2019 championship & league one..

[Foreign Legion]

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/off-the-record-rugby-league-rumours-and-gossip-171/


No to Championship expansion as Ottawa delayed

It is unlikely that the Championship will expand in number to 16 teams for next season. It has been widely speculated that the league will increase, meaning a reprieve for the bottom two sides from relegation, which is what happened when the division increased to 14 at the end of last season. However, with Ottawa unlikely to take to the field in 2020, expanding the Championship would leave League 1 with just nine teams, including West Wales who have not won a game for nearly two years.


Ottawa straight to Championship?


Although it had been hoped that Ottawa would be ready for 2020, it is believed they haven’t been able to satisfy the requirements laid down for them by the RFL in time, and so they will now target 2021 – which is also expected to see the introduction of a New York based team. Whether those two teams would go straight in to the Championship, rather than League 1, may become a discussion point in the near future. With League 1 clubs expecting to be cut away from the professional game at the end of the current round of central funding, shoehorning the transatlantic sides straight in to the Championship appears to be the preferred option of many.

 

[Foreign Legion]

The Rugby Football League has confirmed this year’s Championship Grand Final will be played at the home of the highest-ranked side.

Some clubs wanted to see the Championship’s showpiece event moved to a neutral venue, but the RFL has clarified that it will not be happening this year.

The governing body has notified clubs that it would be held at the home of the highest-place team playing in the final.

As things currently stand, Toronto would host the Grand Final at their Lamport Stadium home in Canada.

Brian McDermott’s Wolfpack sit top of the Championship table, 10 points above second-placed York after losing just one game thus far.

While the structure could change in 2020, the RFL has confirmed that the Championship Grand Final will definitely be held at the home of the highest-placed team this year.

How the Championship play-off system will work:

Round 1

Elimination Final – Game A – 4th v 5th

Qualifying Final – Game B – 2nd v 3rd

Round 2

1st semi-final – Game C – Loser QF v Winner EF

2nd semi-final – Game D – 1st v winner QF

Round 3

Preliminary Final – Game E – Loser 2SF v Winner 1SF

Championship Grand Final

Winner of Game D v Winner of Game E

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/pos...-to-be-staged-at-highest-placed-team-in-2019/

 

[Dakink]

Can't change the rules mid season. Good decision.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Could just be the case of building up and strengthening the league below super league in terms of increasing funding each team would get to make relegation less damaging from the top league?

For example if a Toronto, Toulouse or Ottawa was to be relegated from super league to a decent funded league below it would be less traumatic in terms of money and would allow them to return to super league via promotion.

I hope so. I would not want a northern hemesphere version of the SL war.

My main hope is that more money flows into the game and the SL, Championship and League 1 (if it continues to exist) grow and are able to continue to expand throughout Europe and North America. We can't have our only other professional comp going backwards, it needs to be strong on and off the field.

 

[Walter sobchak]

I hope so. I would not want a northern hemesphere version of the SL war.

My main hope is that more money flows into the game and the SL, Championship and League 1 (if it continues to exist) grow and are able to continue to expand throughout Europe and North America. We can't have our only other professional comp going backwards, it needs to be strong on and off the field.

As always everything depends on money. Specially a tv deal.

 

[Walter sobchak]

Sheffield eagles beat dewsbury rams 28-22 Friday night and move into 6th place while Toulouse get back to winning ways defeating Rochdale 68-0 away from home and move back into 2nd place.

Toronto take on featherstone tonight in Canada.

 

[Walter sobchak]

Toronto just squeeze past featherstone 22-18.

 

[Walter sobchak]

This is very interesting and potentially huge for the game of RL in the U.K. https://www.totalrl.com/league-expr...ompany-holds-talks-over-championship-tv-deal/

 

[Foreign Legion]

RFL chat to Channel 4 for TV deal

Channel 4 have expressed an interest in broadcasting Championship rugby league, report League Express.

RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer confirmed in a Championship and League 1 meeting held last week that the free-to-air broadcaster were one of three companies they had held discussions with about a future broadcast deal post 2021, with Sky Sports and BBC thought to be the other two, suggest League Express. Specific details of the discussions remain unclear.
https://www.loverugbyleague.com/pos...es-nrl-calls-holbrook-rfl-in-channel-4-talks/

 

[Walter sobchak]

No doubt the transatlantic aspect of the championship is a huge selling point for RL and potential broadcasters. The french also to a lesser extent.

The only downside could be that either Toronto or Toulouse or perhaps both could potentially be in super league as opposed to the championship which would make the introduction of Ottawa and New York essential. Maybe even another french team? Paris or Marseille anyone?

 

[greenBV4]

No doubt the transatlantic aspect of the championship is a huge selling point for RL and potential broadcasters. The french also to a lesser extent.

Surely with all these new French and North American teams potentially coming though the super league would be looking at ditching P&R and adopting a conference system?

Not only would there be teams jetting around everywhere and creating a scheduling nightmare, but they might find themselves in a situation similar to the NRL where some of these expansion teams are too important to lose to relegation? I get that it's different over there and people are used to p&r but with genuine, healthy and well backed expansion teams coming through wouldn't security for those clubs be the best for the code as a whole?

