Death to the Rah Rah's

I don't think it is being led by the Reds, they just give that impression because they are making the announcements outside of the normal channels. Our board will have had just as much input into the overall build so I wouldn't concern yourself on that score

Great news about the funding for Phase 2 which will take the capacity to 5000, but surely any stadium updates should be joint announcements through the Stadium Board. That’s the whole point of having one! The Town Board have kept things tighter than a drum, but over the road it’s a different story… they’ve had more leaks than their defence in the first half of the season! The stadium team might as well just come out and update everyone as the Reds Chair has stolen the thunder on this one !

No apology needed, sure all Town supporters are rooting for the Reds to stay up. I can see them pulling 1500 on a weekly basis in the new stadium, even more if they are winning as football unfortunately has the rise on RL at the minute

A modern 5,000-capacity stadium will give Town and Reds the most up-to-date ground in Cumbria, and that's a real achievement. With light, modern hospitality areas, it also creates a genuine opportunity to attract business investment, as the stadium becomes somewhere you’d actually want to entertain clients. Hopefully there will be a bit of a “new stadium bounce” in terms of attendances too as supporters will enjoy modern facilities. I've always been impressed as to how both clubs have managed to stay afloat with their current facilities. They’ve really made the best of a difficult situation and deserve a lot of credit for that. It does make me wonder what they could achieve with proper, modern infrastructure. The Reds are getting a League Two standard ground which will be one of the best in non-league circles, while for Town, Super League might be unattainable, but a top end Championship push feels like the realistic next step. That said, a new ground on its own doesn’t guarantee success on the pitch. Plenty of clubs have moved into impressive stadiums and still struggled competitively or financially. The key will be how well both Town and Reds can actually leverage the opportunity through strong management, smart recruitment, and building sustainable fan engagement matter is just as much as bricks and mortar If the new stadium hadn’t gone ahead, both clubs could have been staring down the barrel, with aging facilities and no real funds to replace them. In both cases, it felt like they were edging closer to serious issues, potentially even one failed safety inspection away from major problems. Taking away the constant financial and logistical strain of maintaining old grounds should allow both clubs to focus more on improving what happens on the pitch, which can only be a positive for the area. Both grounds are full of memories, and that history won’t disappear, but times change. It’s about looking forward now and creating new memories in a modern setting. And hopefully we get a scoreboard to match the one down the road I’d hate to be upstaged by the jammies!

West Cumbria Marra-jammers !

Typo, meant to say 16 with 15 home games

There’s no shortage of rugby league passion in West Cumbria. Anyone who’s watched an amateur game on a cold Saturday or Sunday knows the sport is alive and kicking here. Junior teams are thriving, community clubs are buzzing, and the appetite for the game at grassroots level is as strong as ever. And yet, when it comes to the semi‑professional game, League One and now the Championship, the enthusiasm for whatever reason simply isn’t there. Attendances are flat, younger fans aren’t turning up, and the matchday experience feels stuck in another era. It’s not apathy for the sport itself; it’s apathy for what the professional product has become. Let’s be honest: the facilities aren’t helping. Whitehaven’s Recreation Ground might have a shiny new scoreboard (when its commissioned), but it doesn’t disguise the reality which is, the Rec is one of the most tired, outdated stadiums in the professional game. Younger supporters, raised on modern venues and entertainment‑driven sport, aren’t going to flock to a ground that hasn’t kept pace with the times. And with no meaningful revenue streams outside matchdays, Haven are trying to sustain a professional club on income from 11 or 12 home games a year. That’s not a business model; it’s a survival exercise. Workington Town at least have the advantage of owning their ground, which gives them income beyond the turnstiles and they are building a great community club which also has Workington Town Ladies football and rugby teams and when the long‑promised new stadium finally arrives in time for the 2028 season, they’ll get the kind of bounce that can genuinely transform a club’s fortunes. But even that won’t solve the wider issue: the Championship in this region feels like it’s drifting, and no one seems to have a plan to pull it back. For Whitehaven, the future looks particularly uncertain. Without investment, without modern facilities, and without diversified income, it’s hard to see how they compete long‑term. The club’s spirit is unquestionable and Lee Butterworth is putting his heart and soul into the club but spirit doesn’t pay for infrastructure. And here’s the uncomfortable thought: if the RFL continues to push for a leaner, more commercially viable second tier, could we see the Championship quietly reduced to 15 teams through mergers or forced consolidation? It sounds drastic, but the sport has been here before. The irony is painful. West Cumbria is one of rugby league’s great heartlands. The passion is here. The talent is here. The history is here. What’s missing is a vision, a realistic, funded, long‑term plan to re‑energise supporters and give these clubs a fighting chance in a changing sporting landscape. The RFL long since put Cumbria out to pasture, but they need to step up and tap into the Cumbrian passion for the game to help these clubs get back on their feet, that could be through shared marketing etc. teaming up with Super League clubs who could share their expertise and resources - the potential is there, just needs a plan to action it! Without help, the Championship risks losing one of its most historic regions. And once it’s gone, it won’t be coming back. Workington will be ok, but is there room for 2 clubs 7 miles apart in 2026 ......time will tell !

