Said it before and I stand by my opinion that if you can't operate an academy and reserves team you shouldn't be in Super League.

The old A team system produced players for a semi-pro game. The Australians have much more money. Neither reflect the current situation for top flight RL in this country.

It’s not a case of not caring, it is a case of there being no money to fund it properly. There is an argument for cutting the quota to provide more opportunities and free up a bit more budget. But consequences may include inflationary pressure on non-quota player wages, lower quality games and (even) less competitive balance.

World cup cancelled
European championships cancelled
About 2000 fans at the magic bash at York at the weekend (which I had no idea was on until I saw it on twitter at the weekend)
Teams not playing reserve teams
I imagine magic crowds will be poor this weekend too with an uninspiring fixture list and train strikes

The game is in big trouble, IMG have got their work cut out!

and they expected an A grade licence! (after all isnt that why they took over the Leigh womens team?)

IMG is a waste of time and money for Rugby League..Its just a think tank
The game needs private equity and a lot more terrestrial TV with well thought out kick off times.
Whilst RU is in a financial turmoil the time is right for Rugby league to start to push back and regain some of the old power over Union

Problem is, no terrestrial channel will pay the same amount sky are paying, our TV deal runs out in October and there's been no news on any potential bidders, which means sky will likely come in at the last minute with a further reduced deal and we'll have to take it.

Also IMG can't be successful if whatever they suggest, clubs reject, IMG suggested scrapping magic weekend as it detracts from the cup final, clubs said no...probably the same clubs that will moan in a few years that the game is dying

I think all Super league teams should have a reserve side, academy, women's team IMO.

With the ever decreasing UK player pool , You'd think it should be a automatic SL requirement to run both an academy & reserves teams .

With some clubs investing and taking the reserves set up seriously while some others seem to prefer pretending they are running a reserves team & system then maybe a deduction of SL point should be the penalty for clubs that are continuously failing to fulfil fixtures. There should be no real excuse for not being able to fulfil the reserve fixtures at all.
Whats the point spending money on consultation etc with IMG if clubs are going to shoot the game itself in the foot by their own actions?

If part time Newcastle can run a reserve team and an academy there is absolutely no excuse for any super league teams not to run one, teams like Leigh and Huddersfield should be given a warning and if nothing changes, heavy fines should be given out.

Deduct two points from the first team for every reserve fixture you can't get a team for

Balmforth just shown nice touches at start of 2nd half and put Staveley in for a simple try.

Balmforth showing up well as he creates a try for himself with some quick play.

I thought that Staveley and Balmforth were Newcastle's best tonight. Staveley looks Super League ready to me. Balmforth maybe needs a little more work from a physical point of view because Super League sides would make him work defensively but he is really really talented. He'll explode into the stage when he's ready.

Would agree with that as I thought Balmforth made the difference when he came on. He seems very Dwyer like in terms of speed that he plays but has more control to his game in distribution and passing. Staveley certainly looking the part and progressing