I'm hoping we continue to see Canadian, American, French and other Euro countries have more clubs in the Super league and eventually see those nations become more competitive internationally because of it

 

[Walter sobchak]

Surely with all these new French and North American teams potentially coming though the super league would be looking at ditching P&R and adopting a conference system?

Not only would there be teams jetting around everywhere and creating a scheduling nightmare, but they might find themselves in a situation similar to the NRL where some of these expansion teams are too important to lose to relegation? I get that it's different over there and people are used to p&r but with genuine, healthy and well backed expansion teams coming through wouldn't security for those clubs be the best for the code as a whole?

I'm hoping we continue to see Canadian, American, French and other Euro countries have more clubs in the Super league and eventually see those nations become more competitive internationally because of it

I think that conferences is the only way to go to protect these vital expansion teams from North America and France but I have absolutely no idea on how many and how they would work as well as how teams would be placed etc.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

P&R, despite it's cultural relevance in the UK & Europe isn't good for RL. It works in football because football is big enough to allow clubs and players good revenue in the second division. For RL losing Bradford out of the SL is bad enough, if we then get three North American sides in the SL and a TV deal is struck with a North American broadcaster on the proviso that those three teams are in the league, it becomes commercially unviable to relegate them.

Moving forward, RL will have to come to terms with the fact that expansion and P&R are incompatible and expansion is the only way to increase the revenue into the game to keep it relevant.

 

[roughyedspud]

No..P&R is vital to keep the lower leagues viable..without the possibility to move up or down divisions the competitions will stagnate & die..

And with the lower leagues in talks to sell TV rights the last thing we need is a boring,stagnating product..

 

[greenBV4]

No..P&R is vital to keep the lower leagues viable..without the possibility to move up or down divisions the competitions will stagnate & die..

How often is a club promoted or relegated for the first time? Is it not usually just the same clubs basically swapping over and over?

Permanently add the clubs from the championship that usually make it just to be dropped the next year, then do the same for league one into the championship then lock the competitions as first grade and second grade, and then promote and/or relegate whenever/if ever necessary

And with the lower leagues in talks to sell TV rights the last thing we need is a boring,stagnating product..

If clubs like toronto and other north american clubs eventually all make it into the superleague, the TV deals for them being in a top flight competition will be much more valueable than what the lower leagues could attract

 

[adamkungl]

Elite-level international Super League with 4 conferences:
8 English clubs, P&R
4 French/European clubs, 4 North American clubs, no P&R.

16 team full-time Championship as the highest level GB competition.
16 team part-time League One.

This needs to be the goal. It's the only way to reconcile 2 conflicting needs.
English clubs keep their system but the elite level includes overseas city teams.

 

[Walter sobchak]

Elite-level international Super League with 4 conferences:
8 English clubs, P&R
4 French/European clubs, 4 North American clubs, no P&R.

16 team full-time Championship as the highest level GB competition.
16 team part-time League One.

This needs to be the goal. It's the only way to reconcile 2 conflicting needs.
English clubs keep their system but the elite level includes overseas city teams.

Crossover fixtures?

 

[adamkungl]

Crossover fixtures?

Split into 2 conferences (UK and Atlantic, or something. Turns out 4 doesnt actually achieve much here), a draw could be like
Play your own twice each, for 14 games
and the opposite once each for 8 games
for a total of 22 games. Which is more than enough regular season for any sane contact sport. No f**king loop fixtures.

The Championship can have a straight up 30 round home and away season.

 

[Walter sobchak]

Split into 2 conferences (UK and Atlantic, or something. Turns out 4 doesnt actually achieve much here), a draw could be like
Play your own twice each, for 14 games
and the opposite once each for 8 games
for a total of 22 games. Which is more than enough regular season for any sane contact sport. No f**king loop fixtures.

The Championship can have a straight up 30 round home and away season.

Ideal scenario in 10-20 years would be 2 ten team conferences. 1 English conference with promotion and relegation and 1 international conference with no promotion and relegation.

The international conference would consist of current teams like Catalan, Toulouse and Toronto plus future teams like New York and Ottawa. Leaving 5 other places for franchises from the US, Canada and France. Maybe even somewhere like Dublin or Belgrade.

 

[adamkungl]

Ideal scenario in 10-20 years would be 2 ten team conferences. 1 English conference with promotion and relegation and 1 international conference with no promotion and relegation.

The international conference would consist of current teams like Catalan, Toulouse and Toronto plus future teams like New York and Ottawa. Leaving 5 other places for franchises from the US, Canada and France. Maybe even somewhere like Dublin or Belgrade.

I hope this is the goal.

As much as traditionalists would like to say England should just stand alone and not bother with overseas expansion ideas, the fact is it needs new blood.
The world is shrinking and big towns in a small section of 1 country playing elite professional sport has a severely limited scope. (This applies for Australia too but less severely).
Sponsors and broadcasts across Europe and America is an opportunity that can not be turned down.

Rugby Union finds itself in the same position in Australia. As a 3rd or 4th choice football code, it could not survive at a professional level without SANZAAR.