Dave T

Yep, cos that's how lawyers work! When they think someone is innocent they give them freebies!!!

I assume that they are not disputing the fact that they didn't conduct a meaningful inquiry, which was another thing they were criticised for. If they did everything right (which they clearly feel they did) then justice will be done. I am not overly impressed with the statement tbh, but it is perhaps understandable as they are not happy with the decision. Couple of issues: Firstly, it is as though they are content to play the incident down, pointing out that it was quiet and only 15s in total. However, the stewards will have heard this, and would pick it up at the time better than the cameras, so I don;t feel that necessarily excuses them. Secondly, the match commissioner issue. I don't see the relevance here. He didn't hear anything. With that in mind, why should he be dragged into the inquiry? It's as though they are saying there is no issue as he didn't hear anything. He is one man, and can't hear everything. Thirdly, just because there was only one complaint doesn't make it alright, again they seem to be playing it down as not too serious based on only one complaint being received. Finally, as mentioned earlier, they do not even mention the afterwards inquiry, so I assume they admit they weren't up to scratch there. I'm not gonna get into the whole original fine again, just commenting on what I believe is a weak statement, and if that is the basis of their appeal, I am not too sure what kind of success they will have.

Yeah, thought we had more than that, not great with names!

Obviously you know a hell of a lot more than me about the state of the game in your part of the world, the points I made should be taken at face value, as they were purely based on the fact that we hear there is loads of talent, yet it seems this talent isn't enough for even the lower placed teams, although your post above tackles reasons for that, thanks. In terms of the scouting of Cumbrians, I find your comments staggering, but then I suppose we have always been one of the clubs that have looked to Cumbria, with the likes of Chris Rudd and Gary Chambers having long careers at Warrington, and hopefully Ben Harrison will do so now.

Some good points, and I agree with many of them, my frustration isn't limited to Workington doing this, as I have pointed out on susequent posts, all clubs are as bad as each other, it was just that Town were the club highlighted. When Wigan sign an overseas player they get questioned about their local youth policy, this is no different. I would just point out that comparing a county to a town is not the same thing. I also didn't suggest that Cumbria couldn't field a SL team of Cumbrians. I was simply pointing out that we are old time and again about the wealth of talent in that region, yet even clubs in Cumbria are having to take advantage of loopholes. Nothing pointed, and not even a major criticism of Workington or Cumbria, more a comment on the state of the game that even hotbeds of the game cannot provide a strong lower-tier team. And that was a point I also made.

Yes, that was Tony Collins, and I loved the look of that place. I have been meaning to go for the ast few years and never got round to it, really need to make the effort!

My point was that we often get told that there is so much talent that there should be Cumbrian representation in Super League. Not that there are loads of fans, or that the stadiums are great and there are loads of money men, simply that there is loads of talent playing the game. If this is the case, why are clubs looking to take advantage of loopholes? I am not saying that they don't deserve a SL spot, as many SL clubs are no better.

Apologies, some clumsy terminology used by me in my first line, it isn't the clubs that make these claims, it is the fans (and not just Cumbrian fans btw). TBH, the number of overseas players frustrates me, whether that is my club Warrington, or whether it is a club advertising for overseas players through a loophole. We often hear people claim that areas are hotspots for RL and youth development, yet still these clubs rely on many overseas players. Wigan certainly don't deserve any criticism for their youth development, yet even they have a large nucleus of overseas players (although they are becoming less prominent). Even Leeds etc are the same, with some rather average overseas players in their ranks. People overstate the youth development thing, I don't think any club can rely on their local talent, yet we always get told that certain area are hotbeds, when in reality Cumbria probably couldn't provide a full team of Cumbrian talent that would compete in SL. It was more a reality check, when we often hear how much talent we have there yet we see ads like this.

No, that wasn't my point at all.

Nope, you will also see plenty of threads criticising SL overseas signings.

The year after this magical 1987 game where Oldham knocked Wigan out, saw Wigan start their record-breaking CC run. It was great then when the lower teams were beating the bigger teams. At least the CC is spread around a bit now. People just seem to make out that every problem is with a) salary cap or franchising, to suit their arguments, and often the link is quite tenuous. The fact is there have always been clubs that were better off than others, and they will generally have more success. The fact that Cas, Wakey or Salford haven't knocked Saints or Leeds out of the cup isn't to do with licensing or the salary cap, as they work within the same rules as the other SL clubs.

