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2 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Leigh do Dav, it is situated at the LSV, last time I looked the problem is there are to few games and the standard is not that very good.

But surely, with the Leigh club offering to kickstart their academy with £400K why should the RFL turn them down if not to pacify the other local SL clubs? Wigan signed 8 Leigh lads to their Scholarship last season, and last week at Cas 4 of the Saints youngsters who played were Leigh East lads.

 

Barrow seem to be making it work mind.

I don’t know,I haven’t seen Leigh’s academy application,but if it merely consisted of Degsy promising to throw money at it then maybe it was rightly turned down.

I really doubt Wigan/Saints are that concerned about Leigh gaining academy status.

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3 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Of course they do, but quite clearly they sign more players from closer by (ie Saints and Wigan sign more players from Leigh than they do from Barrow). 

The talent pool is a fair bit deeper in that area.

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3 hours ago, Davo5 said:

Barrow seem to be making it work mind.

I don’t know,I haven’t seen Leigh’s academy application,but if it merely consisted of Degsy promising to throw money at it then maybe it was rightly turned down.

I really doubt Wigan/Saints are that concerned about Leigh gaining academy status.

A full structure, administration a dossier and Gareth Carvell was employed and in place to oversee it all, the 400K was the the commitment by the club, still got turned down and I don't  think I am far off with my suggestion why that was.

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On 01/05/2022 at 17:42, Harry Stottle said:

A full structure, administration a dossier and Gareth Carvell was employed and in place to oversee it all, the 400K was the the commitment by the club, still got turned down and I don't  think I am far off with my suggestion why that was.

Can’t beat a good conspiracy theory 

Edited by Davo5
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On 01/05/2022 at 12:23, Harry Stottle said:

Leigh do Dav, it is situated at the LSV, last time I looked the problem is there are to few games and the standard is not that very good.

But surely, with the Leigh club offering to kickstart their academy with £400K why should the RFL turn them down if not to pacify the other local SL clubs? Wigan signed 8 Leigh lads to their Scholarship last season, and last week at Cas 4 of the Saints youngsters who played were Leigh East lads.

 

I think this comment is entirely fair.  If Leigh are prepared to invest time, money and expertise in developing an Academy and tapping into the real hotbed of talent that is the Leigh amateur clubs then they absolutely should be able to.

We can't let teams like Saints and Wigan pick off all the best young talent from the North West and then complain when Leigh or Widnes then sign journeymen pro's or older Aussies.... what else are they expected to do.

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"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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It doesn’t mention about Saints or Wigan  being on the panel  

 

Academy Licensing, 2022-27

Eight clubs from the Betfred Super League, and two from the Betfred Championship, have been awarded Elite Academy Licences for 2022-27, having demonstrated that they achieve the elite standards required by the process.

The licensing process had been delayed since 2019, partly as a result of the disruption caused by Covid-19. Over recent months an expert panel convened by the RFL and Super League Europe had considered 15 applications.

Key decisions that were agreed by the clubs before the process began were for the licence term to be extended to six years, because of the long-term nature of player development, and for the importance of the Community Game to be factored into deliberations.

That led to an agreement that a maximum of 12 licences should be awarded – up to nine in “Core Affinity Areas”, up to two in “Emerging Affinity Areas”, and up to one in France.

The rationale for this was as follows:

1.           To ensure that Academies are operated sensitively and proportionately to the continuing good health of the Community Game;

2.           That the number of players selected for Academies is proportionate to the number of players within the Community Game at the relevant age and that the players selected have a genuine opportunity of progressing into the Super League and National teams;

3.           That the talent pool is extended beyond the traditional heartland of the sport.

The panel was chaired by Air Commodore Dean Andrew OBE. The RFL representation was led by Dave Rotheram (Chief On-Field Officer), also including Marc Lovering (Director of Participation and Development), Samantha Allen (Head of Professional Game Delivery) and Paul Medley (National Player Progression Manager).

The panel also included Duncan Truswell, Sport England’s Strategic Lead for Performance and Talent who shared a wealth of expertise from other sports.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

I think this comment is entirely fair.  If Leigh are prepared to invest time, money and expertise in developing an Academy and tapping into the real hotbed of talent that is the Leigh amateur clubs then they absolutely should be able to.

We can't let teams like Saints and Wigan pick off all the best young talent from the North West and then complain when Leigh or Widnes then sign journeymen pro's or older Aussies.... what else are they expected to do.

real hotbed of talent that is the Leigh amateur clubs”


Is this true though?  How many amateur clubs are there in Leigh?

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1 hour ago, bobbruce said:


It doesn’t mention about Saints or Wigan  being on the panel  

 

Academy Licensing, 2022-27

Eight clubs from the Betfred Super League, and two from the Betfred Championship, have been awarded Elite Academy Licences for 2022-27, having demonstrated that they achieve the elite standards required by the process.

The licensing process had been delayed since 2019, partly as a result of the disruption caused by Covid-19. Over recent months an expert panel convened by the RFL and Super League Europe had considered 15 applications.

Key decisions that were agreed by the clubs before the process began were for the licence term to be extended to six years, because of the long-term nature of player development, and for the importance of the Community Game to be factored into deliberations.

That led to an agreement that a maximum of 12 licences should be awarded – up to nine in “Core Affinity Areas”, up to two in “Emerging Affinity Areas”, and up to one in France.

