Newcastle Thunder

[Gomersall]

4 minutes ago, Rovers13 said:

But isn’t the game moving away from on field performance? 

Clubs will have made contactual agreements for the 2024 season based on which division they are expecting to be playing in. You would be disrupting several clubs planning. 

[Rovers13]

Just now, Gomersall said:

Clubs will have made contactual agreements for the 2024 season based on which division they are expecting to be playing in. You would be disrupting several clubs planning. 

I totally agree with that but extreme circumstances like Newcastle etc folding so sometimes you have to make extreme measures. 

[JohnM]

1 hour ago, Toby Chopra said:

I'm literally on a train to Manchester. Should I get off?

Phew .. that's a relief. Good job you're not actually on the train, only literally or metaphorically on it.

( but yes, I know what you mean)

Edited October 13, 2023 by JohnM

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

16 minutes ago, NW10LDN said:

Merge L1 and Champ so each club gets 21 matches. And then split into a 12 team Champ and 10 team L1 for 24-25.

But what happens if we're in the same boat next season with other clubs dropping out (which unfortunately seems quite likely IMO)? My view is just have a full-time pro comp and a semi-pro comp, both with minimum standards and minimum guaranteed spend from the club. Then decide how many games they want to play. At the moment the game seems obsessed with everyone playing home and away for a nice tidy format. We just don't have the right numbers of clubs to make that work. The comps are all currently decided by a Grand Final anyway, so imbalance in the season isn't the end of the world. The NRL and NFL seem to make it work.

[Rovers13]

But if we are trying to get say 20 plus more grade A clubs isn’t the logical answer to have the top 20 clubs who are closer to being an A grade in the top 2 divisions? 

[Gomersall]

1 minute ago, Rovers13 said:

But if we are trying to get say 20 plus more grade A clubs isn’t the logical answer to have the top 20 clubs who are closer to being an A grade in the top 2 divisions? 

Under the current criteria you’d end up with grade C clubs in there IMO. Do we have 20 A or B grade clubs is what I’m getting at?

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

As an aside, I wonder what the situation would be in a parallel universe where a Cardiff team was selected to join Super League in 1999 instead of Gateshead Thunder?

[Rovers13]

2 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

Under the current criteria you’d end up with grade C clubs in there IMO. Do we have 20 A or B grade clubs is what I’m getting at?

That’s a good point tbf, I personally think there will be a lot of B grade clubs, but until next week it’s all guess work tbh. 

[The Masked Poster]

2 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

As an aside, I wonder what the situation would be in a parallel universe where a Cardiff team was selected to join Super League in 1999 instead of Gateshead Thunder?

A sliding doors moment. But I think they would not have lasted as long as Newcastle/Gateshead. 

A more pertinent question might be; what might have happened if Gateshead had been allowed a second season in SL?

[Gomersall]

7 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

A sliding doors moment. But I think they would not have lasted as long as Newcastle/Gateshead. 

A more pertinent question might be; what might have happened if Gateshead had been allowed a second season in SL?

They pulled out (or merged) of their own volition. They weren’t not allowed a second season by the RFL. They should have been given their fair share of Sky money though.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Gomersall

[ivans82]

53 minutes ago, crashmon said:

How many Professional clubs in SL would survive as Professional clubs with no Sky money.  5? 6?

I would guess at the moment with players on full time wages. at the level they are earning now..................none   !

[Griff]

1 hour ago, crashmon said:

100% agree

Then come crying when the only reason they exist in the form they do (Sky TV Money), tells them that they are reducing their spending money, as these people outside the M62 are not subscribing to watch the M62 only game, and the M62 located fans are not paying enough in their Sky subscriptions to ensure that Sky keeps funding at the levels they need.

How many Professional clubs in SL would survive as Professional clubs with no Sky money.  5? 6?

All of them.

But they'd be part time.

[The Future is League]

All the while the RFL want potential news clubs from outside the heartlands to put up a £100,000 bond and pay visiting teams expenses the game will continue to shrink, and looked what happened when a team from Manchester wanted to join league 1 hurdles were put in their way. 

