucial.

Think going out bottom of the pile would be a sad end to our SL adventure. Not sure how much enthusiasm I would have for a 3 year promotion campaign that will only be very vaguely based on what happens on the pitch.

it amazes me how many of you are a bit hopeful and blinkered, if we get the boot this time (which i think we will) we will NEVER be let back in unless the RFL are replaced with proper Rugby League fans and men with some balls and common sense to run the game, then we might all get back to talking about the rugby on the pitch and not about how good someones toilets and parking facilities are