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An RFL update


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Which bit has changed?

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St Albans Centurions International Liaison Officer and former Medway Dragons Wheelchair RL player.

Leeds Rhinos, St Albans Centurions y Griffons Madrid fan. Also follow (to a lesser extent) Catalans Dragons, London Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Jacksonville Axemen, Vrchlabi Mad Squirrels, København Black Swans, Red Star Belgrade and North Hertfordshire Crusaders.

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This bit I'd guess:

In the last round of licensing, clubs were initially assessed and awarded points on reaching minimum standards. In this round of licensing, clubs will be assessed against A Grade criteria. These criteria are designed to reflect the advancing standards within Super League, and take account of the feedback received from clubs following the last round of licensing.

Basically that means assessments against the highest standards, especially off the pitch.

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What I don't understand is that a Championship club is to be given a license in March so that they get more time to prepare to make the step up. However another Championship club that is already less prepared (as they lost to a better placed club) could still be included in July and not given this extra time.

Smacks of typical RFL to me. They go on about a fair system but in reality they look to have already picked one Championship club to replace one Super League club. The only issue is which clubs, which is most likely Widnes for one of three others.

The minimum criteria for the Championship are a nonsense too in my opinion. Mainly because there are about 3/4 Super League clubs who probably wouldn't meet them if they were in the Championship. How fair is that for a system?

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This is my favourite bit....

The licenses will be allocated to those clubs that the RFL board believes are the most suitable, taking into account the:

a. Extent to which each club helps meet the SLE Strategy and the strategic aims and objectives of the Licensing process;

Does anyone know what the SLE strategy is ?

Or is it a thinly veiled way of saying they'll pick whoever they like and justify it by the use of the 'strategic aims' argument, just as they did with Celtic Crusaders ?

I’m not prejudiced, I hate everybody equally

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I don't know what Widnes fans are worrying about - they're nailed on to be included. No other clubs fit all the criteria at present.

They won't increase the number of clubs, either.

Bristol Sonics Rugby League

2007 & 2008 West Midlands RLC Champions

2008 RLC Regional Grand Finalists

2008 RLC Team Of The Year

2011 RLC Midlands Premier Champions

www.bristolsonics.com

� Stupid Questions League Winner 2004 �

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What I don't understand is that a Championship club is to be given a license in March so that they get more time to prepare to make the step up. However another Championship club that is already less prepared (as they lost to a better placed club) could still be included in July and not given this extra time.

Smacks of typical RFL to me. They go on about a fair system but in reality they look to have already picked one Championship club to replace one Super League club. The only issue is which clubs, which is most likely Widnes for one of three others.

The minimum criteria for the Championship are a nonsense too in my opinion. Mainly because there are about 3/4 Super League clubs who probably wouldn't meet them if they were in the Championship. How fair is that for a system?

That's the bit I found most interesting:

What happens if a Championship club meets the minimum criteria, but is not the successful club announced in March 2011?

Those Championship clubs that meet the minimum criteria but do not obtain a Super League licence in March 2011 still have a chance of obtaining a Super League licence. These clubs will have their suitability for a licence assessed with the Super League clubs who submit applications in April 2011 (see process graphic attached).

Whilst I agree in part with what you're saying about them being less prepared than an already more prepared Championship club, I think the whole point is that if they are to succeed at this final stage then the RFL must feel that they are in a better position for SL than one of the current SL clubs.

This part is essentially just a backup in case more than one of the SL clubs look God damn awful in the application process. It's a good plan for a "just in case" moment that probably won't be needed. The fact that only two clubs meet this criteria means that basically after they've given Widnes a license, they'll just see if Halifax are a better proposition than the other SL clubs.

As for the Championship criteria, I agree with it. What I don't agree with is when they chose to release it. Back end of the last season? Ridiculous. It should have been known from 2008. You cannot implicate such huge changes to a system without having the final details in place BEFORE it. It's like introducing a relegation place 3 weeks before the end of the season after being told there wouldn't be any.

Interesting to note no mention of the foreign clubs invitation however. Doesn't look to be Toulouse's year yet...

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You cannot implicate such huge changes to a system without having the final details in place BEFORE it. It's like introducing a relegation place 3 weeks before the end of the season after being told there wouldn't be any.

You mean like when the RFL kicked the bottom 6 Clubs out of the old Division 1, when they first set the original Super League up, without giving them time to try and fight their way out of the bottom 6 ?

Widnes were told on the Good Friday they were in, then told weeks later they wern't. That was when they Season used to end in May.

Widnes - Cheshire's Original Glamour Club.

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You mean like when the RFL kicked the bottom 6 Clubs out of the old Division 1, when they first set the original Super League up, without giving them time to try and fight their way out of the bottom 6 ?

Widnes were told on the Good Friday they were in, then told weeks later they wern't. That was when they Season used to end in May.

Exactly, but that was the old administration. And they didn't have as much time to implement that decision as we have had with the licensing situation. We didn't HAVE to implement the licensing system, we could have planned for it properly and then done it when we were fully ready. When the game turned pro, we only had a certain amount of time to get the details worked or else we'd have lost out on a lot of investment.

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News Ltd has buggered the game in Australia with Gallop etc ruining the show and the farce of News Ltd at Melbourne. Meanwhile Sky is making a joke of the game in the UK. The RFL is a a Sky Puppet and what Sky wants they get. The RFL have no proper strategy that is fair for all clubs whether SL or Championship. The Championship next year will see Widnes have a massive advantage and likely win everything as they prepare for SL. Whilst the rest like Fev, Barrow, Leigh etc just play a set of friendlies.

