35 replies to this topic

[GeordieSaint]

Bowes, could they not call the Midlands Tier 3 league the Southern Conference League instead?

[bowes]

Bowes, could they not call the Midlands Tier 3 league the Southern Conference League instead?

I don't know what the official name will be but London and South East clubs aren't exactly showing any interest and the midlands isn't south.

[tim2]

I don't know what the official name will be but London and South East clubs aren't exactly showing any interest and the midlands isn't south.

It's south of a lot of places

[bowes]

It's south of a lot of places

And north of a lot. Midlands isn't the best name but nor us south really as it won't exactly have many London sides or any past Bristol but could potentially go up to Sheffield. Midlands and South would work albeit a mouthful

Edited by bowes, 28 September 2012 - 06:20 AM.

[tim2]

And north of a lot. Midlands isn't the best name but nor us south really as it won't exactly have many London sides or any past Bristol but could potentially go up to Sheffield. Midlands and South would work albeit a mouthful

If you're going to cut the country in two then "North" and "South" isn't a bad shout. In football the Northern leagues can stretch down to Grantham and Stoke-on-Trent if it helps balance things out. In RU Sheffield Tigers have been put into the Southern section of the national cup.

[Marauder]

And north of a lot. Midlands isn't the best name but nor us south really as it won't exactly have many London sides or any past Bristol but could potentially go up to Sheffield. Midlands and South would work albeit a mouthful

Get the train, it only takes 1 hour 40 mins from Kings Cross to Donny

[HappyDave]

I have always looked at it as the NCL are at the top then the regional Premiers working downwards and from what I've seen of the summer sides, I would have placed the better ones between regional premier down to 1st division and the rest would be lucky to get into a regional 5th division.

The definition of "Tier 3" is a bit woolly, but it's meant to be a bridge between regular amateur RL and the semi-professional game. Therefore, as del Capo points out, it is driven by standards on and off the field. These include things like squad depth (i.e running more than one side), clubmark status, running juniors etc etc. And presumably the ability to regular fulfill fixtures and travel significant distances.

The RFL's stated plan is to have Tier 3 clubs in every region in the UK, and to help clubs work towards attaining those standards, wherever they are based in the country.

They would also like a genuinely national competition, perhaps split into vaguely regional conferences/leagues, but that will take some time to attain.

If the NCL had given the nod to one or two more teams from outside the "heartlands" we wouldn't be having these discussions. As they didn't, we are. Over to you, RFL.

If this tier 3 midlands league works then every English region bar South East will be represented. Eventually Elmbridge and Medway would be the 2 clubs from there, unless the latter goes Championship 1. But we're a few years off IMO.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will never be represented at tier 3 for practical reasons IMO. Maybe tier 2 if a money man comes. As for Wales I guess it depends on whether South Wales Hornets feel able to join a tier 3 midlands league.

Cool. Thanks. Yep, that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me guys.

What about 'Midlands & Southern Conference' or 'Midlands & South Conference'? Or 'Conference South & Midlands'?

Edited by HappyDave, 28 September 2012 - 02:37 PM.

[bowes]

Midlands and East would cover most of it IMO but you don't want a name that prevents future expansion

[tim2]

Midlands and East would cover most of it IMO but you don't want a name that prevents future expansion

A good name might be "South", for example, to not limit future expansion.

RU has some weird sub divisions like "Midlands North East Division 5" - nobody cares. If we ever get enough clubs we could break the Midlands and South apart, but I would worry about that later.

Edited by tim2, 28 September 2012 - 03:08 PM.

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

Central?

[Methven Hornet]

Bowes, could they not call the Midlands Tier 3 league the Southern Conference League instead?

Southern would probably cover it as, presumably, it would be open to any suitable clubs south of the northern heartland. Football has a straight north/south split at its first regional level, as does union.

[GeordieSaint]

Southern would probably cover it as, presumably, it would be open to any suitable clubs south of the northern heartland. Football has a straight north/south split at its first regional level, as does union.

I'd go for a Southern Conference League and as it builds and develops in terms of clubs, quality etc, I'd change the NCL to Northern Conference League etc...

[old papa]

Bowes, could they not call the Midlands Tier 3 league the Southern Conference League instead?

Bowes, could they not call the Midlands Tier 3 league the Southern Conference League instead?

I believe that was the original idea of the RFL with the pyramid. In the long term Current NCL clubs would be tier 3 clubs to the right of the pyramid and Southern clubs would form the Left side of the pyramid with a Premier Division with the best of both Southern and Northern clubs competing against each other but it was agreed that at the moment there is not enough southern clubs at the same playing standard of the Northen Clubs I am sure in time this will change and that the true pyramid will then be formed and the name will still be the NCL, Premier, followed by Northern Div 1 Southern Div 1 etc etc, but this will be a few years down the track.

Edited by old papa, 28 September 2012 - 10:49 PM.

[bowes]

I believe that was the original idea of the RFL with the pyramid. In the long term Current NCL clubs would be tier 3 clubs to the right of the pyramid and Southern clubs would form the Left side of the pyramid with a Premier Division with the best of both Southern and Northern clubs competing against each other but it was agreed that at the moment there is not enough southern clubs at the same playing standard of the Northen Clubs I am sure in time this will change and that the true pyramid will then be formed and the name will still be the NCL, Premier, followed by Northern Div 1 Southern Div 1 etc etc, but this will be a few years down the track.

Once the southern clubs meet criteria guess you could look at starting with 2 South or even 3 South and move it up gradually

[Wanderer]

If you're going to cut the country in two then "North" and "South" isn't a bad shout. In football the Northern leagues can stretch down to Grantham and Stoke-on-Trent if it helps balance things out. In RU Sheffield Tigers have been put into the Southern section of the national cup.

In soccer their Conference North this year includes teams from Northampton, Gloucester, Oxford and Worcester

[bowes]

Central?

That sounds workable.

The reason it's important is I've heard people from midlands clubs whinge about trips to Devon and Portsmouth. Even if I explain there are no remotely tier 3 ready clubs in such places.