Super League Promotion (Merged Threads)

[Manxmanc]

Congratulations to Leigh - I'm sure they deserve to be awarded a place as much as any other team. There's natural disappointment on here concerning a missed expansion opportunity, but it actually sends a message that heartland clubs will receive a fair crack of the whip. 

And the other side of the coin is the setting up of a cracking Championship season. The RFL should relaunch the 'Atlantic' Championship right away ,and invite Toronto be a part of it. Marvellous.

[Scotchy1]

Just now, PEANUT HEAD said:

Just a bit sick of hearing all they will bring nothing to SL when half the teams up there have brought for years.

So your argument here is there are clubs in SL who are rubbish, we deserve to be rubbish in SL aswell

[GUBRATS]

9 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

Thank God it will be over in a few hours , no doubt there'll be a few posts to read when I get home this afternoon

So just the 23 pages to read

[RayCee]

Congratulations Leigh. Would have preferred Toulouse, who couldn’t have done any more than they did to get the invite. 

[Angelic Cynic]

51 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

I know that, just stating that there'd have been some top sponsors in SL next year on the back of York getting in. Those sponsors are still on board in the Championship BTW.

Obviously the RFL just wanted who they thought was best to make up the numbers and that's fine, but they should have just said that at the start and saved everyone's time, rather than going on about increasing the profile of the sport and all that jazz.

It wasn't  the RFL - it was an independent panel.

But I'm certain it was the marionette master,Lenagan,asking his appointment Elstone to boost the attendances for Wigan by giving them another derby game.

Unless,of course,the 5 points of the criteria were fulfilled 

https://www.superleague.co.uk/article/1781/leigh-centurions-to-play-in-betfred-super-league-in-2021

Strategy Reset ....to help failing M62 clubs...

[Wanderer]

2 minutes ago, Manxmanc said:

Congratulations to Leigh - I'm sure they deserve to be awarded a place as much as any other team. There's natural disappointment on here concerning a missed expansion opportunity, but it actually sends a message that heartland clubs will receive a fair crack of the whip. 

And the other side of the coin is the setting up of a cracking Championship season. The RFL should relaunch the 'Atlantic' Championship right away ,and invite Toronto be a part of it. Marvellous.

yes, it certainly sets up an intriguing looking championship next year which could deliver expansion through on-field activities anyway if they keep P+R, with the added bonus that leigh in SL could stiffen up the challenge at the lower end of SL. Each division is more competitive so a winner all round for me

[Tommygilf]

7 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

Yes on a serious note, they do split the gate.

Hence the goodwill at Christmas point...

[Robin Evans]

38 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

So just the 23 pages to read

To precis it for you....

Leigh got the gig.

The world is ending for the expansionist.... leigh bring nowt.... no ambition... insular decision blah blah blah

Fev fans are happy and congratulatory... as are most fans from championship clubs.

Thats about it mate

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

8 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Probably would, but I think GH sees it as our helping the needy at Christmas activity

I think GH would be quick to ditch Wakey as Boxing Day opponents it it wasn't beneficial for Leeds Rhinos too. 

Both clubs always field decent squads which in turn attracts a good crowd.  They had a couple of years against other opponents who turned up with fringe players only.  The return to allowing Wakey this festive shared gate was part of the payment for Gaz Ellis (3 years???)  Leeds could easily have changed opponents then on.

Boxing Day will be strange with no game to attend this year.

[Oxford]

1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

It's not a time to take risks

If we put all the times it was a time to take risks together they'd probably get to the Moon and back. If we put all the times we've taken a risk they wouldn't go the length of one of Mr Beaumont's pieces of garden furniture.

If you think adventurous times are ahead it will be rule changes etc or the excitement level of an episode of Wallace & Grommit, and the full on drama of the test card.

[M j M]

16 minutes ago, Scotchy1 said:

We know why. People aren't really interested in seeing Leeds and Wigan beat villages in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

 

Strange that Castleford vs Leeds is consistently a good TV ratings game then.
 

[Niels]

37 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

All I have done, because I am very childish, is point out that Leigh is in Wigan and the team dress like Wigan. So they are, from a distance, essentially Wigan.

Just not as popular or successful.

Point taken, it's been an interesting discussion and thanks for replying.

 

[Tommygilf]

Just now, M j M said:

Strange that Castleford vs Leeds is consistently a good TV ratings game then.
 

It is their grand final to be fair

[Scotchy1]

1 minute ago, M j M said:

Strange that Castleford vs Leeds is consistently a good TV ratings game then.
 

Being the best of a bad bunch doesn't equal good. 

[Wanderer]

2 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

It is their grand final to be fair

yes I suppose since Bradford were not in SL anymore

[PECETTO]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

 

Sad day for rugby league...no ambition. Welcome To village league.

[M j M]

7 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

It is their grand final to be fair

The TV ratings aren't made up of people solely from Castleford though.

