‘League 1 South’

[yipyee]

On 9/25/2018 at 10:33 PM, Oliver Clothesoff said:

They've named 17 man squads week in, week out, they've pushed Whitehaven away twice, the eventual champions York close, Hunslet and Keighley close and have continued their strategy in giving game time to London and South East born players, whilst continuing to grow their junior setup. 

A "total shambles" is frankly a massive lie. An underwhelming and disappointing season perhaps but nowhere close to being worthy of being called a shambles.

If you're looking for a "total shambles" you better look at heartland clubs in the likes of Leigh, Widnes and Featherstone before looking elsewhere.

Yes, Fev haven't had 17 players all season...

[Oliver Clothesoff]

1 hour ago, Londonfan said:

20 years as a pro club and Skolars are still down towards the bottom of league one behind Coventry Bears. Skolars have  big budget and a use of duel reg players from Broncos and still can’t beat any of the northern teams and only wins came against West Wales, Hemel and Coventry. Surely questions have to be asked of the coach, the players and the people running the club. Fans want answers!! Hector what is your answer to such a disgraceful season 

Where in the South is Keighley then?

Do they have a big budget? Have you seen that?

There’s no doubts that this year has been disappointing and it’s been acknowledged on social media by both Jermaine Coleman and Hector McNeil but this is not a “disgraceful season”. Not even close. 

 

[bbfaz]

11 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

Where in the South is Keighley then?

Do they have a big budget? Have you seen that?

There’s no doubts that this year has been disappointing and it’s been acknowledged on social media by both Jermaine Coleman and Hector McNeil but this is not a “disgraceful season”. Not even close. 

 

You can't dismiss these concerns completely.  Whatever the next level is, Skolars have been aiming for it and failing for years.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

3 minutes ago, bbfaz said:

You can't dismiss these concerns completely.  Whatever the next level is, Skolars have been aiming for it and failing for years.

I’ve not dismissed anything. Skolars have had a poor season. I made that point above. It’s been disappointing. 

The second part of your post is purely subjective. The landscape of League One has changed numerous times over the past ten years so goals and ambitions will also change as a result. What is Skolars’ next level? Is it promotion onfield? Or is it developing the club off the field (something they’ve done with the clubhouse and gym)? Is it providing opportunity to more Southern born players to play at League One level? 

[bbfaz]

18 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

I’ve not dismissed anything. Skolars have had a poor season. I made that point above. It’s been disappointing. 

 The second part of your post is purely subjective. The landscape of League One has changed numerous times over the past ten years so goals and ambitions will also change as a result. What is Skolars’ next level? Is it promotion onfield? Or is it developing the club off the field (something they’ve done with the clubhouse and gym)? Is it providing opportunity to more Southern born players to play at League One level? 

You can't accuse me of subjectivity and say rubbish like the last line.  I've come across a Skolars true believer - they had to be out there somewhere - and you can't discuss anything with true believers.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

31 minutes ago, bbfaz said:

You can't accuse me of subjectivity and say rubbish like the last line.  I've come across a Skolars true believer - they had to be out there somewhere - and you can't discuss anything with true believers.

I have no idea what you’re on about. 

What is Skolars’ next level? It’s not clear. 

[Londonfan]

People need to be accountable and Head Coach and players would be a good start. Sorry I messed the one victory against a northern team in keighley which has been said by fans the worst keighley team in the clubs history. The club has gone backwards and fans want answers. 

[OriginalMrC]

44 minutes ago, Londonfan said:

People need to be accountable and Head Coach and players would be a good start. Sorry I messed the one victory against a northern team in keighley which has been said by fans the worst keighley team in the clubs history. The club has gone backwards and fans want answers. 

Has it really though? League one is tougher than ever and Skolars have been competitive in plenty of fixtures this year. The absence of All Golds and Oxford means there are less winnable games. While the season will be disappointing for Skolars fans I don't think it's the disaster you're making out.  

[Getmefood]

Is New York, Dublin, Carcassonne and Red Star going to be in League 1 North or South? In all seriousness just leave it as League 1, none of this North and South if teams are getting flogged by over 100 points and can't field a 17 than they are obviously not suited. Ambitious southern and expansion clubs (provided they are ready both on and off field) should only be there. Teams from places like Cardiff, Cornwall/South West England would be ideal. 

 

[Angelic Cynic]

43 minutes ago, c0c0nutz said:

Is New York, Dublin, Carcassonne and Red Star going to be in League 1 North or South? In all seriousness just leave it as League 1, none of this North and South if teams are getting flogged by over 100 points and can't field a 17 than they are obviously not suited. Ambitious southern and expansion clubs (provided they are ready both on and off field) should only be there. Teams from places like Cardiff, Cornwall/South West England would be ideal. 