Yep I agree. When Cumbrian clubs are boasting about the amount of talent that they have in that region, and that they should be in SL, it is hard to stomach when you see notices like this. At least the Scorpions one seems to be targeting three areas, whereas Town's doesn't even specify positions.

But now we see Warrington win it who finished 10th. We have also seen Hull win it, Huddersfield make two finals, Catalans make a final and so on. A bit of luck with the draw and all it can take is one very good performance to get to Wembley.

I love posts like this. You just show yourself up as a simpleton who can't count or understand the game. Last year he gave 14 in 23 gams, this year he has given 4 in 17. Hardly 6 a game, or anywhere near. L Pryce has given 14 in 18 games this year

Actually you are wrong, and here's why. Firstly, SL is not a closed shop. At the first stage of licensing 2 new teams were admitted. How is that a closed shop? There is a very very good chance that we will see more than 1 change this time round. Secondly, the majority of fans don't want it to be this ficticious closed shop. You will find that the vast majority actually feel that certain clubs should be replaced by the likes of Widnes and Barrow. You can dislike licensing as much as you want, but don't just make arguments up.

Personally I think the position is up for grabs, I don't think anybody is a natural replacement (as has been seen by some of the players suggested). As we saw last year, a few young lads came through and did a good job, and we shouldn;t be afraid of putting somebody in the deep end, whether that be Briscoe, Atkins or whoever.

Serious point, just leave this thread as it will clearly never recover, but if you do want to discuss this topic, I would recommend posting on the thread that RP helpfully linked to. You will see there have been many views posted on there and I'm sure people will interact with any new views. You'll also see that there was plenty of disagreement on that thread, so don't take it personally!

There are quite a few clubs that got in at this first stage that don't necessarily have the right setup. Most clubs who applied for a license got a C grade. It was then up to the RFL to decide which clubs got in, and it is clear that Crusaders had a big advantage by being in a promotional area. What do you expect, they are between teams in different divisions, this has pretty much always been the case! I'm not here to defend Crusaders, this has been discussed to death. Would it do Batley any good going up to SL in their current form? What kind of investment could they attract in SL? If they can get investment and the interest is there, then why are they any different to Fev, Barrow, Widnes and Leigh who do have ambitions of promotion. If you are saying you can't get to their level, then, well I'm sorry, you don't deserve a SL spot. Even though the SC has been reduced, it is still too high for many clubs, as the income just doesn't cover it. In a P&R situation you then have to increase from around

Whilst you make some valid points in some of your other posts, I do need to pick you up on some things here: The results are no more predictable nowadays than they have ever been, even when we had P&R. We have seen bottom teams win at top teams this year, just as every other year. Nothing to do with a closed shop. Why do teams have no dream to chase? That dream may be a bit harder to achieve now (ie you need to build up your club rather than going for a sh!t or bust approach on the field). All clubs are eligible for SL if they get the facilities and setup right, that hasn't changed, however has become more difficult to achieve.

I'm not so sure. Decent teams don't normally take two heavy defeats on the bounce, and Crusaders are showing some signs of being a decent team. I think we should win, but maybe by 12-18pts rather than a hiding. Hoping to make my first trip to Wrexham, so looking forward to this one...

Am I missing the joke? (Clearly I am!) Any chance of an explanation?

The fact is we had P&R for a decent spell, and it hasn't exactly set the world on fire, so trying something new (which is actually P&R over 3 years rather than 1 year) is worth a go in my book.

As long as they abide by the rules, there is nothing to see here. It would be fantastic if the clubs had no more than 3 overseas players, however that isn't going to happen for a few more years (if at all) and if clubs try and get round the rules, that is when they deserve stick, not for making the odd signing.

Look how mad the country goes for the FIFA World Cup. Our games have been moved all over the place to compete, that will be ten times worse if the tournament is in this country. I say avoid it, let's take the opportunity to have a tour, you send invites, and you will get teams wanting to play the Lions in midweek.

Some responses as expected to my question! What about if we were offered compensation to do this? Personally, I wonder why we don't look to have a month's break, and send a GB team to Oz/NZ for a proper tour. The whole country will be football mad for that month, much more so than for any wolrd cup abroad.