People want to watch competitive, authentic, sport which matters to the people playing and to the people at the ground. That is why Leeds vs Cas and similar games get decent figures.

Simply writing off decent-sized Rugby League clubs because they come from the wrong areas is beyond stupid.

Yes, the game needs to expand for its own interest and yes ultimately that would see smaller clubs most probably fall away. This year we needed to make a one-off decision because of exceptional circumstances and a more strategic decision would have been justified. But in normal times all this shuffling of imaginary clubs around like pieces on a chess board is stupid and dangerous - we need strong heartlands to sustain expansion; wilfully trying to destroy the places in which we are strong purely to give their spots to freshly fabricated teams from elsewhere is a sure-fire way to destroy the value of your TV deal, not enhance it.

[Man of Kent]

1 minute ago, Oxford said:

If we put all the times it was a time to take risks together they'd probably get to the Moon and back. If we put all the times we've taken a risk they wouldn't go the length of one of Mr Beaumont's pieces of garden furniture.

If you think adventurous times are ahead it will be rule changes etc or the excitement level of an episode of Wallace & Grommit, and the full on drama of the test card.

I honestly do think the powers that be - Elstone, Hetherington, Lenegan, McManus et al - would like SL to have a wider geographic footprint, eg with Toulouse and London. 

But now is not an ideal time to be expanding.

The big picture is there is reduced funding for the 12th club. There is P&R - the 12th SL club has no protection. There has been no Championship rugby since 8 March. It is now mid-December. Furthermore, we are going through a pandemic with no end in sight.

In some ways, we are fortunate there are any clubs who could just about be competitive in these circumstances.   

[Scotchy1]

1 minute ago, M j M said:

The TV ratings aren't made up of people solely from Castleford though.

People want to watch competitive, authentic, sport which matters to the people playing and to the people at the ground. That is why Leeds vs Cas and similar games get decent figures.

Simply writing off decent-sized Rugby League clubs because they come from the wrong areas is beyond stupid.

Yes, the game needs to expand for its own interest and yes ultimately that would see smaller clubs most probably fall away. This year we needed to make a one-off decision because of exceptional circumstances and a more strategic decision would have been justified. But in normal times all this shuffling of imaginary clubs around like pieces on a chess board is stupid and dangerous - we need strong heartlands to sustain expansion; wilfully trying to destroy the places in which we are strong purely to give their places to non-existent teams from elsewhere is a sure-fire way to destroy the value of your TV deal, not enhance it.

The TV ratings for the last leeds v Castleford game were roughly the same as NZ v Australia in RU. A game which was screened at 8 in the morning. 

[Scotchy1]

2 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

I honestly do think the powers that be - Elstone, Hetherington, Lenegan, McManus et al - would like SL to have a wider geographic footprint, eg with Toulouse and London. 

But now is not an ideal time to be expanding.

The big picture is there is reduced funding for the 12th club. There is P&R - the 12th SL club has no protection. There has been no Championship rugby since 8 March. It is now mid-December. Furthermore, we are going through a pandemic with no end in sight.

In some ways, we are fortunate there are any clubs who could just about be competitive in these circumstances.   

So when was, and why didn't we do it then?

[Man of Kent]

Just now, Scotchy1 said:

So when was, and why didn't we do it then?

They let in Toronto, didn't they? How did that work out?

[binosh]

49 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

if york or toulouse had got the nod i would have most likely got a skysports subscription for next season but leigh? not likely - unattractive unambitious turn off

I bet Sky are gutted.

[Scotchy1]

Just now, Man of Kent said:

They let in Toronto, didn't they? How did that work out?

So that was our commitment to expansion? 

For all the trials and tribulations the game, certainly SL, did the absolute minimum they could there. 

[Oxford]

1 minute ago, Man of Kent said:

I honestly do think the powers that be - Elstone, Hetherington, Lenegan, McManus et al - would like SL to have a wider geographic footprint, eg with Toulouse and London. 

But now is not an ideal time to be expanding.

The big picture is there is reduced funding for the 12th club. There is P&R - the 12th SL club has no protection. There has been no Championship rugby since 8 March. It is now mid-December. Furthermore, we are going through a pandemic with no end in sight.

In some ways, we are fortunate there are any clubs who could just about be competitive in these circumstances.   

MoK you're missing my point I'm not attacking the decision; Leigh are as good a choice as any and I'm not saying they're not being cautious or that this isn't the correct thing to do at this moment in time.

SL will, at some point, have a wider footprint that will include either one or both of those clubs.

My point is beyond that limit the project is as dead as the Dodo.

[fighting irish]

5 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

They let in Toronto, didn't they? How did that work out?

Yes but that wasn't part of Mr Elstone's Master Plan.

Now as soon as he can get shot of Toulouse and Catalan he'll be on the verge of accomplishing his final solution.

Only London left then.