Income for the clubs involved?

I doubt Dewsbury will get a bigger gate than the one on boxing day all year.

They own their ground. We'd have to pay rent (if we were at home). And get nothing from the bar and burger sales.

It makes me smile to read on these forums that crowds are down because there's no promotion to play for and then thousands turn up to watch a friendly.

Hence the reason Tubbs doesn't like them

And I suspect the reason Sheffield don't get asked is again finance, in that Sheffield are unlikely to bring many fans to buy those burgers.

Personally I would like to see some friendlies purely for selfish reasons I just want to watch Sheffield Eagles play, But I understand why we don't with little financial gain and the risk of even more injuries

I understand the financial reasons why we don't host Friendlies however I see Doncaster they are playing crusaders at home in a friendly on 9th February I am sure they would have got a bigger crowd if they invited us they could have brought a trophy and called it the South Yorkshire Shield.

Another thought with no Northern Rail Trophy this season could this have been played as a Pre Season tournment ? 16 Teams 14 Championship Sides and 2 from Championship 1 (they could hold pre qualification matches) L16 L8 Semi Final and the Final to be held mid season Pre Season Friendlies with something to play for

Hard to see that as a financial winner, duggs.

Because you bring to many fans .What was name of the dog in the film ,Lassie ?

I agree with Griff Don't see how anyone can make money out of this. For example you get beat in the L16 and you now have 3 blank weekends when you could have organised 3 friendlies.

Then what happens when you find out it is freezing for 3 weeks in January and can't play the L16, L8 & semis and already have a venue booked for the final?

Don't get me wrong, I quite like the idea of the rail trophy, more cups to be played for potentially gives clubs things to aim for and a second great day out for our league. However this would need to fit into the standard league fixtures, which would be difficult with the current 26 games plus 2, 3 or 4 CC games plus 4 weekends for the playoff series means we already have around 32-34 games to fit in. The only way of doing this with the rail trophy as well would be to start the season a month earlier which leaves you to the issues with the weather and means that the players off season gets curtailed even more.

For me the only way of doing this (including a "rail trophy"icon_wink.gif would be to reduce the league to 12 teams, which I think there is a chance of in 2015. reduce SL to 12 teams, have SL2 with 12 teams (2 relegated SL teams, maybe Tolouse, top 8/9 from CC1 and GF winners from CC2) with the remaining 13/14 clubs forming the 3rd teir.

Which one Pal was the first!

Divisions of 10, 18 league games, four weeks for the Rail Cup, four weeks set aside for the Challenge Cup, four week play-off series, March to September season, job's a good 'un.

Last season, each division had, in effect, it's own Cup competition which its clubs could realistically win whilst - theroetically at least - being able to win the Cups for higher divisions. I liked that structure and I'm disappointed that it's been abandoned for the sake of fourteen team divisions which it looks like we'll be abandoning at the end of 2014 anyway.

Absolute madness !

Largely on the grounds that it'll never happen for the reasons you yourself raise.

I think you should count how many weeks there are in the season, take away some for cups and play-offs and the number you're left with is the number of league games you play.

Which - of course - doesn't necessarily mean you'd play everyone home and away.

At SL level they want more games than there is teams

We've coped with that before.

There are probably only about eight teams good enough for $uperleague anyway.