MIKE ‘Stevo’ Stephenson will be fondly remembered in the UK for his coverage of Sky Sports alongside Eddie Hemmings for two decades.
After hanging up his mic, Eddie and Stevo have continued to share their opinions on their very own Eddie and Stevo podcast, and, in the latest instalment, the duo were speaking about promotion and relegation in Super League.
With Wakefield Trinity languishing at the bottom of the top flight with just one win from 15 games, Stevo called for Trinity to be exempt from relegation in a bid to help the club rebuild.
“Should we have relegation and promotion?” Stephenson said on the Eddie and Stevo podcast.
“The one thing about it is that if you’re not relegated, it can give you the opportunity to then start and build up junior development and so forth, build for the future, and not panic buy to escape relegation.
“That’s what we’ve been doing in the UK for so many years. How many Australians have we found coming over halfway through the season just to avoid relegation? Now to me that’s not advancing our game at all.
“Why don’t we have 14 teams? Why don’t we allow Wakefield to have a brand new stadium etc? Why don’t we allow them to stay and give them a chance to build?
“Featherstone will have to do exactly the same thing.”
Stevo also feels that Trinity, if they are indeed relegated at the end of 2023, will find it almost impossible to return to Super League one day.
“I mean if Wakefield have to just try to come back and maybe they will try next season if they are relegated, it could see the decline of the club to such an extent that they’ll never get back to Super League.”
