Griff

I'm not sure it's a great time to announce signings at the moment. The focus is turning to the RLWC.

Signed? Sportsmen don't sign deals. They pen them.

[sigh]

IMG.

Ah - but what if they're eight point tries?

Which is the main reason it won't last more than a season. A giant-killing is part of the charm of the cup, yet it'd likely disappear with two legged ties

Not under licensing, no. There was, of course, the buying off of 1996, which is possibly the allusion.

Exactly. Having more than one proposal doesn't mean they aren't proposals. On the contrary, it means they all are.

Direct quote from the link, attributed to Simon Johnson. “One of the proposals is that round six, when the Super League teams enter the competition, will be a home and away two-legged fixture to provide a bit more interest and a bit more involvement for clubs with the final taking place in May.”

Jughead says they are.

We ditched replays but are now proposing a mandatory second game.

Couldn't agree more. So far, I'm way short of enough information to be able to say this is a good thing or a bad thing.

None of the ‘bigger’ clubs have finished bottom or been relegated since Hull FC in 1963. There’s a reason for that. This isn’t about protecting bigger clubs it’s about forcing the rest to meet the same standards, which then gives them a better chance of winning something. https://t.co/vwzJOF3Che — Matthew Shaw (@M_Shaw1) September 29, 2022 Mmmm - I suppose Wigan weren't considered a 'bigger' club back in 1980.

Geography is the problem. I can't think of an advantage for two potless clubs based a hundred miles - or even fifty miles - apart "merging". There are very few mergers. One entity takes over the other. If the entity being taken over has no assets, whether tangible or intangible, what's the motivation ?

So a non-problem then.

Was there not some mention of expanding the top division once 12 had been exceeded? Unlikely, I know, for year 1.

Has that been said by IMG ?

At the moment, no. Will that change?

And how will they stop them?

Impossible for whom to improve ? The As ? Yes - but maybe they'll drop to B level if they take their eye off the ball. The Bs ? Why is it impossible to improve ?

Why's that?

A close season lasting until March, I hope.

As Keith said a couple of posts earlier, it is probably neither a coincidence nor stupid.

Agreed, Les. To be fair, this is all based on supposition and I don't intend to delve into the Barrow-Batley game any further. For all we know, Batley may have agreed a deal with Barrow. But, as I said to Harry a couple of days ago, I'm very much against folk changing the rules. Especially unilaterally.

Why do they ? Because them's the rules. Let them give their free tickets out at a home game where they keep all the gate take. Batley shouldn't pay for Barrow's sales promotions.