del capo

Yes. Every away club gets travel subsidy for each round.Depends on how far they have to go. It's either £300., £500 or £750.. So Dublin will get at least £750 towards that London trip.I believe that in the past the RFL may have in exceptional cases found a little extra. All losing sides from Round 2 and onwards receive prize monies.

Have you contacted your local Community Payback scheme ? They are always short of work projects. Here in Wigan a few clubs use them . St Judes in particular have them every sunday and they do a great job clearing the field areas of rubbish tidying up etc. Frees up their volunteers to do other work.....as well as ticking boxes with the authorities......

There would be too many walk overs as clubs weigh up their chances against cost. That's one of the factors that undermined Barla and even local cups. No incentive for a lower Tier 5 side to travel half the country to face a pasting from an NCL giant. And no meaningful sanctions Walk overs in the Challenge Cup itself would look simply terrible ( and I believe it may have happened once before ). Can you imagine the damage to our credibility if such an occurrence were allowed to happen ?

Betfred CC provides a budget for these early rounds which is not elastic. Hence the selection process involving only the ranked better by performance clubs. A travel grant of £300, £500, or £750 depending on return mileage is paid from the outset , together with a participation payment for those eliminated at round 2 onwards.( when League 1 enters ). Even then some clubs decline their invite. Travel alone by coach for instance from Halifax to Workington has recently been quoted at £1650....... I am not aware of any Barla subsidies for their Cups. I fear that in the real world of Community clubs finances your idea would not get much traction.

The Barla National cup is probably fixtured in the right slot but has never been aligned to the rest of the community game { Pennine apart } and over the years has sometimes suffered from seemingly poor off the cuff organisation , last minute walk overs et al - nightmare for club secretaries organising facility usage transport food etc. NCL delivers week in week out fixtures with severe consequences for miscreants. League fixtures take priority over all but the CC. a stand welcomed by it's members. But it provides back up dates and rarely trespasses into Bank Holiday weekends. IF Barla could get down to say it's last 8 by early March each year and then use those NCL spare dates to complete the event. with much better publicised format and liaison with NCL then more clubs might well show an interest....

RLWC 2021 was run by a totally different entity to the RFL , a seperate limited company. Why was that ?

Game now confirmed on website

I do not understand the ? against Hammersmith. Anyone know if there is a problem ? The 5pm k o suggests it might be televised.....

they are on the website now. I expect the delay has been because they have been awaiting confirmation pf day and k o times as these are not universal

Levelling Down gets the same result doesn't it? But not he grant aid.....

They enter in Round 2 in an Open draw with probably 15 or so NCL sides and some very strong regional ones. They will all be tested especially if they are drawn away......

Waterhead ARLFC had their field levelled a few years ago. It still has a slope but much more playable. You will not see any change out of £100k. If you seriously need a figure just contact them. Substantial grants were made available - not sure if non community clubs could access them though.

The Police Rec ground down in Holmfirth. ? The RFL unsuccessfully tried to buy it and settle them there. YML clubs now still have the delight ( and it is a delight ) of visiting them at their century old fortress on the top of the hill ( once they get past that farmer..).

That field is truly the most challenging in the game. Forget the incline for a moment. On one side you are at the top of a cliff face. On the other you have a Peak district style stone wall at times within 2 foot of the touch line. NCL at the request of the RFL allowed entry of Underbank from the RLC years ago and became very fond of them . but there was a requirement that they place mattresses for protection in the bottom corner try line - Last of the summer wine land at its finest........

Too true and that's before you mention the farmers wall. I remember Joe Lydon at full pace going down the brow and putting his foot on what he thought was the ground but was in fact 2 ft in the air - landed flat on his face . Not just a brow but massively uneven as well ... RL owned field for donkey's years.......

As far as NCL are concerned the invitations go out on the basis of final league positions with the next club stepping in if anyone declines. Other positions at regional level taken up by winners or Management decision. Usually the Champions.....

The struggle of semi pro clubs at the bottom of the pile is nothing new. The reasons for failures ( ie WWR ) and successes ( ie Coventry ) are I feel well understood by the powers that be. Largely down to overheads - players wages and travel costs- without suitable income generation together with a lack of proper clubhouse and junior infrastructure . It's not rocket science..... We have been here before. RFL once did a deal with the NCL to accommodate some semi pro clubs- new President Lindsay Hoyle's Chorley then being one of them - that had financial benefits for the Community clubs in Tier 4 ( they have nearly none at present ). It may now be time to have a renewed in depth look at the RL ladder .or rather lack of it , between Tier 3 and 4 . Meanwhile who is to take the place of WWR in the CC? Another Community club ? My preference would be a select side from the otherwise non involved South Wales clubs . Travel costs are unlikely to be an issue......

Strong entry from Community clubs looking at that link from Wales RL The way the first two rounds are structured I expect scalps will be on offer from both within the Community game and also League 1.....Can't wait.

The early round arrangements for the CC should be with the clubs concerned by monday. I can only presume that the Trade Press will have been copied in ....

There will be promotion and relegation for season 2023 so yes a Championship club is bound to be replacing a Super League club. The gradings will be worked out formally during 2024. If there are any A's stuck in the Championship at that stage and B's in SL then 2025 will be a different picture....

According to last years Sunday Times Rich list Simon Moran was worth £142 million. Mike Danson major stockholder in Leneghans companies that own Wigan RL in the same list is worth £1.16 billion...... The Saints Board is packed with multi millionaires - Mcmanus once being described as one of the top financiers in the Asian Pacific. Our clubs are far more than just toys to these guys. The game is as much in their DNA's as it is in most on these forums.. The very top clubs are in good hands and I fear not. But as for those further down the chain, including those maybe showing a modest loss/even profit - could well be a different story.

Find that NCL side £8k and I'm sure they would be happy to go. Clubhouse takings dive from January till the season opens and most of them need to be sourcing funds well in excess of £50k to finance their on average 15 teams for 2023. Cost is a definite factor when they decide whether or not to accept the invitation into the CC. GB Tag by the way is a totally different beast. It's more like Masters and usually funded individually. Check out it's Governance structure -it has a very loose arrangement with the RFL and certainly not owned by them - almost a case of mutual ' friends with benefits '...... Oh and by the way the NCL Premier Champions used to travel to France yearly to play their Elite counterparts till the French pulled the plug.

The invites are out and once the runners and riders can be declared the draw will be made. NCL Premiers come in at Round 2 I believe along with League 1 ( could be wrong about that ) in a straight draw which should be fun and a number of Tier 5 regional clubs are always involved from the outset. Player registrations now open. More details can be expected before Christmas.....

I agree. Not completely mad but be careful what you wish for.The top Community clubs are lying in wait with more than a dozen NCL sides equivalent to Elite 2. But it's all down to costs I'm afraid. If the CC rules follow last year then a travel subsidy will be available in these early rounds. Last year the Irish would have received at least £500 towards their expenses each game......

The RFL seem to have been modifying their structures by promoting into their Boards non RL people who have been given majority voices. The Council have agreed the structure at their recent meetings, Sure there is bound to be a tough meeting at some stage but the Council ( even the SL faction who will have made their points in those very Board meetings) may have little option by then but to follow the IMG proposals .......