The publication on Wednesday of the IMG Gradings for the 35 clubs currently playing in the RFL’s competitions has slightly overshadowed the debate about the future viability of Betfred League 1, which will operate next season with eight or nine teams, depending on whether a revived Newcastle Thunder club can make it to the starting line.
As many have pointed out, the inclusion of such a small number of clubs will make that competition unviable and the obvious solution would therefore be to merge the competition with the Betfred Championship, which would give a single competition outside Super League of 22 or 23 clubs.
The problem then would be to devise a suitable fixture list that would be fair to all clubs in the league and which wouldn’t lead to numerous blowout scores as the stronger clubs take on those that are currently in League 1.
On Wednesday afternoon, all the clubs had a joint meeting, chaired by the RFL, with the League 1 clubs putting forward the case for a merged competition and the Championship clubs resisting it.
The shape of next season’s competition will now be considered by the RFL’s board of directors, presumably based on a recommendation by its chief executive Tony Sutton, and it is likely to do the bidding of the Championship clubs and consign the League 1 clubs to an increasingly difficult third tier.
I would urge the RFL not to go down that route and to merge the two competitions next season, to give all the clubs the opportunity for a wider fixture list and to give them the chance to improve their gradings more effectively in the IMG era.
In my view it is perfectly possible to produce a fixture list that would satisfy those criteria and I have tried to do that, as you will see below.
The clubs are listed below in their finishing order, adjusted for their performance in the promotion play-offs for both the Championship and League 1, so that Toulouse are higher than Featherstone, for example, and North Wales Crusaders are higher than Hunslet and Oldham because of their greater success in the play-offs. Dewsbury and Doncaster’s positions reflect their promotion and Keighley’s reflects their relegation.
The fixtures for each club that are set out below then reflects their adjusted finishing position.
If we assume, for sake of argument, that there will be 24 fixtures in total before play-offs, then each club would play 12 others home and away.
Wakefield, as the top club, would play fixtures against teams 2 to 13
Cornwall, as the bottom club (22 assuming Newcastle don’t come to the starting line), will play fixtures against teams 10 to 21.
The other clubs’ fixtures will also depend on their finishing position in the league in 2023. There is a grading of difficulty from top to bottom.
For example, Barrow, who finished in eleventh place, would play against teams 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22
Whitehaven, who finished in twelfth place, would play against teams 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22
The complete list of fixtures would be as below:
| Position | Clubs | Opponents | |||||||||
| 1 | Wakefield Trinity | Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Whitehaven, Dewsbury | |||||||||
| 2 | Toulouse Olympique | Wakefield, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Whitehaven, Doncaster | |||||||||
| 3 | Featherstone Rovers | Wakefield, Toulouse, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley | |||||||||
| 4 | Bradford Bulls | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales | |||||||||
| 5 | Sheffield Eagles | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet | |||||||||
| 6 | York Knights | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, Batley, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham | |||||||||
| 7 | Batley Bulldogs | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington | |||||||||
| 8 | Halifax Panthers | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale | |||||||||
| 9 | Widnes Vikings | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, Batley, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington, Midlands | |||||||||
| 10 | Swinton Lions | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, York, Halifax, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 11 | Barrow Raiders | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 12 | Whitehaven | Wakefield, Toulouse, Bradford, York, Halifax, Swinton, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 13 | Dewsbury Rams | Wakefield, Featherstone, Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 14 | Doncaster | Toulouse, Bradford, York, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, North Wales, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 15 | Keighley Cougars | Featherstone, Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 16 | North Wales Crussaders | Bradford, York, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 17 | Hunslet | Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, North Wales, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 18 | Oldham | York, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 19 | Workington Town | Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 20 | Rochdale Hornets | Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Midlands, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 21 | Midlands Hurricanes | Widnes, Barrow, Whitehaven, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Cornwall | |||||||||
| 22 | Cornwall | Swinton, Barrow, Whitehaven, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands | |||||||||
If Newcastle Thunder do make it to the starting line, it would be easy to adjust the fixture list at the bottom end (assuming that Thunder were re-admitted as team number 23).
The fixtures would then be as set out below.
| Position | Clubs | Opponents | ||||||
| 1 | Wakefield Trinity | Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Whitehaven, Dewsbury | ||||||
| 2 | Toulouse Olympique | Wakefield, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Whitehaven, Doncaster | ||||||
| 3 | Featherstone Rovers | Wakefield, Toulouse, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley | ||||||
| 4 | Bradford Bulls | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Sheffield, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales | ||||||
| 5 | Sheffield Eagles | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, York, Batley, Halifax, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet | ||||||
| 6 | York Knights | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, Batley, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham | ||||||
| 7 | Batley Bulldogs | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington | ||||||
| 8 | Halifax Panthers | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale | ||||||
| 9 | Widnes Vikings | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, Sheffield, Batley, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington, Midlands | ||||||
| 10 | Swinton Lions | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Bradford, York, Halifax, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale, Cornwall | ||||||
| 11 | Barrow Raiders | Wakefield, Toulouse, Featherstone, Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Dewsbury, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington, Midlands, Newcastle | ||||||
| 12 | Whitehaven | Wakefield, Toulouse, Bradford, York, Halifax, Swinton, Doncaster, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 13 | Dewsbury Rams | Wakefield, Featherstone, Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Keighley, Hunslet, Workington, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 14 | Doncaster | Toulouse, Bradford, York, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, North Wales, Oldham, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 15 | Keighley Cougars | Featherstone, Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | ||||||
| 16 | North Wales Crussaders | Bradford, York, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 17 | Hunslet | Sheffield, Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 18 | Oldham | York, Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, North Wales, Hunslet, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 19 | Workington Town | Batley, Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 20 | Rochdale Hornets | Halifax, Swinton, Whitehaven, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Midlands, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 21 | Midlands Hurricanes | Widnes, Barrow, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Cornwall, Newcastle | ||||||
| 22 | Cornwall | Swinton, Whitehaven, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Newcastle | ||||||
| 23 | Newcastle Thunder | Barrow, Whitehaven, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Keighley, North Wales, Hunslet, Oldham, Workington, Rochdale, Midlands, Cornwall | ||||||
This fixture structure reflects what happens in many competitions throughout the world where there is no promotion and relegation, in that they allow the stronger clubs to have more fixtures against each other and ditto for the weaker clubs.
It would give clubs a more level playing field in accumulating grading points and it would facilitate an eight-team play-off series at the end of the season.
I have emailed this proposed structure to RFL CEO Tony Sutton and I would ask him and his fellow directors to consider it seriously before coming to a final decision on next year’s competition structure.
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