Rugby League World journalist Dave Hadfield reflects on a morning spent with the RFL discussing plans for the game in 2015…
It was déjà vu all over again.
Sitting in a hotel in Brighouse, hearing about the plan to save the game; is it any wonder some of us were coming over all nostalgic?
I would have liked a bit more detail on a few things. The introduction of bonus points, for instance, is going to take some selling to the outside world – if it happens – so the sooner it starts the better.
There were no assurances to be had about a sensible fixture list, so that there would be no sequence like Wakefield’s ludicrous five home matches in a row. It could have been six if they’d had a home Challenge Cup quarter-final and yes, it could happen again.
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Mention of the Cup brings me to another bugbear. Surely we couldn’t have a situation again where there are very nearly two months between quarters and semis and then a skinny two weeks between semis and final.
Well, yes, we could, next year at least, although the timing of the rounds will be on the agenda when negotiations open on the Cup with the BBC and whoever else.
I’d like to suggest that it be at the top of that agenda. The Cup needs all the help it can get and the calendar has given it none whatsoever this year.
One thing that does seem to be set in stone is the Championship’s Summer Bash in Blackpool on May 23 and 24.
It sounds like a decent idea, an occasion that will appeal to supporters of clubs outside Super League.
Just one question; where the Bloomfield Road are a dozen teams going to change?
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Fortunately, the solution is quite straightforward. There are a lot of empty guest houses in Blackpool at that time of year. I suggest that the RFL books one for each of the clubs, where they can have a hearty full English breakfast and chill out until kick-off time.