 

    Leigh Centurions,one of those elite clubs in the elite league only last year,2017,have only named 16 players for their game this weekend as they seek to lift silverware in the Championship Shield.

    They have a long history,and were said to have an ambitious owner.

[bbfaz]

2 minutes ago, c0c0nutz said:

Is New York, Dublin, Carcassonne and Red Star going to be in League 1 North or South? In all seriousness just leave it as League 1, none of this North and South if teams are getting flogged by over 100 points and can't field a 17 than they are obviously not suited. Ambitious southern and expansion clubs (provided they are ready both on and off field) should only be there. Teams from places like Cardiff, Cornwall/South West England would be ideal. 

 

What Lionel Hurst is calling "League One South" is not splitting League One in half but creating a new amateur level below League One with the idea of eventually creating a pyramid below that.  It's an RFL obsession to have this elite (semi-)national amateur league and a pyramid below and, I suppose, they've briefly managed to get their ducks in a row with RLC National Division and the Conference League South but, in both cases, these leagues broke clubs both during and after their existence.  When the RFL get an idea in their heads, it's very difficult to get it out.  As I recall, Lionel was involved with the initial move of the amateur game to summer and the formation of the RLC.  This is an idea that won't go away.

Nobody is ready to go semi-pro.  However, the thought process behind this is whether or not there are 12 teams who could play across regions, at least two per region, if accommodations were made for travel and referee costs.  When you add in the stated desire for these teams to have community/junior programs, I would say no.  The South West teams are not competitive at all.  The only worthy teams in the Midlands have apparently fallen apart.  Wales is a mixed bag.  West of England isn't bad but not as high a standard as it thinks it is and the East probably falls under the same category.

The top London teams are probably best equipped, London Chargers won the last Conference League South.  However, Eastern Rhinos aside, they don't have junior or community sections.  Looking at London Chargers' season in the CLS or what happened when Hammersmith had issues and self-relegated to the London Entry League, it's likely that players would leave their existing clubs and gravitate towards whomever has the higher standard of Rugby.  You might be able to squeeze two clubs out of it and I think it might bring some players back who've left the game.  However, when you have good League players getting paid more to play Union than they do to play semi-pro league, not sure if that will actually even help.

As a sidebar to this discussion, the RFL wanted to have a "Southern Conference League" with two divisions this season where the best of the East, South East and Midlands would be in one division and the best of the West, South West and Wales in the other but they received just a handful of applications.  Plan B was to get teams from the Midlands into the London League and both teams that entered the London League folded without playing a game.  Plan C, for next season, is to get the East and London & South East teams into a single league structure.  Personally, I think it won't work but it's an obsession of some people in the London region, especially of one team in particular.

[bbfaz]

3 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

I have no idea what you’re on about. 

What is Skolars’ next level? It’s not clear. 

Winning more games than they lose would be a start.

[Rach]

3 hours ago, Londonfan said:

. Sorry I messed the one victory against a northern team in keighley which has been said by fans the worst keighley team in the clubs history. 

2

You've obviously talking to some Keighley Fans with extremely short memories .....its nothing of the sort ...

[northamptoncougar]

50 minutes ago, Rach said:

You've obviously talking to some Keighley Fans with extremely short memories .....its nothing of the sort ...

Its not the worst team ever. It’s probably the worst team in 20years.

[Tommygilf]

So calling it L1 South is actually a misnomer and it should be called League 2 South.

[newbe]

3 hours ago, bbfaz said:

What Lionel Hurst is calling "League One South" is not splitting League One in half but creating a new amateur level below League One with the idea of eventually creating a pyramid below that.  It's an RFL obsession to have this elite (semi-)national amateur league and a pyramid below and, I suppose, they've briefly managed to get their ducks in a row with RLC National Division and the Conference League South but, in both cases, these leagues broke clubs both during and after their existence.  When the RFL get an idea in their heads, it's very difficult to get it out.  As I recall, Lionel was involved with the initial move of the amateur game to summer and the formation of the RLC.  This is an idea that won't go away.

Nobody is ready to go semi-pro.  However, the thought process behind this is whether or not there are 12 teams who could play across regions, at least two per region, if accommodations were made for travel and referee costs.  When you add in the stated desire for these teams to have community/junior programs, I would say no.  The South West teams are not competitive at all.  The only worthy teams in the Midlands have apparently fallen apart.  Wales is a mixed bag.  West of England isn't bad but not as high a standard as it thinks it is and the East probably falls under the same category.

The top London teams are probably best equipped, London Chargers won the last Conference League South.  However, Eastern Rhinos aside, they don't have junior or community sections.  Looking at London Chargers' season in the CLS or what happened when Hammersmith had issues and self-relegated to the London Entry League, it's likely that players would leave their existing clubs and gravitate towards whomever has the higher standard of Rugby.  You might be able to squeeze two clubs out of it and I think it might bring some players back who've left the game.  However, when you have good League players getting paid more to play Union than they do to play semi-pro league, not sure if that will actually even help.

