nec

BNFL are 40 miles from Carlisle, it would be like asking a company in Bradford to invest in Salford or similar

This isn't Albania you know!?! Chelsea fans behaving like sub-humans eh? Who'd have thought it?

This ridiculous system will be humiliatingly dropped like a stone before the 2017 season. That is if it ever gets to the start line given the lack of agreement on finance.

Depends on age of students, many schools have their own guidelines tighter than the legal ones

Whilst this is sad, I don't see the connection

Whereas others just want people to be able to get on with playing rugby league regardless of whether or not their team reimburses them. If a team can afford to do this because they are well run then they deserve the success it might bring.

Amen to that, why do we need artificial distinctions and divisions?

Are other teams not introducing new inexperienced lads too? If so why are your newcomers finding the transition so tough?

That is indeed the issue, the game needs to be run by a unified governing body (although I would like that governing body to be more like the RFL of Richard Lewis than the current model). It needs a playing season followed by the vast majority of the sport so that players and spectators know when the playing season is. None of this will happen due to the actions of people more interested in the politics of the sport and their own club's fortunes than they are about increasing profile, participation or growth. We seem to have a group of blazeaucrats that all 'thought summer rugby was wrong' but 'went into it whole-heartedly and found it didn't work'. Many of our clubs are deeply unwelcoming to people outside their usual playing base, this is why losing players that can't play in summer is not seen as an opportunity to bring new players through. To me the community game must be about participation above all else. If standards dip slightly when new players get blooded is that a real problem?

Mate by the end of season 1 of the 3 ring circus we'll be wishing that we'd got a future deal set up with Eurosport 8 (the Ocho)

It depends on where the best coaches and structures are, if they are not with the elite academies we should be moving heaven and earth to get them into the elite academies in my opinion. It is all about creating an elite that can finally deliver, if we can do that then we will attract thousands more kids into the game, if we aim for fairness and equanimity we will achieve mediocrity

Just to add that the measures to appease the 'community game' (read BARLA blazers) smack of the tail wagging the dog (again).

Okay, so now we know what they've been up to. Does anyone have the following 2 telephone numbers? The Egyptian Army (they are on facebook if no one knows this) Mr R Lewis (last seen in the SW18 area of London) There is a precedent for stepping in to depose an incompetent leader, these people get the job done! There is almost nothing about these proposals that is not a retrograde step - I expect to see Kevin Sinfield in a British Coal era GB shirt and the new three ring circus being sponsored by Stones Bitter

I meant Sheffield & Skolars, both were finalists

You could sell many places on being 'great little towns' and find someone that will agree with you, but would still really struggle to get the vast majority to see it as an attractive venue for a final (or for that matter a world cup match). If the match has sufficient attraction to overcome this then attendances will not suffer, or if the event is marketed well to people outside of traditional attendees the same could be said (see Rochdale world cup match). A new or recently improved stadium can also drive attendances. The Northern Rail Cup final at Halifax had none of these, it also had 2 relatively (compared with previous finalists) poorly supported sides. This led to the mediocre crowd.