New team for SL South + structure changes

[Bedford Roughyed]

 

[unapologetic pedant]

Some conjecture elsewhere on the prospects of a club from outside the heartlands ascending to WSL.

The main inhibition is that all those in a women's RL Southern division are first and foremost RU players. As we see with Beth Dainton, an intention to concentrate on League will almost always coincide with thoughts of moving north.

A woman who has the ability and desire to play WSL will not hang around too long in a lower tier. The only way it would happen is if a squad of sufficiently-talented players simultaneously shared the same belief and commitment. All highly unlikely unless and until there are junior grades producing a reliable supply of League-focussed young players. Needless to say, that's a long haul.

Hence for the foreseeable future the Challenge Cup provides the best chance of a Southern club establishing a sustainable presence at the top level.

The CC group structure is a smart move by the RFL. It means a balanced and short, but not too short, competition in which Southern players can play against the best in League without the need to burn any Union bridges.

To protect that avenue of opportunity we must not expand WSL beyond 8. To do so would inevitably entail a longer regular season and probable reversion to straight knockout for the CC. Thereby threatening any progress the likes of Cardiff or London might have made.

[zylya]

14 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Some conjecture elsewhere on the prospects of a club from outside the heartlands ascending to WSL.

The main inhibition is that all those in a women's RL Southern division are first and foremost RU players. As we see with Beth Dainton, an intention to concentrate on League will almost always coincide with thoughts of moving north.

A woman who has the ability and desire to play WSL will not hang around too long in a lower tier. The only way it would happen is if a squad of sufficiently-talented players simultaneously shared the same belief and commitment. All highly unlikely unless and until there are junior grades producing a reliable supply of League-focussed young players. Needless to say, that's a long haul.

Hence for the foreseeable future the Challenge Cup provides the best chance of a Southern club establishing a sustainable presence at the top level.

The CC group structure is a smart move by the RFL. It means a balanced and short, but not too short, competition in which Southern players can play against the best in League without the need to burn any Union bridges.

To protect that avenue of opportunity we must not expand WSL beyond 8. To do so would inevitably entail a longer regular season and probable reversion to straight knockout for the CC. Thereby threatening any progress the likes of Cardiff or London might have made.

Broadly agree with all this, but obviously there's a much lower barrier to entry to creating a top-flight women's team - since you'd only have to go semi-pro to be competitive. So I think we're more likely to see a Southern team break into WSL faster than we see an equivalent in the men's game. But as you say, not something that will happen by accident, would need some planning.