After watching Lee Butterworth’s recent interview, alongside Barrow Raiders’ appeal for financial assistance to cover accommodation costs for their London trip, it raises an important question: Is now the time for Cumbria’s rugby league community to come together and take control of its own future? Cumbria has a proud rugby league heritage. We currently have three professional clubs and a network of well-run, passionate community clubs. Yet despite that tradition and commitment, the region receives very limited support from a resource-stretched RFL. If we are realistic, that situation is unlikely to change significantly. So rather than waiting for outside intervention, perhaps the solution lies closer to home. A County-Wide Steering Group to form a Cumbria RL Development Foundation The first step could be forming a Cumbrian Rugby League Steering Group, made up of representatives from: The three professional clubs Community clubs (open age and youth reps) Coaches Referees associations Local businesses Local authority representatives The purpose would be simple: Fully analyse where the game currently stands in Cumbria Identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps Develop a realistic, locally-owned development strategy Look into the feasibility of forming a Cumbria RL Development Foundation Funding could potentially come from: Modest contributions from participating clubs (ie: annual payment of £1000 each from the pro clubs and £100 each from the community clubs to set up the foundation) Local authority or Sport England grants Community sport development funds Sponsorship from Cumbrian businesses Strategic partnership funding if the RFL is willing to support a structured initiative The key point is this: the group should be designed in a way that allows it to access external funding streams beyond just the RFL. The Challenges We Must Address 1. The Gap Between Super League and the Championship The gulf between Super League and the Championship is now immense — financially, physically, and structurally. For Cumbrian clubs, bridging that gap feels increasingly unrealistic without: Elite player development Improved coaching standards Better sports science support Clear performance pathways If we are not producing enough top-class amateurs locally, we must ask why. Is it participation levels? Coaching quality? Physical preparation? Competing sports? Player drain at 14–16? These questions require honest analysis. There's all areas of the game which need reviewed: Coaching pathways - at present you attend a weekends course get handed a certificate and away you go, there's no follow up, no assessments, help in session planning etc, so how do these coaches improve, where is their support and more importantly how do they improve the players if they can't improve themselves. Referees and Touch Judges - how do we attract people to take up the whistle and just as importantly how do we retain and improve the standard of referees. Find a solution to support referees in gameday situations ideally through a mentor system using ex-referees miked up on the touchline. Player pathways - we need to find a way of identifying the top junior players and giving them a development pathway that works for them and their amateur club. Academies in their current format do not work, but the best players need a pathway that matches their ambitions without stripping the community club's assets Strength & Conditioning coaching: Bring in experts to help local amateur coaches develop pre-season strength and conditioning programmes, and importantly make them age specific. It's in everyone's interest to work collectively, there is and always will be very limited support from the RFL so the only way RL will improve in Cumbria is if Cumbrian people take the take and work together what does everyone else think and what would you add to the mix?

