14 Team SL and Merged Championship?

[Gobsmacked]

Of course nobody can prove it but it’s deeply suspicious.

Pretty clever to give them 10th.. 12th would have been too obvious.

 

[jolly boys outing]

Pretty clever to give them 10th.. 12th would have been too obvious.

Exactly.

 

[Taking The Two]

So that would explain why there is a lot of ill feeling toward the Bradford Bulls then and raises serious questions on how the criteria was watered down to get them in Super League

Exactly that.

Well, that and the fact their ground is horrific.

 

[jason taylor]

If London sweep all the trophies they can next season and improve across the board due to the new infusion of cash, I can’t see them staying out of Super League for long.

 

[flippikat]

They've got the men and the cash to do it drastically. Huddersfield are looking shaky.

You bet they'll have a "turnaround plan" to get that grade up there, too.

There's also an opportunity for Oldham to aim for representation of Greater Manchester in Superleague - something that Salford have made a real hash of. Sure financially they have a way to go, but on-field they seem competitive in the Championship.

The merging of Championship & League One is an exciting development too - and brings places like Newcastle, North Wales & Birmingham more opportunity to grow the game outside it's heartland, and seriously aspire towards the top tier.

Successful teams away from traditional regions would be great for the game - at the moment just having places in that 2nd-tier is a good development - and it's on the management of those clubs to make the most of them being the only big RL club in their area.

 

[Taking The Two]

If London sweep all the trophies they can next season and improve across the board due to the new infusion of cash, I can’t see them staying out of Super League for long.

I don’t know if it would be enough for 2027 if the game sticks with IMG’s grading system.

Their three year average would be 12th in Super League, 10th in the Championship and probably 1st-3rd in the Championship (I think Oldham will continue to be a top side), on the finances category it would be based on this year’s finances rather than 2026’s and so, they scrapped by throughout 2025 and so that won’t score highly there, I think their biggest increases should be crowds and social media, especially if they really utilise social media to tap into the Aussie market.

Of course, others will struggle, namely Cas and most likely, Huddersfield but I don’t know if they’ll have enough points to jump up by 3 whole points (but I am still in shock that Bradford jumped up so high so it’s not impossible).

 

[Last Week]

Just so it's clear to me.

12 teams get full central funding. Salford are a basket case, so they've dropped out.

Bradford are now in the 12, so they get full central funding.

13th and 14th, York and Toulouse, will only get half of the central funding, and Toulouse will have to pay for the travel and accommodation of opposing teams.

And this year in the championship, Bradford finished third.

Makes sense.

 

[jolly boys outing]

Just so it's clear to me.

12 teams get full central funding. Salford are a basket case, so they've dropped out.

Bradford are now in the 12, so they get full central funding.

13th and 14th, York and Toulouse, will only get half of the central funding, and Toulouse will have to pay for the travel and accommodation of opposing teams.

And this year in the championship, Bradford finished third.

Makes sense.

Both finalists and both with better stadiums will be on 50% to the bulls 100%

bull being the operative word.

 

[Perth Red]

Big loss for London than.

Not neccessarily. They could well improve their grade points next year replace hudds or cas. They would need to win the comps and get over 3k fan avg.

 

[Perth Red]

Yes stadia should be included in the criteria on future gradings

It already is. You can’t include aesthetics lol

 

[Perth Red]

So that would explain why there is a lot of ill feeling toward the Bradford Bulls then and raises serious questions on how the criteria was watered down to get them in Super League

The criteria wasn’t watered down and bradford have released their grading details which show where they’ve picked up the points. Far too much tin foil hat goes on in rl fans heads!

 

[Taking The Two]

No confirmation on whether it is 6 or 8 teams in the play-offs, whether there is a Magic Weekend or what the format is in the Championship.

Rugby League is ridiculous.

 

[jolly boys outing]

No confirmation on whether it is 6 or 8 teams in the play-offs, whether there is a Magic Weekend or what the format is in the Championship.

Rugby League is ridiculous.

They make it up as they go along.

 

[Perth Red]

No confirmation on whether it is 6 or 8 teams in the play-offs, whether there is a Magic Weekend or what the format is in the Championship.

Rugby League is ridiculous.

Only just decided 14 clubs, give them chance lol

 

[The Daddy3]

Only just decided 14 clubs, give them chance lol

Funny thing is I don't know if you're actually being serious

 

[Timmah]

No confirmation on whether it is 6 or 8 teams in the play-offs, whether there is a Magic Weekend or what the format is in the Championship.

Rugby League is ridiculous.

We're eight days on from the Grand Final and two days on from the clubs announcement, I don't know why anyone would be expecting immediate confirmation of this stuff. Fixtures themselves won't be out until mid November at the earliest I'd expect.

I can't see them changing the top six format, and a top eight out of 14 would be silly anyway.

As for the Championship, thought it was confirmed that it's a 21-team comp back in August?

The big pros and cons of RFL Championship and League 1 merger

The RFL have confirmed that Championship and League 1 will merge in 2026 to make a 21-team league. Here's the pros and cons of that decision.

www.loverugbyleague.com

 

[Gobsmacked]

We're eight days on from the Grand Final and two days on from the clubs announcement, I don't know why anyone would be expecting immediate confirmation of this stuff. Fixtures themselves won't be out until mid November at the earliest I'd expect.

I can't see them changing the top six format, and a top eight out of 14 would be silly anyway.

As for the Championship, thought it was confirmed that it's a 21-team comp back in August?

The big pros and cons of RFL Championship and League 1 merger

The RFL have confirmed that Championship and League 1 will merge in 2026 to make a 21-team league. Here's the pros and cons of that decision.

www.loverugbyleague.com

Top 6 is still more than half of clubs with a chance anyway

 

[Chins]

Top 5 is the go

 

[RedVee]

Can anyone explain (simply please) what caused Bradford’s severe decline from where they were 2 decades ago?

Was it just as simple as the Bradford area’s demographics changing? and
They’re back because they have now recut their cloth to suit their new reality?

 

[flippikat]

We're eight days on from the Grand Final and two days on from the clubs announcement, I don't know why anyone would be expecting immediate confirmation of this stuff. Fixtures themselves won't be out until mid November at the earliest I'd expect.

I can't see them changing the top six format, and a top eight out of 14 would be silly anyway.

As for the Championship, thought it was confirmed that it's a 21-team comp back in August?

The big pros and cons of RFL Championship and League 1 merger

The RFL have confirmed that Championship and League 1 will merge in 2026 to make a 21-team league. Here's the pros and cons of that decision.

www.loverugbyleague.com

The 21-team championship is the real big story for me.

If a good & sustainable model for it can be developed & consolidated, It can become a real incubator for future Superleague clubs - and clubs that are not just limited to the Yorkshire/Lancashire Heartland of the game.