The rationale for this was as follows:

1.           To ensure that Academies are operated sensitively and proportionately to the continuing good health of the Community Game;

2.           That the number of players selected for Academies is proportionate to the number of players within the Community Game at the relevant age and that the players selected have a genuine opportunity of progressing into the Super League and National teams;

3.           That the talent pool is extended beyond the traditional heartland of the sport.

The panel was chaired by Air Commodore Dean Andrew OBE. The RFL representation was led by Dave Rotheram (Chief On-Field Officer), also including Marc Lovering (Director of Participation and Development), Samantha Allen (Head of Professional Game Delivery) and Paul Medley (National Player Progression Manager).

The panel also included Duncan Truswell, Sport England’s Strategic Lead for Performance and Talent who shared a wealth of expertise from other sports.

I understand the RFL's rationale but to me it's completely contradictory to what an elite professional club should be doing (if you are one of the 4 clubs without an academy). Having an academy is one of the standards we should expect of a Super League club. Its these little things that let SL down in my opinion.

This is even more so when we have a salary cap system that actively promotes the development of home grown players through various dispensations. Clubs that are not allowed an academy are at a major disadvantage when it comes to competing against those that have.

Edited by Damien
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2 minutes ago, Damien said:

I understand the RFL's rationale but to me it's completely contradictory to what an elite professional club should be doing (if you are one of the 4 clubs withoutan academy). Having an academy is one of the standards we should expect of a Super League club. Its these little things that let SL down in my opinion.

This is even more so when we have a salary cap system that actively promotes the development of home grown players through various dispensations. Clubs that are not allowed an academy are at a major disadvantage when it comes to competing against those that have.

I agree that should be the ideal but the judgement seems to be that the community game would be damaged by a free for all on pro clubs having academy’s. 

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3 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

I agree that should be the ideal but the judgement seems to be that the community game would be damaged by a free for all on pro clubs having academy’s. 

As I said I understand that but this is professional sport and as things stand it is far from a fair playing field. We either want an elite competition with standards or we don't. 

Leigh last season not being allowed an academy and in addition receiving less funding means they are trying to compete in SL with both hands tied behind their back.

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13 hours ago, bobbruce said:

I agree that should be the ideal but the judgement seems to be that the community game would be damaged by a free for all on pro clubs having academy’s. 

That is a very lame excuse and a complete side step of the real issue by the RFL, has anyone who has an interest in the community game can see that it is losing popularity from where it was just 20 years ago and what has the governing body done about it or ensured that the clubs promote it in their area's absolutely Jack All.

Instead they are effectively giving in hoping that a sticking plaster approach will cure a very serious condition by saying we will try to protect what we have got instead of taking remedial action.

And who are paying for it, those clubs who are not allowed to build from within, like @Damiensays under a salary cap system which actively promotes player development by giving various dispensations it is holding clubs back. It's little wonder the "big" clubs will stay at the top. Originally the RFL thought it was also a good idea to rob Hull KR, Castleford and Bradford of their academy's until pressure made them give in and reinstate them

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22 hours ago, The Future is League said:

Back on topic and seeing at the moment he's only signed until the end of the season suggests to me that if Leigh win promotion to Super League he will sign a 1 year contract. If not he will leave

Most likely scenario is he's looking for an NRL deal in 2023 regardless of the division Leigh find themselves, which i'm comfortable with, providing he puts in the effort this season.

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16 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

Most likely scenario is he's looking for an NRL deal in 2023 regardless of the division Leigh find themselves, which i'm comfortable with, providing he puts in the effort this season.

I think he would be lucky get another NRL gig to be honest with the young talent running around there.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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20 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

Most likely scenario is he's looking for an NRL deal in 2023 regardless of the division Leigh find themselves, which i'm comfortable with, providing he puts in the effort this season.

his  NRL  days are over- maybe testing the water over here and putting himself forward for SL as an option with someone for next season 

see you later undertaker - in a while necrophile 

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6 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

It’ll be Super League or bust this year for Leigh 

Wrong. Read their website. When they were announcing that signing. It is a case of getting up asap. If they miss out this time, They go again the year after. I will also say, When they do get up, You and others(not having a go at you btw) will then post, If Leigh go down, They are bust.

 

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On 30/04/2022 at 07:06, The Blues Ox said:

It makes it quite fascinating between the two top teams in the division now and I think Leigh are just creeping ahead but it will be interesting to see how they go back end of the season when a lot of these players are trying to sort contracts out for next season. If Leigh can get promoted then they are going to have to offload a few overseas players but that means their contracts will have to be sorted long before any play off final which may add an extra twist or two.

Quite possible. Though, I don't know how many of the Fev squad are signed up for next season either.

I think our lack of a half back with a decent kicking game is a more immediate reason to think Leigh will fall short though.

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31 minutes ago, Cw25 said:

Wrong. Read their website. When they were announcing that signing. It is a case of getting up asap. If they miss out this time, They go again the year after. I will also say, When they do get up, You and others(not having a go at you btw) will then post, If Leigh go down, They are bust.

 

https://leighrl.co.uk/wp/v2/blog/2022/04/29/leigh-centurions-sign-international-superstar-winger-blake-ferguson/

There we go, this was the statement Cw25 is referring to.

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