Super League Expansion (possible)

[adamkungl]

Re: Structure.

I'd stick with 12 teams at the top 2 levels. If there's extra money to go around, raise the funding per club at all levels. The long term aim for Championship should be 12 full time squads.

Split League One into 2 levels of 10 each (adding another 4 clubs to the lower level). NOT split along North/South lines, purely by ranking. Splitting Southern clubs only holds them back from improving.

Develop the entire UK, French and Irish structure into a pyramid rather than a glass ceiling between the semi pro and amateur leagues.

Ditch the Super 8s, have a top 5 finals or first past the post but not both.
Retain some shortened form of the Middle 8s/MPG between SL and Ch levels - it's a great concept but the 9th and 10th teams in SL and 3rd and 4th in Ch have no business being involved.

 

[roughyedspud]

Super league

12 teams
23 games,11 home,11 away plus 1 magic weekend
Top 6 play offs
Bottom 2 v championship top 2 "super 4s" P&R play offs retaining the 2nd v 3rd £1m game.

Challenge cup ( for SL teams only)
3 groups of 4, 3 home & 3 away games ( giving each club a guaranteed 14 home games per season)
Winner of each group advance to semi finals,4th team comes from the "2nd best team pool" UEFA have used this format in recent years,seems to work well imo.
Semi finals hen finals day at Wembley.

Championship

12 teams
23 games,11 home,11 away plus 1 summer bash
No play offs,straight league format,winner & runner up advance to "super 4s"
1 team relegated

Challenge shield ( championship teams only)
Follows the same format as the challenge cup,3 groups of 4 ,finals day at Wembley etc, guaranteeing each championship club 14 home games.

League one
12 teams
23 games , 11 home,11 away plus their own summer bash weekend
Top 6 play offs
Grand final winner promoted
1 team relegated

League two
10-12 teams
Home and away season
Top 6 play offs
Grand final winner promoted

Challenge bowl ( league one,two and amateur teams)
Straight knockout
Finals day at Wembley.

Funding

The current TV deal,all in is worth £200m over 5 years,that's £40m a year if everything was put into one big pot it could be split like this.

12 SL x £2m =£24m
12 champ x £500k =£6m
12 league 1 x £250k =£3m
12 league 2 x £125k =£1.5m =£34.5m

Leaves £5.5m for RFL per season to use as it pleases

 

[flamin]

It's self sabotage to please some clubs, most of whom don't have the potential to be in SL anyway. Losing Wigan, Warrington or Catalans would be a disaster no matyer who replaces them.

Bradford going down was worse IMO but life and the league goes on. The current system means they have a path to get back if good enough.

 

[deluded pom?]

I guess your point about why teams outside of SL bother to carry on could be compared to the Qld Intrust Cup in Australia. It sits as a tier below the NRL and teams in it aren't playing with any aspiration of a promotion to NRL as thats not on offer, but its treated as a serious, fierce, historical competition where players of like skill levels compete hard. The clubs within it are well run and take pride in their place in the pecking order of rugby league in Australia... it has grown out of the Brisbane Rugby League comp, so has a long tradition I'd assume similar to the UK Championship league. Its a platform where players develop skills as a stepping stone into the NRL. Just because a team is not in the top tier possible, doesn't mean that it has no worth. They operate professionally within their own limitations, gain sponsors, pay players, run development programs for their juniors and so on... pretty much what top tier teams do, but just not at the same scale. I guess another important aspect is that these Q cup teams are very much representative of their communities, and the locals who support them have every bit as much passion and pride in them as they do in any NRL teams... I'd imagine the same would exist in England for lower tier teams.

You have pointed out that the leagues below the NRL have a long history behind them. That's the sort of history we don't have in the UK. By that I mean a history of clubs (in any sport) locked into a league with no possibility of them progressing to the highest level they could achieve. If the Championship clubs are cut adrift no-one but the diehard fans will watch (if there's a team to watch).. That fan base will grow old together and die because I can't see any young people being interested in a league that has a glass ceiling above it.

 

[deluded pom?]

The same Bradford that are odds on the get relegated and drop to division 3 after repeatedly going broke?

If the bars are shifted last minute to allow Bradford in after making Toulouse and Toronto "earn their way" up then I for one would lose most of my interest in the club game over there. Absolutely farcical.

Exactly jim. Even with years of funding from the SL Bradford are still a basket case of a club. It's been pointed out on TRL that the last game against Leeds in the SL at Odsal drew about 10,000. Not the 20,000+ many people think they attracted.

 

[LeagueXIII]

This is all about ensuring Toronto are in the SL come 2019.

 

[roughyedspud]

Toronto have the money to get there organically without changing the whole structure of RL in the UK...

 

[roughyedspud]

If you have a average attendance of 2500-3000+ you have the money to push for top 4 in the championship and a chance of super league....plain and simple

 

[adamkungl]

Yeah Toronto will put together a very competitive side next year. Hard to see them not in the top 2

 

[roughyedspud]

The team they have now would be top 4

 

[deluded pom?]

As a supporter of a team currently outside the SL 'spud, how do you feel about Oldham potentially being excluded permanently from the Promised Land?

 

[adamkungl]

As a supporter of a team currently outside the SL 'spud, how do you feel about Oldham potentially being excluded permanently from the Promised Land?

Permanently?

 

[deluded pom?]

Permanently?

If any club is left outside of SL if and when they pull up the drawbridge they may as well wrap up.

 

[roughyedspud]

As a supporter of a team currently outside the SL 'spud, how do you feel about Oldham potentially being excluded permanently from the Promised Land?

Firstly I don't believe they'll pull the draw bridge up....the middle 8s and the £1m game has been the only good thing about the 8s structure,as you all know I'd tweek it slightly and turn it into the "super 4s"

As for Oldham being in super league again....well....lol there's a hell of a lot of things we need to worry about before we get that giddy again

 

[adamkungl]

Rather than 'pulling up the drawbridge' they should be removing the one under League One.. full pyramid from the bottom to the top

 

[flamin]

Rather than 'pulling up the drawbridge' they should be removing the one under League One.. full pyramid from the bottom to the top

There are great amateur clubs that have intention of turning pro/semi-pro.

 

[roughyedspud]

Some of them are already semi pro paying decent win bonuses....and it's these clubs that would be invited to join the new league two under my new structure.

 

[adamkungl]

Why invite only though?
Just have minimum standards for each level of promotion.
Eg. you can't progress to the Championship unless club can show some level of finances/attendances/stadium facilities.

 

[deluded pom?]

There are great amateur clubs that have intention of turning pro/semi-pro.

There are also plenty of great amateur clubs who have neither the facilities nor the ambition to join the pyramid Adam refers to.

 

[adamkungl]

There are also plenty of great amateur clubs who have neither the facilities nor the ambition to join the pyramid Adam refers to.

No one would be forced to move up from their current level. Just suggesting that the possibility could or should exist through structured promotion rather than application when the RFL feels like changing things up again.