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Are we destroying the Championship?


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Five clubs relegated to third tier CC1 RL where crowds are a third what they are in the Championship.

 

Then another nine clubs who cannot afford to be full time made to compete with professional clubs.

 

Reports from the games most vibrant championship club Featherstone top dogs three times in a row that fans are disillusioned by two home thumpings from the professionals.

 

Small increase in fan interest since promotion allegedly came back but signs of a growing realisation that it may not happen even for the professionals. 

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yes

joe mullaney is a god

the only good tiger is a stuffed tiger

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The championship is a qualification competition for the chance to join the middle 8s. The middle 8s is a competition which offers the remote possiility of promotion, a possibility which is most likely to be illusory.

 

If I'd been offered money to come up with a scheme which appeared to offer incentives whilst, in reality, being desinged to retain the status quo, I couldn't have bettered this one.

 

As a further dig, I have to say that the idea of pitting semi pros against full time oppsition is the most bone-headed idea the RFL have ever come up with, and that's saying something.

 

I'll watch, of course; I've been watching since the middle fifties, when there were two leagues and one division [another RFL first], why would I stop now?

No team is an island.........................................

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The saying that every minute counts might be correct for SL and the top 4 in the Championship but I can see already some clubs who know they are not going to be in the top 4 Championship clubs, picking and choosing which games to concentrate on to try to collect points to avoid the bottom 2 places in their league.

 

For some clubs, matches away at Leigh or Bradford, are just games to get out of the way without any injuries and with no bonus points to aim for there could be some big defeats later in the season.    Because of the financial discrepancies within the same league at least 7 of the 12 Championship clubs have no hope of promotion and are merely going through the motions of survival to avoid the bottom 2.

I remember when .............................

"It is impossible not to feel a twinge of sympathy for Workington Town, the fall guys this season for the Super League's determination to retain it's European dimension, in the shape of Paris. While the French have had every assistance to survive, the importance of having a flagship in a heartland area like West Cumbria has been conveniently forgotten." - Dave Hadfield - Independent 25th August 1996.

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if Featherstone were to get promoted will they still be disillusioned with the system? Let's give it a season at least until we pass judgment on the new structure, though I would say 2 or 3 seasons will be required to draw any real conclusions.

"surely they've got to try somthing different now, maybe the little chip over the top?2

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Possibly , but then again that's what licensing was doing , so what the guaranteed solution is , who knows

To repeat myself again , for this system to work long term requires more funding to filter down within the Championship to allow more clubs to become full time , said it at the start

As I put on the marquee thread , at the advent of licensing Mr Wood declared that he wanted the Championship to become " A vibrant , worth winning in its own right competition " , well saying that and doing nothing to make that happen was just pointless

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The saying that every minute counts might be correct for SL and the top 4 in the Championship but I can see already some clubs who know they are not going to be in the top 4 Championship clubs, picking and choosing which games to concentrate on to try to collect points to avoid the bottom 2 places in their league.

 

For some clubs, matches away at Leigh or Bradford, are just games to get out of the way without any injuries and with no bonus points to aim for there could be some big defeats later in the season.    Because of the financial discrepancies within the same league at least 7 of the 12 Championship clubs have no hope of promotion and are merely going through the motions of survival to avoid the bottom 2.

Last season 7 of them were doing exactly the same , then again , if you aren't fighting to stay where you are , why even bother playing at all ? , somebody has to finish bottom , I'd rather have something to play for than nothing at all

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if Featherstone were to get promoted will they still be disillusioned with the system? Let's give it a season at least until we pass judgment on the new structure, though I would say 2 or 3 seasons will be required to draw any real conclusions.

Correct , we currently seem to have SL fans and Bradford fand , the odd Championship fan who already know the results of the middle 8 games , maybe they could pm me the lottery numbers

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Five clubs relegated to third tier CC1 RL where crowds are a third what they are in the Championship.

 

Then another nine clubs who cannot afford to be full time made to compete with professional clubs.

 

Reports from the games most vibrant championship club Featherstone top dogs three times in a row that fans are disillusioned by two home thumpings from the professionals.

 

Small increase in fan interest since promotion allegedly came back but signs of a growing realisation that it may not happen even for the professionals.

