Lobbygobbler

Why? It is better to get relegated in a vibrant complete pyramid structure, than be stuck in NL 1 with no promotion. You could in theory be in SL with 2 successive promotions

Seems pretty straightforwards to me.

I imagine it could be 6 down and 2 up

The 3x8 is only near the end of the season though isnt it? Therefore for the majority of the year it is two divisions. You might argue that the top 8 is like the playoffs for the SL title, whilst the middle 8 is like the playoffs to stay up/get promoted. Sounds great to me

Or crowds could go up because every game counts if you want to reclaim your place in SL the following year. Any SL club going into that middle 8 thinking they would win every game, would be very foolish. In Widnes's case they have nowt to play for now which might explain the drubbing they got at Hull. However Widnes in the middle 8 with the likes of Bradford, Fax, etc would have to fight for every win

Afternoon L'Ange. Hope you enjoyed the rugby this afternoon, whatever you watched. I certainly enjoyed todays game at Skolars where promotion was up for grabs. Regarding 'Jeopardy' - actually the new plans would implement 'double jeopardy' because there would be little difference between promotion and relegation. Lets just look forward to it eh and hope it works. Enjoy your evening mate

Martyn, I'm surprised that the SL viewing figures have increased when the figures often posted on here look worse than a few years ago. I personally dumped sky sports because I think we need change. Regarding London, I have sadly stopped going to the last few games because there is nothing to play for quite frankly. I cant justify the money. Had they been fighting for their lives last Thurs I would have gone though, as I did when they were in a similar position at Brentford (which saw them escape relegation by beating the likes of Wigan, with good attendances). The atmosphere is FAR better under the threat of relegation -and the joy of a win is far far higher. I suspect quite a lot of other London fans feel the same, and I suspect the same applies at other lower SL clubs. The game needs the jeopardy element at the bottom. You also didnt mention the league below SL which is stagnant. Is that because you think clubs like Leigh, Fax, Fev, Barrow, Sheffield etc are irrelevant? These Clubs/fans need the chance to regularly progress otherwise people are not that interested. You mentioned the new teams which are progessing nicely, but they will hit a problem if/when they get promoted because there is nowhere to go to. Fans know that. Also crowds in the third tier are still very low. I think they will increase under the new scheme because SL can really be achieved within their lifetime. For example, we could in theory see Cru or Skolars in SL in 2016 with the new scheme. For me that is exciting. Under licensing we'd be waiting for eons

But you can still have financial prudence and control with P&R. Historically RL has been plagued by poor management which is not linked to P&R - I don't see why the RFL cant maintain this aspect. Personally I hope clubs will live within their means and flourish, rather than break the bank.

Is it not possible for the RFL to somehow monitor the finances of clubs to see that they arent going under. I think clubs should have to provide a monthly brief on their books to the RFL. A bit like how a project manager has to report monthly on how his/her project is faring both technically and financially

I would have bern equally happy with two up two down (but not one up one down which doesnt offer enough refreshment). My view is that we should give the new concept a chance and market all the leagues to promote the jeopardy element.

Which clubs? Just SL clubs or all the pro clubs? Anyhow as you say this gives other clubs a chance now. I'm sure crowds will go up at a raft of sleeping giants plus the expansion clubs. Makes promotion from NL2 all the more interesting for positioning next year

Steve - Bear in mind that anything more than the poor 1up 1 down P&R system to SL, has never been trialled under a funded fully pro system. A larger recycling adds mobiliy and freshness - I think it will really work. We ought to be trying to flog the rights for the lower tiers for much more when it happens as it will be really exciting

I dont like too many imports either Steve and don't see why this couldnt be tightened up. SL clubs are still signing Kolpacs. Why cant each club just have say 2 overseas players? The new plans will see youth being developed at all clubs without just the priviledged few in SL hiving them off. There should also be more money for youth development

Steve - What makes you think it will fail? And why will it be worse than what we have now? It seems to me to be very inclusive and will again give clubs outside the top flight much needed hope. I am expecting crowds to substantially increase at most of our pro or semi pro clubs (rather than just the top 12 or 14). It should make most games interesting and also speed up access to SL for the likes of Cru. Also I expect a larger fully pro player pool to be generated. Personally I cant wait

Well, I'm looking forward to this new structure. I dont think it is complicated either. I think/hope the jeopardy element will work, but we'll have to see. I also think we will see a wave of investment at lower clubs from ambitious investors. Definitely worth a try.

How about annually promoting the winners of the NRC in addition to promoting the winners of the GF? The NRC is kind of a mini league anyway

A lot turned out but a lot didnt - inc. me. There wasnt enough at stake for me justify an overnight stay. If promotion had been at stake OR a Wembley final, I would have. I'm obviously glad we won, and the small prize money will be welcome, but at the end of the day it is a only minor cup. I'm old enough to see us win the league and be the best in the land. Again though the excellent turn out shows how many fans we'd get for something like a CC semi

Does Tetleys mention "Northern" in the title?

Of course they will as there is feck all to play for until P&R returns in 2015. Its quite suprising how people just dont get this

The NRC is comparable to the Sherpa Van Trophy. The Regal Trophy was however a proper decent trophy so disagree with the comparison

IMO they need to take the NRC on the road outside the heartlands. I'm sure this game would have got just as many fans played at Oxford, MK etc. I think you might actually get MORE fans of heartland clubs going, treating it as a weekend out. Halifax (or anywhere else in the heartlands) doesnt cut the mustard. In fact you could repeat this argument for next weeks SF

Agreed but that was due to a low turnout from Sheffield (the Skolars turnout was understandable and would have been higher if played at Donny or Wire - a few of us couldnt go due to the last train being tok early). It looked like Leigh took significantly more to Halifax for a minor final, than Huddersfield took to Wire for a winnable major QF

Good post Parky. I would tend to agree that perhaps people in RL town prefer winners. This maybe the influence of fans of big local soccer teams like Man U, who live in the same town (and may have also followed the rugby team when successful). I think the proposed P&R models are better than the staid 1up 1down model (which makes relegation a nightmare) or licensing, so hopefully we'll see a jump in attendances. You may have noted how many Leigh took yesterday to the NRC, and the likes of Cru will draw big gates too

With talk of geographical footprint, why the hell was it at Halifax? Surely a central England venue is the way to go? Even Donny would have made travelling easier from London. The comp needs a sponsor which doesnt have "northern" in it too

Agreed - the Cru try was short so why was the SKolars try not given benefit of doubt too? That decision killed the game. Great game btw