I broadly agree with Garry Schofield’s comments. The amateur game should be run by a BARLA-type organisation whose sole focus is the grassroots and community side of Rugby League. It’s worth remembering that many of the same people at the RFL forcing through the monumental changes to the community game have been overseeing the game since they took control from BARLA over 20 years ago, so under their watch that the overall health of the sport has barely improved. In many respects, it has declined, so why trust them now? Look at the current state of the Championship and below. Clubs such as Salford, Featherstone, Halifax and now Barrow begging for 5k to put their players up in a hotel for a trip to London are all publicly battling financial difficulties, some seemingly forced to pass the begging bowl around just to survive. On the field, 90-plus point challenge cup defeats are becoming an uncomfortable symbol of the widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Competitive balance is eroding, and that should concern everyone who cares about the sport’s long-term future. Thirty years ago, BARLA representative sides were packed with Cumbrian talent. Today, look at the position of Workington and Whitehaven both proud clubs, both struggling. The pipeline of quality players making the transition into the professional ranks simply does not appear to be as strong as it once was in what still is a strong traditional rugby league area! That decline cannot be separated from the structure above it. Grassroots development requires sustained investment, strategic clarity and a governing body that understands the culture and needs of the amateur game. Many would argue that this investment and focus have been lacking. Coaching courses (when they hold them) - handing out certificates to willing young coaches then offering them no further development opportunities is mostly to blame for poor player development, and I haven't seen anything from the RFL to say that this will change anytime in the near future. If Rugby League is to thrive again, the foundations must be strengthened. And those foundations have always been the amateur clubs, volunteers and communities that keep the sport alive at its most authentic level. Until that reality is fully recognised and acted upon the concerns raised by Garry Schofield and others will continue to resonate. My worry is that the RFL have alienated an awful lot of experienced people in the community game who will never trust or work with the RFL again.

would be as good a time as any to joint fundraise with all the current users of DP to purchase a new modern LED video scoreboard which could then be moved to Borough Park when the new stadium is finished. No idea what one would cost, but surely the supporters of Town, Reds and the 2 ladies teams could organise a concerted effort to finance a new modern scoreboard. The FA might have match grant funding available which the rugby clubs could piggyback as they give out all kinds if grants to grassroots football, unfortunately the RFL don't appear to have a pot to <<oops I tried to get around the swear filter and failed>> in

Hindpool and Ulverston in the Cumbria conference both voiced the same concerns to the RFL from day one, but were basically told 'tough you're in the top division'. Both are worried they will be well out of depth playing the likes of ex NCL sides Hensingham, Distington, Barrow Island, Ellenborough and Millom. Hopefully they can complete with Maryport, Seaton and each other or its going to be a long hard season for them. I think we will see a few casualties as the season progresses .....or collateral damage as some at the RFL may call it throughout the conference leagues.

I was trying to say that in our particular part of Cumbria in pretty much works out at 1 team at each age group per school. so 2 in Whitehaven, 1 in Maryport, 1 in Cockermouth, 1 in Egremont (vary rarely see both the Brow and Egremont both running sides above u12, it’s usually one or the other)

hard to say as with all leagues it does vary on a season by season basis. All clubs tend to start with good numbers which tail off as the season progresses. Our youth sides are comparable to the rest of the county in quality, but what we lack is quantity which is purely down to having a rural population and why we only have a handful of junior clubs operating sides from 12 upwards. If you dig even deeper, it probably works out at 1 team per age group per secondary school. Most towns in our area only have the 1 secondary school with the exception of Workington and Whitehaven who have 2, which in Whitehaven's case provides players for Kells and Hensingham.

playing wise or facilities? Facilities are generally first class, most have their own clubhouses with good quality changing facilities

So you've taken an extract from my comment rather than taking in the context in which it was written where I said there should have been a full review and overall points grading system including facilities to ensure the top leagues were for the elite sides and to give the rest something to aspire to.