del capo

Have a look at A1.12. Operational Rules. Presumably the RFL will have been relaxed enough over this point given the MIdlands name change the other year

Fantasy stuff - Young or Farnworth ( preferably both ) as non quota might squeeze them into Wigan salary cap. If Wigan have a weakness at all its the right flank. They would be invincible with those two..........

Set piece from England scrum takes us to 0 -22 with 10 to go. Playing really well. Credits all round.Should be enough now. Roll on tuesday.........

Another in the bin ! Ref killing England......

0 -8 to us with 7 min to half time and man in bin

Good day all round. Fev usually sell about 5k beer on a match day according to their people but ran out at 8k before scamperimg around the town for more. NCL will bank gate receipts of approx 4.5k Real point though is that both games were compelling played in super atmosphere with skill levels certainly matching quite a few in the Pro ranks. Catch a game next year if you can - some of the best value for money on offer in our sport

I understand it costs something like £850.00 + VAT which includes stewarding and food for the 4 clubs concerned. NCL keep the gate , Featherstone keep the bar and refreshment takings. Normally with a decent and fairly thirsty crowd ,winners all round.

I believe that Steve McCormack from RFL Cares, with his background in player welfare , High level coaching and his Cumbrian connections is to be getting involved........

Nor have I but logic would dictate ( if only for consistency ) it take place at the home venue of the Championship side as finishing higher up in the system. But if it were down to me I would instead tag it on to the Championship Grand Final itself , ( the way the NCL finalize their Premier Division for the following season ) and which is scheduled for 29 / 30 October. Might be a bit of a wait for the League 1 side , but certainly a better day out for most !

All the play off formats are regulated by Operational Rule A1 : 11. . It's all there. I believe the RFL Board have the power to alter matters if there becomes an urgent need. I suspect League 1 play off spot ( with promotion the prize ) would need to take place at a venue that meets Championship standards or has the Board approval - otherwise it's at the home of the highest placed survivor, but could be wrong on that......

Maybe the Applicants have been given a comprehensive list for them to be marked against.? But otherwise there has been no transparency for the wider RL audience. Membership is dealt with by the RFL Articles of Association. I'm sure that's where Hemel's ref to 70k Bond comes from for defaults. Nicknames may also need to be changed given the use of them by existing members.It's certainly not all in one place. Otherwise the standards facilities in A2 of the Operational Rules gives some idea of what is needed , the finance in A3 and especially the comp and cup rules become relevant. The potentially expensive backroom regulatory stuff that semi pro status brings should not be under estimated. IMG remains a party to the process in terms of ranking ALL pro clubs not just SL. They will have to give the successful applicant a mark so surely they will help / give advice in the selection . The RFL seem desperate to fill the spot. I hope they will make a hard business decision rather than take a punt and risk one that might produce yet another disaster in a division crying out for stability and a decent level competition.

With yet more redundancies in the offing at the RFL I doubt that there will be any financial assistance forthcoming. At least 5 clubs some with established and sustainable history declined to further their initial interest in joining. Does anyone know why ?

By no means entirely. The RFL have their own reasons. From an amateur point of view though , basically , yes. Standards and numbers of those actually committed to playing ( forget the registered gym monkeys and tick rugby, keep fit types - every club has them and they remain of course welcome ) remain at best static. We absolutely need everyone we can persuade to go on the field.....

The Pats held his registration on the RL players Register and following a telephone call from France they graciously agreed a free transfer for the Catalans to register him for SL !!

He played for Wigan St Patricks in their Masters team last month. Has Masters become a new source for recruitment ?