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I don't know what Widnes fans are worrying about - they're nailed on to be included. No other clubs fit all the criteria at present.

They won't increase the number of clubs, either.

There's no worry, I'd be very surprised if we're not included at the next round of licensing.

However that doesn't mean that I suddenly don't care about the system any more. The RFL are still trying to present the facade of a fair system when in reality they don't have one.

It seems to me that the RFL created licensing because of a couple of impending problems that were getting worse. The gap between the two divisions had grown to the stage that relegation could prove fatal for a club. Perhaps more importantly, expansion clubs were constantly being threatened with relegation and this could have proved disastrous to those clubs and the game. It also looked farcical when these sides were exempt from relegation and sides above them were being relegated instead. This was only going to get worse as more expansion clubs came into Super League.

So the 3 year licensing system came about from a desire to be able to control which teams are in the top league, most importantly to protect the expansion sides from relegation. It also came with some added benefits such as the 3 year building period, but personally I think it was expansion that the main factor behind it.

The problem was that the RFL tried to convince the public into thinking they were going to create a fair system whereby the best 12/14 clubs at any one time were included. This hasn't happened. They've created the facade of a fair system which in reality allows them to include whoever they want regardless of the situation and without having to give too much justification. This means that Quins, Catalans and the Crusaders will always be safe.

They haven't been stupid and have realised that to stop the clubs below Super League from dying, they need to keep some level of promotion and relegation. Widnes were always going to be a good bet to replace one of the poorer heartland clubs without causing too much hassle. So they have created a list of criteria a few weeks before the end of the season that they expect only Widnes to make. But yet they still go along and release statements and update their website as if it is undecided and as if another Championship club could come up.

Nonsense, one team is coming up to replace one other team. The RFL know it and everybody else does, but they will go through a whole rigmarole as if the best 14 clubs at any one time will be picked. This isn't necessarily true either as there is more than just Widnes who could do a better job than some of the current incumbents. As I pointed out in a different thread, Leigh were heavily derided for their brief time in Super League, yet they averaged more than Salford will this year. They also have a nice new stadium and Salford don't yet.

However there is zero chance they will replace Salford because of location, which trumps all. The RFL have managed to create a system where they can ensure that a team like Leigh can't replace Salford even if technically they could do a slightly better job than them.

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You mean like when the RFL kicked the bottom 6 Clubs out of the old Division 1, when they first set the original Super League up, without giving them time to try and fight their way out of the bottom 6 ?

Widnes were told on the Good Friday they were in, then told weeks later they wern't. That was when they Season used to end in May.

I was quite young at the time (12) and remember watching on Sky as we beat Hull away I think, which virtually guaranteed that we wouldn't be relegated. There was huge relief all round.

Little did we know.

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News Ltd has buggered the game in Australia with Gallop etc ruining the show and the farce of News Ltd at Melbourne. Meanwhile Sky is making a joke of the game in the UK. The RFL is a a Sky Puppet and what Sky wants they get. The RFL have no proper strategy that is fair for all clubs whether SL or Championship. The Championship next year will see Widnes have a massive advantage and likely win everything as they prepare for SL. Whilst the rest like Fev, Barrow, Leigh etc just play a set of friendlies.

Well I think you might be wrong re:Widnes next season. If they are going to get (or have already) the nod, why would they bother wasting money they don't need to spend on a decent squad for next year. They won't be able to pay the new players they have lined up for SL on a Salary cap of 300k. So I predict Widnes will go with youth and may not even make the play offs, but by then who in the championship will care.

Here we go again .....

 

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News Ltd has buggered the game in Australia with Gallop etc ruining the show and the farce of News Ltd at Melbourne. Meanwhile Sky is making a joke of the game in the UK. The RFL is a a Sky Puppet and what Sky wants they get. The RFL have no proper strategy that is fair for all clubs whether SL or Championship. The Championship next year will see Widnes have a massive advantage and likely win everything as they prepare for SL. Whilst the rest like Fev, Barrow, Leigh etc just play a set of friendlies.

Er, won't the rest of the clubs still want to be working towards getting a license for the next franchise period? So they'll need to get into a GF or win the NRC again. They'll need to get the crowds. They'll need to get the turnover. So why would they just be friendlies?

And what makes you think Widnes will be doing anything different to what they were doing this year and last? They can't spend over the cap. So what advantage will they have compared to the last two years?

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I don't know what Widnes fans are worrying about - they're nailed on to be included. No other clubs fit all the criteria at present.

They won't increase the number of clubs, either.

With the history I can understand Widnes fans being cautious. They have had the brown end of the stick a few times in the way that fans of other clubs only claim.

"You clearly have never met Bob8 then, he's like a veritable Bryan Ferry of RL." - Johnoco 19 Jul 2014

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This is my favourite bit....

Does anyone know what the SLE strategy is ?

Or is it a thinly veiled way of saying they'll pick whoever they like and justify it by the use of the 'strategic aims' argument, just as they did with Celtic Crusaders ?

I think the SLE strategy relates to expanding the game. I'm sure Richard Lewis referred to it after Celtic Crusaders were awarded a licence. The RFL should set out what it means on their website.

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