[The Masked Poster]

6 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

They pulled out (or merged) of their own volition. They weren’t not allowed a second season by the RFL. They should have been given their fair share of Sky money though.

That's maybe the HR or lawyers version of events. But if you were there you will know they were essentially sacrificed to save Hull FC. That's the reality. 

[Rovers13]

Just now, Griff said:

All of them.

But they'd be part time.

Then we have to look and say can we fund a full time game? In an ideal world you would have 2 leagues of 10 all full time clubs one up one down, but we can’t for various reasons the main one being money. 

[sheddingswasus]

25 minutes ago, ChristianB said:

Combining the remainder of League 1 and the Championship is surely now the only viable option (even if it means applying the levels of funding that would have existed otherwise for the year).

No need for home and away, just all clubs play each other once in the 2024 season.

Yes, there will be blow-out scores, but they will be survivable. 

 

 

This season there were 14 clubs making 27 fixtures. If each club played each other once there would be 22 fixtures. Add to that 6 derby matches for each club that would give 27 same as this year. 

Out of interest does anyone know the funding structure proposed for next year?

[Ivarr the Boneless]

I was an Oxford fan and often watched them away. The horrible truth is the majority of teams I visited with ORL are either now defunct or playing regional rugby.

The alarm bells have been ringing for a while. Conscious choices have been made about how the sport responded, we now see the consequences.

I sincerely hope the decisions prove to be right in the long run as, in the short to medium term, the sport is paying a high price.

Best wishes to the Thunder fans. They were a good bunch, I always enjoyed my trips to both Gateshead and Newcastle.

[phiggins]

15 hours ago, Gav Wilson said:

I'm absolutely gutted to hear about this. Magic Weekends, RLWC games, the NE academy pathways. All that hard work for nothing. Rugby League is in a tough spot, League 1 is surely not sustainable now.

I get the impression that these were all separate / siloed efforts, and not part of an overall plan, hence the wasted effort.

[sheddingswasus]

29 minutes ago, Rovers13 said:

I totally agree with that but extreme circumstances like Newcastle etc folding so sometimes you have to make extreme measures. 

Bear in mind several clubs sailed close to the wind financially last year, Whitehaven was one, rumours that Widns  ran  close etc. Toulouse still aren’t out of the woods yet, rumours that they could revert to French league if they lose Saturday. So this situation isn’t just about what to do with 8 clubs but the game as a whole. 
I know Wakefield are remaining full time but Featherstone are going part time with the owner reducing his input. If the drawbridge is drawn to SL then a few clubs may reduce their ambitions and outside funding 

[Barley Mow]

45 minutes ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Can't someone contact Melbourne Storm (name sake and colour scheme) and try to convince them invest as a uk feeder club?

 

I know ut sounds half backed and dumb idea

I was thinking something similar, but with Newcastle Knights.

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

1 minute ago, sheddingswasus said:

If the drawbridge is drawn to SL then a few clubs may reduce their ambitions and outside funding 

The drawbridge isn't being drawn.

[sheddingswasus]

Not in the long term but definitely in the short term. 

[Rovers13]

2 minutes ago, sheddingswasus said:

Bear in mind several clubs sailed close to the wind financially last year, Whitehaven was one, rumours that Widns  ran  close etc. Toulouse still aren’t out of the woods yet, rumours that they could revert to French league if they lose Saturday. So this situation isn’t just about what to do with 8 clubs but the game as a whole. 
I know Wakefield are remaining full time but Featherstone are going part time with the owner reducing his input. If the drawbridge is drawn to SL then a few clubs may reduce their ambitions and outside funding 

I don’t think is going part time is a financial thing I could be wrong but club have said numerous times were self sustaining, I think it’s a closed shop thing where why spend 2m on a squad for nothing basically. 

[Tubby]

4 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

The drawbridge isn't being drawn.

No, but they're removed half of the planks and built a wall across it.

[Eddie]

I wonder if the RFL even care when clubs go to the wall, their response when Skolars withdrew was underwhelming at best. I’m not expecting them to bail clubs out but do they ever do anything to help?