Les Tonks Sidestep

As PW71 says nothing official announced (although there was little official in the public domain about the actual distribution in the old top 4 system). A 'more even' distribution was mentioned, but still with some incentive to finish as high as possible.

But you said they have 5 DR, which they can't have under the rules.

They can't have. You are only allowed a total of 5 loans and/or DR, of which a maximum of 4 can be DR in a named 19 man squad or match day 17.

Full games aren't reviewed below SL level. Only incidents brought to the attention of the match review panel (cards, on reports, referrals by clubs etc) are investigated.

And your club?

..

2 of the 4 contenders are from our game last Sunday https://www.rugby-league.com/article/54276/vote-now-our-league-championship-try-of-the-week

SL is slightly different in that the the clubs' finances are, in theory at least, continually monitored with regular financial info passed onto the RFL. It is up to the clubs to provide the correct info, which appears to be where Wigan have fallen down. The spends of all clubs are checked at the end of the season for compliance. I guess no system can allow for such as a major sponsor going bust, or taking their ball home and not coming up with the readies? Which has happened a few times recently to Championship clubs. I very much doubt that the figures are known outside the inner circles of the clubs, although there's some evidence from various chairmen's comments that they may have a good idea of each others squad costs.

Somewhere between £0 and £2m 😉 The 2019 playing budget was mentioned at the AGM, but whether that's up to the limit or not I've no idea. Championship and L1 clubs have to submit an operating budget that is accepted as being realistic with regard to income and agree a Sustainable Cap - although you can apply to spend more than that providing certain guarantees are in place to ensure the money will be forthcoming. There are whole host of other responsibilities on the clubs to monitor and inform as the season progresses.

The amount each Club can spend on its first team players is (subject to certain exemptions and dispensations) limited to the lower of: - The finite Salary Cap limit of £2m; and - The amount that it is deemed that a Club can afford to spend pursuant to the Financial Sustainability Regulations

So, if Fev ended their DR agreement with Leeds tomorrow, how many clubs do you reckon would be rushing to try and take their place? I guess none of those supported by those who've posted on here, eh?

I doubt (m)any supporters would disagree with that. I've posted my own views on DR on the Fev board in the past but the view of many is that if others use DR why shouldn't we? Two other points I'd raise are 1. IF SL clubs ran reserves with a full fixture list how many of the current 'better' Championship players would still be available (either signed fully or loaned) to the Championship clubs (eg Lilley being an obvious one). 2. IF Fev pulled out of their DR link with Leeds I reckon there's be a pretty large queue of Championship clubs waiting to take their place.

Yes all contracts have to be approved by the RFL and one of the checks is that the contract will not effect the signing club's ability to stay within the cap - Op Rules 1.2.1 (d) which should by implication be affordable The amount each Club can spend on its first team players is (subject to certain exemptions and dispensations) limited to the lower of: - The finite Salary Cap limit of £2m; and - The amount that it is deemed that a Club can afford to spend pursuant to the Financial Sustainability Regulations

The signings and whether we can afford them has also had to be approved by The RFL.

And yet even with reserves for a number of years, several Championship clubs still DR