198 replies to this topic

[Cutsyke Raiders]

Reading the League Express today and it seems that it's a done deal with Championship players (Up to 5 to be able to play at one time) playing in the NCL - Don't forget you heard it here first.

There are no plans for dual registration between the Championships & NCL.

[LONGMAN]

Reading the League Express today and it seems that it's a done deal with Championship players (Up to 5 to be able to play at one time) playing in the NCL - Don't forget you heard it here first.

That would have to be discussed and agreed by the leagues delegates.
It would mean a rule change.

[del capo]

That would have to be discussed and agreed by the leagues delegates.
It would mean a rule change.

Spot on Longman.

But there may well be a need to discuss the issue in due course.

NCL have in the last couple of weeks beeen faced with lots of applications to register players crossed off the Pro registers and in many cases just wanting to come back 'home ' . It's alright to say they maybe shouldn't have signed in the first place , but you can't blame a lad for trying to live the dream . I am led to believe that there are several hundred such players out there.

There has got to be a better way of retaining these gifted players within the NCL and community game.


There are no plans as yet to put before the NCL clubs , but there have certainly been talks. Barla well know this - they have been involved alongside Tier 3. It is not however our most urgent issue ......

And as for it being news Marauder , sorry to dissappoint but it's a subject that's beeen running all year. The Community Board minutes can easily be found on the RFL website - check out minute 8 . 1 .6 of the 19th July 2012 meeting .

I haven't seen League Express this week but I am aware of an aspirational paper on the subject that the Championship clubs will probably have seen - maybe that's where our journalists have got their ' info ' .....

[Gav]

Would the Tier 3 "Midlands" league give Bramley a suitable league to slot into?

[LONGMAN]

Would the Tier 3 "Midlands" league give Bramley a suitable league to slot into?

What do you mean when you say suitable

[del capo]

Would the Tier 3 "Midlands" league give Bramley a suitable league to slot into?

That would be a matter for the RFL , who will presumably manage that competition.

Aren't the RFL on record as wanting Tier 3 clubs to be run like NCL ones ? That said the world is full of marriages of convenience.

Bramley are uniquely positioned , with their previous history , as one of the very few in the heartlands to be able to challenge the post code and seek entry to CC1 if they were really serious about that....

To step down to Tier 4 for next year though might be too much for them as they would thereafter certainly have to fight through the whole of the NCL ranks to meet any CC1 ambitions. And be equipped to seek membership.....

I don't think though there is any philosophical or geographical reason against at least making an application to the Midlands... I'm sure that Bramley will already have beeen sounding out the RFL as to their future .........

.

[bowes]

It's a tough one as if you let Bramley in you also have to look at Kippax, Fryston and Birstall. Suddenly you have a national league that wouldn't appeal to potential midlands and southern clubs. If it were a one off with them planning to join CC1 the year after that would perhaps be different.

[tim2]

Question - should Midlands Tier 3 constitute itself like the NCL and allow the member clubs the right to vote on who comes in?

[bowes]

Question - should Midlands Tier 3 constitute itself like the NCL and allow the member clubs the right to vote on who comes in?

Interesting one. The initial membership probably would have to be selected from somewhere I guess as noone to vote on it.

[del capo]

Question - should Midlands Tier 3 constitute itself like the NCL and allow the member clubs the right to vote on who comes in?

Your question is in two parts , and the first part needs to be addressed before you can give member clubs any rights at all ......

The NCL throughout the reformation that is ongoing in Rugby League has strenuously defended its constitution and with it the rights of their clubs to have a say in how their competition runs in practice. A touch old fashioned maybe to be democratic in this day and age..........

Let me turn the questions around. Do any of the competitions run directly by the RFL have constitutions as such ? If not , how do the member clubs have a say in how their competition should work ? Do they need a say ? Should they have one ? Or is everyone happy to let the RFL just get on with it ?

Personally I'm much more comfortable about the way the NCL goes about it's business for the moment than any other model , but each to his own......

[tim2]

The Midlands League, for example, has its own constitution, committee and rules but currently does not allow democratic voting on any issue. At present we only have one meeting a year and this is more a discussion, with the decisions being made and implemented later.

I think the league will gradually become more independent and more democratic, especially as the "on the ground" support from the RFL will inevitably reduce.

One example is that the performance and community/development support used to be under one umbrella and under one manager. Now it isn't so the league must in future robustly represent its membership when it comes to any conflicts between the two.

I would definitely introduce sanctions for clubs not showing up to these meetings, and I would insist that all new clubs fill out an application form and have to stand up and justify themselves to the other clubs and get voted in. If nothing else, it makes them think about what they will need to do, and also show a level of commitment.

[bowes]

In my opinion the old centralised RLC treated the midlands and north east as backwaters and saw London and South Wales as their pride and joy. More localised organisation had seen the midlands and north east develop to the forefront of expansion efforts whilst the amateur game in London and South Wales, at open age level to be precise, have largely withered. Yes they have semi pro clubs to feed but so does the north east.

