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The long term goal of expansion: 24 teams in 4 conferences


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Rugby league must expand in order to compete with other sports, and in order to increase its financial resources. The ultimate goal should be a 24 team competition, which will dilute the role of the "M62 heartlands" to where they are no longer dominant, while retaining the ten healthier "M62 heartlands" clubs.

The structure proposed would be truly national and international, thereby making the task of finding wealthy corporate and government sponsors much easier.

Rugby league clubs play each other in conference structures. Each club plays their own conference members twice (10 games) and each member of the other conferences once (18 games). That makes a 28 week competition.

An eight club finals playoffs (top 2 from each conference) leading to a Wembley grand final will conclude the season.

With a six team Continental conference there should be a European TV contract that will sustain that conference.

This structure will take 15- 18 years to realise. In the interim Super League Europe should be increased incrementally.

Here is the ultimate form of the Super League Europe competition, which the RLF anfd RLEF need to start planning for now:

1. North-Northwest Conference

Wigan

St Helens

Warrington

Widnes or Cumbria

Salford

Gateshead/Newcastle

2. Yorkshire Conference

Leeds

Bradford

Huddersfield

Hull FC

Hull KR or Calder

Sheffield

3. Southern-Celtic Conference

Crusaders

South Wales

Dublin

Harlequins

East London

North London or Bristol

4. Continental Conference

Les Catalans

Toulouse

Paris

Lyon

Marseille

Barcelona

Edited by ParisSurtout

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

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Who employs you Paris ?

I have asked you before but you fail to answer, if you do finally answer you may gain some credibillity (sp)

I am not allowed to answer. My employers want to remain anonymous.

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

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ETHICAL Companies would'nt mind you telling folk, ok then are you employed by a sports authority ?

No mate. But I should be (part time).

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

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After this conference system is well established, I would want it undergirthed by a conference Championship structure. That is, four separate Championship conferences.

You can look at the list of clubs in the current Championship and Championship 1 to see how this could be done for the North-Northwest and Yorkshire conferences very easily.

For the Continental conference I would construct a Championship based on more than the current French Elite

e.g. Vaucluse. Montpellier, Aude, Catalans, Bordeaux, Paris Metro, Nantes, Lille, + 2 Spanish clubs + 2 Italian clubs

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

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Thank you for clarifying somewhat, if i may just one more question, So your not employed by the RL in any capacity ?

No, but I think that I should be (part time) since they cannot figure this out by themselves.

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

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This is utter rubbish, this will never ever happen. We struggle to get 14 healthy and competitive teams and you want to get 24 in 4 different conferences. The heartlands will always be the heartlands and that will never change

" We have achieved what you can only dream of "

Follow me on Twitter @gaz_wigan

 

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This is utter rubbish, this will never ever happen. We struggle to get 14 healthy and competitive teams and you want to get 24 in 4 different conferences. The heartlands will always be the heartlands and that will never change

How old are you? 90?

Edited by ParisSurtout

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

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Haha no pal just live in the real world unlike you who lives in a complete dream world where he thinks this will ever happen

" We have achieved what you can only dream of "

Follow me on Twitter @gaz_wigan

 

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No, but I think that I should be (part time) since they cannot figure this out by themselves.

Maybe they need somebody who can set reasonable goals for everyone to work towards? As opposed to lets say, completely unrealistic goals that defy sense. We can all doodle our plans/ideas down onto a scrap of paper whilst were bored, some exceptional people can even produce very sophisticated ideas that might work in principle. For example Da Vinci drew some very interesting designs for a helicopter in the 15th century, but it doesn't mean that he could understand the workings of a Chinook, let alone build one.

In other words, your 'plan' relies on too many if's and but's for it to be considered as a serious a plan. Most of it's just pure speculation based on what you'd like to happen.

Edited by skep155
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Who employs you Paris ?

I have asked you before but you fail to answer, if you do finally answer you may gain some credibillity (sp)

I don't think anyone employs him. However, a close friend of mine who works at Dewsbury Hospital psychiatric unit (the Priestley Ward) tells me that all patients are allowed internet access as and when requested. This should clear any confusion up.

What I'm looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than an 'ot dog, know what I mean?

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We would have to change the Challenge Cup a little to fit this competition into an overall rugby league season starting at the end of January and ending the second Saturday in October.

The Super League clubs would only join the CHallenge Cup after the rest have been knocked down to eight contenders.

Thus there would be a round of 32 including the 24 Super League Europe clubs, then the round of 16, then the quarter finals, the semi finals and the final in late August. So 28 weeks of Super League season pre finals could be added to 5 weeks of Challenge Cup, making 33 weeks up to and including the second weekend of September.

International rugby league would begin in the last weekend of October and end in the third or fourth weekend of November. Rep players would have one month off and rejoin club training in January.

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

_____

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Maybe they need somebody who can set reasonable goals for everyone to work towards? As opposed to lets say, completely unrealistic goals that defy sense. We can all doodle our plans/ideas down onto a scrap of paper whilst were bored, some exceptional people can even produce very sophisticated ideas that might work in principle. For example Da Vinci drew some very interesting designs for a helicopter in the 15th century, but it doesn't mean that he could understand the workings of a Chinook, let alone build one.