Fev fans were becoming disillusioned with finishing top and not going anywhere as well , no doubt finishing top and not winning GFs as well

Fev have been building their infrastructure so as to be in the best position to be able to compete if and when the opportunity arises , yes they like all clubs have fans who will only attend if they are riding high , and some of those might well disappear again until better times , just as they have at the Bulls , but every club can't win

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The saying that every minute counts might be correct for SL and the top 4 in the Championship but I can see already some clubs who know they are not going to be in the top 4 Championship clubs, picking and choosing which games to concentrate on to try to collect points to avoid the bottom 2 places in their league.

For some clubs, matches away at Leigh or Bradford, are just games to get out of the way without any injuries and with no bonus points to aim for there could be some big defeats later in the season. Because of the financial discrepancies within the same league at least 7 of the 12 Championship clubs have no hope of promotion and are merely going through the motions of survival to avoid the bottom 2.

I agree 100% Keith. If I were Fev I would play our second team against leigh and bulls and save our best players for when we play our rivals for 3rd and 4th. Same goes for every other PT club in the league. Theirs no point in risking injuries etc against FT teams you can't compete with.And don't get me started on the CC that's for another discussion lol.
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The Championship was ruined when you could be Champions 2 years in a row  and it meant nothing, not convinced by this new format but at least there is a carrot dangled at the end of it.

why dont they just give andy farrell his medal now?- ray french before the challenge cup final 1998

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Last season 7 of them were doing exactly the same , then again , if you aren't fighting to stay where you are , why even bother playing at all ? , somebody has to finish bottom , I'd rather have something to play for than nothing at all

Do you actually read other peoples posts?    I said that teams are looking to try to beat teams around them to stay in this league and avoid the bottom two.  Games against the full-time teams away from home after hours of travel are just games to get out of without injuries.   Last season when there was bonus points my team, Town actually pushed Leigh twice to earn bonus points, home and away, but as I said there isn't any this time round so a 10 point defeat last year may as well be 40 this time round and concentrate on similar placed teams. 

I remember when .............................

"It is impossible not to feel a twinge of sympathy for Workington Town, the fall guys this season for the Super League's determination to retain it's European dimension, in the shape of Paris. While the French have had every assistance to survive, the importance of having a flagship in a heartland area like West Cumbria has been conveniently forgotten." - Dave Hadfield - Independent 25th August 1996.

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The Championship was ruined when you could be Champions 2 years in a row and it meant nothing, not convinced by this new format but at least there is a carrot dangled at the end of it.

you've highlighted another stupid idea along with this new system. A team could go all season unbeaten but lose a one off game and not be called champions? The real champions are the league winners and always will be. No matter how the RFL want to sugar coat it with a GF.But back to this new system the only way it can work is if all the clubs are FT if not its no chance of lasting long.On a funnier note I think we need a new team/coach let alone a new system lol.

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The new system is too tough for the part timers and too weak for the full timers. Eventually, standards will level out and nobody will ever get into Superleague on playing merit. They'll only get in when a Superleague club goes bankrupt.

Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police

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I like the new format versus the last.

Does anyone think a 3 point win and a bonus point would liven things back up a bit if certain a teams are struggling against the likes of Bradford or Leigh?

I don't believe how difficult it is against full timers. Look at London's form and (just so I can bring it up again) Batley didn't do too bad V Bradford last weekend.

SIGNATURE

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you've highlighted another stupid idea along with this new system. A team could go all season unbeaten but lose a one off game and not be called champions? The real champions are the league winners and always will be. No matter how the RFL want to sugar coat it with a GF.But back to this new system the only way it can work is if all the clubs are FT if not its no chance of lasting long.On a funnier note I think we need a new team/coach let alone a new system lol.

any team which wins all its games bar one will be in SL next year.
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Without equal funding the structure is a farce. I'm sure Leigh or Bradford will gain promotion this year but after that promotions will be few and far between. It won't be long until the useless Nigel Wood changes things once again.

If the RFL are serious about growing the sport rather than contracting it they should look into the possibility of utilising conferences.

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Without equal funding the structure is a farce. I'm sure Leigh or Bradford will gain promotion this year but after that promotions will be few and far between. It won't be long until the useless Nigel Wood changes things once again.

If the RFL are serious about growing the sport rather than contracting it they should look into the possibility of utilising conferences.

Your more confident than me. I've seen leigh and bulls this year and if either get promoted theirs some poor teams in the lower end of SL that's for sure. But if they do get promoted they more than deserve to with the way the systems set up. But we need 2 FT leagues for this to remotely work. Leigh and bulls won't play any easier games this season and when they hit the middle 8s they will be well under prepared compared to the SL teams who have been playing other FT better quality teams all year.

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