They won't be producing a new fixture list. It'll go as it is. Salford and Featherstone will be part of it. I'd imagine if they pulled out now, then there'd just be extra bye weeks for the teams due to play them and it'd be based on points per game.

Isn’t that unfair on the teams who aren’t playing them?

Well, I said from day one play each team once and extra fixtures to be decided

quite simple

we now have a format where some teams dont play each other in the same league !
and now if the clowns at the RFL stick to the fixture format there could blank weekends for teams

great for income streams !

@jdgsport What would they do about season tickets in that case as fans would be 2 games and just under £50 down. Also would the club be ok with only 10 home league games from a revenue perspective. 

I actually cant see either Salford or Featherstone making it for the 18th of Jan. Way too much to do in 5 weeks both on and off the field, especially with the Christmas break in the middle of it.

The one bid mooted to be the most likely successful is led by mason caton brown (Adrian Morley involved aswel)....he has said in a radio interview,they have a coach and director of rugby agreed (rumoued to be Andrew Henderson and krisnan inu), they've got alot of pre agreements in place with players and talking to others.. agreement also to continue playing at the AJ bell (or whatever it's called now)..by sound of it once they get the nod the squad will be finalised extremely quickly... obviously will have issues regarding limited time to train before season kicks off but he's 100% confident of a decent squad ..

Fev is a little different, they haven't been stripped of every single player asset, they still have a large number of players officially still at the club (or the old club)...their need for recruitment is obviously far less urgent than Salford's ....

 grapevine says both will start the season 

Probably isn't good enough at this stage though.Clubs can't be selling season tickets based on probabilities but they are doing,apart from Batley who suspended sales of theirs.

And .. although they are reported to be signing up some useful players, NW Crusaders also have financial issues.

I just want to see Widnes play good rugby in a competitive league - but RFL inept management is causing unnecessary problems. 

Featherstone have today announced that interested parties have until the 19th Dec (4 days!) to submitt expressions of interest. Back of a fag packet springs to mind, have they learnt nothing from the Salford ownership debacle.

These administrators arnt going to work for the club over the Christmas period either. Come back with a bid for the 2027 Championship, its the only sensible solution at this late stage. 

As we know, to our cost, being in this position isn't pleasant.

Even with cash in their hands time is against them and I guess that player's agents will play it for all they are worth when they look for signatures.

But that's life in the sporting world these days, dog eat dog.

I think that our Board are playing a cautious game and trying to produce a tight package with which to apply for SL . It can be done, we know, but we will need to be consistently good on the field, week on week, to leave no holes in our case.

Hopefully we start with an injury free 'friendly'!!!!!!

What a way to run a competition!!!!

Its no wonder RL is the laughing stock of the sporting world, and why it never ever gets anywhere.

If you were a Media mogul interested and looking for a sport to cover, you wouldn't be seen within a hundred miles of this comedy fiasco.

Just go back to basics, and the simplicity and honesty of it all - you know, the stuff that used to make RL great. Stop papering over the cracks, get back to living within our means and build from there.

It is a recipe that used to work, but all we have now is bluff and bluster from our Masters, who think that just because they have the most money, that it entitles them to say how the game is run.

Such a shame.

The contrast between the way the game is run and how it played is unbelievable, you need integrity on a rugby field, otherwise you will be found out. If the RFL showed just a small amount we would be in a different place.

As it is we will probably have more teams than Salford and Featherstone in real trouble before the end of the season.

If the RFL had to answer to anyone, shareholders for instance, they would be out. Whether it is the farce around the 14 teams in SL, the structure of the Championship, the changes in the amateur game or just the lack of anything for England in preparation for the World cup, IMG and on and on and on.

Until they are gone, the only thing we can do is support our team. Lockyer must be wondering what the hell he has let himself in for at London.

@halfback-ragnarsson 

All the teams in the Championship will be eagerly waiting for a visit off WV for a pay day. We will only get visiting fans (more than a bus full), in numbers, from Halifax and possibly Oldham. With the uncertainty over Salford & Fev, the numbers won't look great.

Maybe this is the RFL Masterplan. To have a self-culling scenario. Which in a couple of years, would enable a 16 team SL.

Thoughts?

Paulie xx

@halfback-ragnarsson Add to that them re-appointing Nigel Wood without following due process sparking an investigation by sport england for not following its code, potentially risking millions in grass roots funding. But the interim chief exec of the RFL Abi Ekoku saying its 'not a big deal'. On a side note he just happens to be an ex Bradford player.

I completely agree with Paulie and Dan there. The point about WV being the payday for other clubs is absolutely right. I am alright with that as long as we can grow as well, and that will be very difficult to do.

Without wanting to act out "What have the Romans done for us?", I honestly can't think of any value the RFL bring. In fact I find it easier to think of where they have reduced value. I wouldn't blame Oldham, Widnes and a few others from walking off and forming their own league.