As a sidebar to this discussion, the RFL wanted to have a "Southern Conference League" with two divisions this season where the best of the East, South East and Midlands would be in one division and the best of the West, South West and Wales in the other but they received just a handful of applications.  Plan B was to get teams from the Midlands into the London League and both teams that entered the London League folded without playing a game.  Plan C, for next season, is to get the East and London & South East teams into a single league structure.  Personally, I think it won't work but it's an obsession of some people in the London region, especially of one team in particular.

This will create problems, the amateur teams can pack there team out with good quality aussies n Kewis etc on work visa's, the league 1 clubs are subject to the rules as S/L, those aussies etc are good enough to play league 1,but immigration rules states they must come over on a sporting visa ie play x amount NRL games. Stupid really a aussie etc can come over on work visa, work for example in London as a sparks, plumber etc  earn 40k but can't play for a pittance of a match fee in league 1

[Roughyedz]

13 hours ago, bbfaz said:

You can't dismiss these concerns completely.  Whatever the next level is, Skolars have been aiming for it and failing for years.

Not to mention Oldham, and Hunslet as well as Keighley all been at it for 120 years , ( Suppose at least a long long time ago Hunslet and Keighley did get to play at Wembley . . . lol )

[bbfaz]

8 hours ago, newbe said:

 This will create problems, the amateur teams can pack there team out with good quality aussies n Kewis etc on work visa's, the league 1 clubs are subject to the rules as S/L, those aussies etc are good enough to play league 1,but immigration rules states they must come over on a sporting visa ie play x amount NRL games. Stupid really a aussie etc can come over on work visa, work for example in London as a sparks, plumber etc  earn 40k but can't play for a pittance of a match fee in league 1

I agree.  A few years ago I was working on a project to convert American Football players to Rugby League but where we hit a stumbling block was that we couldn't attract anybody of any real quality because they couldn't play professionally.

When Chargers were the team of choice in London in 2015, I'm pretty sure they could've beaten a pro side.

 

[bbfaz]

2 hours ago, Roughyedz said:

Not to mention Oldham, and Hunslet as well as Keighley all been at it for 120 years , ( Suppose at least a long long time ago Hunslet and Keighley did get to play at Wembley . . . lol )

Of course, there are bad clubs who have built in excuses.  I'm being harsh on Skolars if you don't have a long-term memory.  Two seasons ago, Skolars went 8-6 and made the top 8.  Last season they were second in the L1 shield and only lost 1 game in the second half of the season, finishing with 12 wins.  However, in the non-split seasons, they've had only one winning season.  Keighley have their worst team in 20 years and they're finishing 13-0-13.

Besides, Keighley is a town of 50,000ish people and a club sitting in the shadow of more glamorous and influential neighbours.  The London Borough of Haringey, in which Skolars are based, has 270,000 people alone.  I'd guess neither club are doing enough to positively influence their league position.

[Bath Rugby League]

On 9/20/2018 at 4:01 PM, Marauder said:

He was the chairman in the 1991/92 season and lived in Bristol the full committee was; Secretary J Simkin (Solihull) Chairman D Kay (Bristol) President A Larkin (Dursley) Treasurer D Sheehy (Port Talbot) & Fixture Secretary P McGee (Chippenham)

The league was made up of; Abervon, Bath,  Birmingham, Bristol, Crewe, Dibcot St Birinus, Nene Valley, Oxford Sharks, Plymouth Tamarside, Redditch Halycon, Swindon, West Midlands Police, West Wiltshire & Wolverhampton Borough

This is really interesting, the club actually played at Chippenham RFC for the debut 2017 season

[Bath Rugby League]

On 9/22/2018 at 12:56 PM, headtackle said:

Happy to stand corrected. Was just going off the headline in the Bath Evening Chronicle at the time.

Dave Kay was heavily involved with the MASWARLA league and at Bath. A great character who certainly loved his rugby league.

Games were on a Sunday afternoon and with pub licensing laws at the time (closed 2-7pm if I recall) the after match beers and food required a little bit of skulking around and some friendly pub landlords.

Bath had a good pool of players and from memory even managed to put out a 2nd team a few times. Dave Kay and the committee also managed to arrange for us to play at Knowsley Road as a curtain raiser for Saints/Wakefield which was a great experience for all involved. We played Nutgrove coached by ex Saint Paul Forber, narrowly lost but enjoyed meeting players and Alex Murphy in the bar afterwards.

 

Think I have seen the game with Nutgrove on YouTube...

[bradJourno]

https://goldenpointrl.blog/2018/12/17/southern-conference-league-confirmed-for-2019/

This has all been confirmed here. The season launch is taking place at the London Broncos vs Castleford Tigers game on Saturday Febraury 23rd