Championship Focus: Lower-league clubs integral to health of Rugby League

Another new era for Betfred Championship and League 1 starts tonight as Premier Sports’ coverage of the game outside the top flight returns.

York City Knights’ home clash with promotion-chasing Featherstone is a mouth-watering match-up that will see an exciting, all-new presentation team bring the sport at this level back to homes around the country.

That, and this weekend’s start to the new season, seem like good points to bring to an end the writing of this column after the best part of a decade, as I head for pastures new career-wise.

But I certainly won’t stop watching Championship and League 1 rugby league – in fact if anything a step away from covering Super League for national newspapers after two decades should mean that I get to see more of my boyhood club Rochdale Hornets with my young family.

I’ve always believed passionately in the importance of the professional game outside of the top flight.

I can still remember the feeling of bubbling anger when, sat in the room of the Brighouse Holiday Inn in 2005 listening to Richard Lewis outline the decision to scrap promotion and relegation and introduce what was then labelled a franchise system.

That, of course, is a detailed, multi-layered argument for another time.

But the feeling of anger stemmed from a fear that those fortunate enough to be at the top table at the time had little or no consideration for those outside the elite and what that particular move would mean for them.

With a fraction of their lofty peers’ funding, how were they realistically expected to put together franchise bids that could lead them into the top flight at the expense of those having seven-figure sums put in annually from the central funding?

It was every bit as unbalanced as having a part-time team play a full-time one.

That notion of indifference towards those in Championship and League 1 is one that rarely leaves Rugby League, rising to prominence again with the dramatically reduced central funding that clubs have received this year.

Of course it’s understandable for those in the top 12 at the moment to want to protect their position at all costs, especially given the money involved.

But several of those have received that funding for a quarter of a century now, and some still lag certain Championship clubs in terms of facilities and player development.

In short, the two leagues below Super League should never be underestimated or under-appreciated by anyone in the sport.

They host some of the biggest clubs in the country, clubs with rich histories and considerable potential.

They home some of the best stadiums in the game, consistently produce top-level players and have supporter bases that exceed certain top-flight clubs.

But beyond even that, these clubs often serve their local communities superbly well on minimal external resources, introducing new players and supporters to Rugby League while maintaining traditions that date back over a century.

They are the sporting focal points of many towns, above even football in some cases, while on the field – as we will again see weekly on Premier Sports – they can produce thrilling, high quality matches worthy of any fans’ attention.

All sport is cyclical – and should always be – as the likes of Bradford Bulls and Widnes Vikings know only too well. Looking further down the league ladder, Hunslet and Swinton have enjoyed success others can only dream of in years gone by.

At present, they all find themselves away from the top table of the game. But that shouldn’t mean that they can’t one day return to past glories.

They play an integral part in the health of the sport in this country – and Rugby League is always stronger when it takes a whole game approach.

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