Of course local management by an RFL subsidiary isn't the same as rule by clubs but is a step up from central control. Incidentally midlands rugby league now run the game in the SW.

[Marauder]

There are no plans for dual registration between the Championships & NCL.

I'm sure the leadership will guide it in with the same precision has a stealth bomber if not monitored

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

Of course local management by an RFL subsidiary isn't the same as rule by clubs but is a step up from central control. Incidentally midlands rugby league now run the game in the SW.

No it doesnt, the Midlands Rugby League ran 3 mens and 2 youth leagues in the East & West Midlands and co-ordinated Primary and Junior festivals in 2012. It also ran a 9s tournament, Origin and an U18s tour. It is a constituted league and its remit is to provide playing opps for member clubs. That is the extent of its remit.

[PhilCarrington]

In my opinion the old centralised RLC treated the midlands and north east as backwaters and saw London and South Wales as their pride and joy. More localised organisation had seen the midlands and north east develop to the forefront of expansion efforts whilst the amateur game in London and South Wales, at open age level to be precise, have largely withered. Yes they have semi pro clubs to feed but so does the north east.

Of course local management by an RFL subsidiary isn't the same as rule by clubs but is a step up from central control. Incidentally midlands rugby league now run the game in the SW.

Same old record about the London clubs. Stop grinding that axe.

In the last few years, Harry Jepson Trophy winners have come from London & the South: 2006 (South London Storm), 2007 (St Albans Centurions), 2009 (West London Sharks) & 2012 (London Skolars 'A'). Not bad from a region where the game is "withering". Wests may have fallen apart this season, but there's a lot of other clubs doing well. One of them has just been elevated into Championship 1.
Having seen the way the RLC operated in the south, I would disagree about it being treated as "their pride and joy". Far too many clubs were elevated from the London Amateur Rugby League before they were ready (though that's also probably true of a lot of the clubs elsewhere that have been and gone).

[Marauder]

Spot on Longman.

But there may well be a need to discuss the issue in due course.

NCL have in the last couple of weeks beeen faced with lots of applications to register players crossed off the Pro registers and in many cases just wanting to come back 'home ' . It's alright to say they maybe shouldn't have signed in the first place , but you can't blame a lad for trying to live the dream . I am led to believe that there are several hundred such players out there.

There has got to be a better way of retaining these gifted players within the NCL and community game.


There are no plans as yet to put before the NCL clubs , but there have certainly been talks. Barla well know this - they have been involved alongside Tier 3. It is not however our most urgent issue ......

And as for it being news Marauder , sorry to dissappoint but it's a subject that's beeen running all year. The Community Board minutes can easily be found on the RFL website - check out minute 8 . 1 .6 of the 19th July 2012 meeting .

I haven't seen League Express this week but I am aware of an aspirational paper on the subject that the Championship clubs will probably have seen - maybe that's where our journalists have got their ' info ' .....

I didn't say it's new news, I said it was in the news (RL Express this week) and allowing ex-pros would help the short fall of players some clubs have been having - but what would you do with ex-pros who keep going backwards and forwards between the pro and amateur games?

[nadera78]

I didn't say it's new news, I said it was in the news (RL Express this week) and allowing ex-pros would help the short fall of players some clubs have been having - but what would you do with ex-pros who keep going backwards and forwards between the pro and amateur games?

What's the problem? They're still playing RL, just for different teams and in different competitions. Would it be a problem if they were playing a season of RL, then switching to cricket the following year, and then back again? The artificial distinction between amateur and professional, for a sport with our history, is nonsense.

[brooza]

In the last few years, Harry Jepson Trophy winners have come from London & the South: 2006 (South London Storm), 2007 (St Albans Centurions), 2009 (West London Sharks) & 2012 (London Skolars 'A').

I'm fairly sure St Albans won in 2010 as well

[bowes]

Same old record about the London clubs. Stop grinding that axe.

In the last few years, Harry Jepson Trophy winners have come from London & the South: 2006 (South London Storm), 2007 (St Albans Centurions), 2009 (West London Sharks) & 2012 (London Skolars 'A'). Not bad from a region where the game is "withering". Wests may have fallen apart this season, but there's a lot of other clubs doing well. One of them has just been elevated into Championship 1.
Having seen the way the RLC operated in the south, I would disagree about it being treated as "their pride and joy". Far too many clubs were elevated from the London Amateur Rugby League before they were ready (though that's also probably true of a lot of the clubs elsewhere that have been and gone).

Last I checked St Albans isn't London nor is Hemel. But yes the strength of the local London amateur game are a professional reserve team and effectively an Aussie social club who run no juniors. West London have folded and South London are a shadow of their former self.

My issue is not with playing standards but with the lack of clubs stepping up or interested in it. It has been resented for a long time in other regions.

Edited by bowes, 10 October 2012 - 01:50 PM.