In other words, your 'plan' relies on too many if's and but's for it to be considered as a serious a plan. Most of it's just pure speculation based on what you'd like to happen.

All plans rely on "ifs." You make adjustments as you go along. This is not set in stone. It is a desirable goal that can be modified. If some part seems not attainable then you make adjustments. But you don't work without any strategic plan whatsoever.

For example one might over time conclude that twenty clubs in four conferences of five is more realistic. For example it would reduce the regular SL season to 23 weeks, allowing the competition to start in late February and end the first weekend in October.

What is not serious is thinking that rugby league can continue to putter along without any strategic vision for expansion. Like the people living on a diet of pies, hamburgers and pizza, you are then condemned to die young.

Edited by ParisSurtout

Le rugby a treize, c'est moi!

_____

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We would have to change the Challenge Cup a little to fit this competition into an overall rugby league season starting at the end of January and ending the second Saturday in October.

The Super League clubs would only join the CHallenge Cup after the rest have been knocked down to eight contenders.

Thus there would be a round of 32 including the 24 Super League Europe clubs, then the round of 16, then the quarter finals, the semi finals and the final in late August. So 28 weeks of Super League season pre finals could be added to 5 weeks of Challenge Cup, making 33 weeks up to and including the second weekend of September.

International rugby league would begin in the last weekend of October and end in the third or fourth weekend of November. Rep players would have one month off and rejoin club training in January.

This is barmy. Our sport is run by a 40 stone chump from Halifax who I wouldn't leave in charge of a Mars bar for two minutes (he'd either eat it or sit on it, reducing it to an inedible melted chocolate pancake), traditional RL supporting communities are struggling to support the professional clubs we still have, and you are advocating the formation of some continent-encompassing wonder league?????

What I'm looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than an 'ot dog, know what I mean?

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This is barmy. Our sport is run by a 40 stone chump from Halifax who I wouldn't leave in charge of a Mars bar for two minutes (he'd either eat it or sit on it, reducing it to an inedible melted chocolate pancake), traditional RL supporting communities are struggling to support the professional clubs we still have, and you are advocating the formation of some continent-encompassing wonder league?????

Oh come on now, I'm not having that. Nigel Wood 40 stone? No way.

He's a lot heavier than that. :lol:

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I wonder if we've set a record for how many variations of exactly the same thread we can create in a year :dry:

"When in deadly danger, when beset by doubt; run in little circles, wave your arms and shout"

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I wonder if we've set a record for how many variations of exactly the same thread we can create in a year :dry:

And some of us aren't even trying! :D

Rethymno Rugby League Appreciation Society

Founder (and, so far, only) member.

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This is sort of the way RL should be going in the long term, at least in terms of a conference/expansion for the French teams, which would play UK teams.

However there should be a separate heartland Top-14 with P&R

IMO the French teams need to generate their own cash from satelite services, which would free up all sky money for UK teams. I would expect this to happend once they can get at least 4 fully pro regional clubs playing SL clubs in crossed fixtures.

I also think sky are more likely to up the cash if we have a product like this rather than the usual numptyish "we can only just about manage 14 teams" (usualy spoken by a fan of a top 6 club who is fricken'd dear'th of their poor little Stupid League club having to share more money)

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It is a ridiculous notion, in that it is unbelievably optimistic, as usual, but then there's nothing wrong with wanting the best for our game, even if 'the best' seems to change monthly dependant on PS's mood.

FWIW, I think it would be very interesting if RL went down the regionalised conferences at some point in the future as it's not something I'd even considered, and although it wouldn't necessarily be what I'd like to see, it would give the end of season play-offs an interesting twist.

I'd be happy in the medium term if we can get to two franchised divisions of 10, SL1 and SL2 say, with Sky money spread between the two (maybe 70/30 or similar) and a closer cap between the two based on this. We could then have open P/R between the divisions, knowing that a.) the clubs are all of an acceptable standard and b.) there isn't a gaping financial chasm to overcome for the promoted/relegated team.

It's not too much of a stretch to imagine that over the next 10/12 years franchising will create 6 more teams with the infrastructure required to gain a SL license. On top of the current 14 SL incumbents, Widnes, Barrow, Halifax, Fev and Leigh are all fairly close to the mark.

At least when viewed this way, franchising has a definite advantage over straight P/R as it gives clubs targets to aim for and forces standards up.

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I think it's a wonderful idea and works on so many different levels.

Completely impossible, of course, because there just isn't the level of interest in RL to sustain this, but if we could sustain a structure like this I think it would be great.

I wouldn't hold out hope for a club in Lyon any time soon though, PS, but of course, I'm sure you know all about that anyway. B)

People called Romans they go the house

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(usualy spoken by a fan of a top 6 club who is fricken'd dear'th of their poor little Stupid League club having to share more money)

Progress in motion, a couple of years ago it was only the top 4 who were selfish and self centered!!! ;)

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