THE RUGBY LEAGUE Council is set to meet at the home of Huddersfield Giants tomorrow in order to vote on IMG’s proposals to ‘re-imagine’ rugby league.
For the majority, the plans to focus on finance, performance, fandom, facilities and community have been well received.
However, there have been a select few clubs that have been vocal in their opposition, not least Keighley Cougars and Wakefield Trinity.
Another club that may well vote against the plans tomorrow is Batley Bulldogs, with chairman Kevin Nicholas expressing his doubts over three ‘unpalatable’ scenarios, League Express understands.
The first scenario is that a club not finishing bottom of Super League could get relegated when the bottom club doesn’t (unless bottom club is a Grade B) and a club getting promoted when a Grade B Championship Grand Final winner doesn’t.
The second scenario is the idea that more than one club can be relegated from Super League in any one year and the third is the fact that there could be no promotion and relegation in a year because a bottom Super League club and Championship Grand Final winner were both given a Grade B level and the Super League club had a marginally high grading figure.
Nicholas has admitted that if those situations were avoided then he would vote for it regardless of the grade Batley would receive.
As such, the Bulldogs’ owner has proposed an amendment to the resolution which would ensure that, whilst there are Grade B clubs in both Super League and the Championship, the lowest finishing Grade B club in Super League would be replaced by the highest finishing Grade B club in the Championship.
Nicholas then wants this put to the vote if that is possible within the framework of the meeting.
The Batley owner feels that the process is being rushed with potential consequences, though Nicholas is in favour of grading as a concept.
