Doesn't strengthen your argument that Leigh have won the top flight division once in the last 100 years, and that was 27 years ago.

FWIW, I think Crusaders will fail in Wrexham, and maybe won't last the season. I do think, however, the steady growth plan in Neath will work, I wish them well, and it will be good for the game if it does work. The RFL didn't ruin the Crusaders, it was Samuels, with his "now or never" approach. The game is well shut of him, and now the Welsh boys can get on with doing what they have done in the South East, and that is spread the word at grass roots level and grow the game slowly.

Twice actually , and it was only brought up in respnse to others ' having a go '

As for the , who is to blame , then i'm sorry , all party,s are culpable , had you been down to bridgend and seen the set up before they were given a licence ?

I had , along with many others who could see they were no where near ready , surely deep down the RFL knew this as well

When Les Cats were preparing to enter SL they requested an extra season to get ready , perhaps the same thing should have happened here , if it was a case of now or never , all that tells us is that it was being done for the wrong reasons , which also should have been obvious to the RFL

As for now , all efforts should be made to make both clubs a success , as well as trying to retain any progress in Bridgend

Once, according to the Leigh site. The other time was 103 years ago.

The problem is that Samuels wasn't having the "three more years" option (and a one year option wasn't available, due to licensing). He put the RFL in an impossible position, as they were faced with the choice of either letting Samuels pull the plug on Welsh RL or giving them a go. Everyone knew it was too early, and I suspect the RFL did, but the alternative was just as bad. At least there was a chance it could have worked out with the Crusaders in Super League.

Slugger McBatt, we've still won two more 'league titles' than Harllequins & Wakefield.



Cheers Slugger !!

Pedantic b ugger

Which just suggests that the franchise process itself should not have specific time limits , but if you do that then you alienate the lower tier clubs even more

So what is the answer ?

We have spent only one season in Sl and yes we were the whipping boys, the difference is we were there on merrit! If we had been exempt from relegation for a couple of seasons then who knows maybe we could have become competative, but they were not the rules at the time.

The rules for the latest SL franchise application were well documented what we all now know is that all you need to do is lie, tell the officials you will get a new stadium, you do have a fan base and the financial package to support that level of rugby. I am not aiming these comments at Celtic but the RFL and every other club who still do not fullfill all of the criteria laid down. To be able to fullfill more of these criteria than some teams playing in the top division but not being given an oportunity because of your geographical position is wrong.

I am not against expansion but what has gone on with Celtic has been rushed and badly managed, that said they are not the only team still in SL under false pretences,

I think we all know the RFL made a mistake bringing the Crusaders in, I'm just gonna sit back and wait for it all to come crashing down.

rlRugby league needs 'pot of money' to succeed in Wales, says Leighton Samuelrl