I suspect that there are another couple of dominoes to topple sooner than later.
This Halifax situation has been ongoing since 2024, it really isn't a surprise, it's sad for the Club, the fans, and the Game in general.
But, if you don't pay your bills, you can't have the thrills. There are too many Charlatans involved in the Boardrooms of British RL Clubs. Rule, Munson & the O'Connors were just the tip of the iceberg.
Paulie xx
Yeah. I’ve just read that. Come out of nowhere. Was expecting north wales to be the one that would be in the news for that from what I’ve heard
It is not out of nowhere. It was in the RL press over the last 2 weeks that they were facing a winding up order from HMRC. The owners were quoted as saying they were not concerned as it was sure there was no case & all would be well.
This is what the Oldham board are saying as well. Just hope they do not go bust as well but they do seem to have paid out a lot to assemble their squad & the director was moaning at the Oldham public for not supporting a winning team in enough numbers.
Going. back over the last couple of years it has been stated from time to time that Halifax had financial issues.
I am not holding my breath but I hope this will wake up the people at the RL headquarters because looking at the gates most clubs get most are less than 2,000 & some less than 1,000. Letting a few Championship clubs keep all the gate money against SL clubs in the cup games alone will not save this league. Unless things change as quite a few on here have said it will be a gradual but slow death for the Championship as each club goes one after another. We have been saying this for a few years now but nothing significant has been done. It also shows the MRI system is worthless!!! Surprise, surprise!
This post was modified 11 hours ago by geoffw
Not MRI should read IMG.
On the plus side, there's probably only going to be us and London left in a few months so, may as well promote us both to SL.
The death of RL in this country could be just the break we're looking for!
Sad to see another RFL Club in trouble and serious doubts about its future.
Have the RFL made any mention of the situation and what they plan to do to support the game below SL?
In my opinion, if the RFL want to grow the game in the UK - rather than be a poor relation of the NRL - they need to aim for a two league system, with promotion and relegation based on performance rather than a spreadsheet exercise; and ensure a fairer distribution of funds throughout the game.
In the short-term, the aim of the IMG gradings, to improve standards on and off the pitch should continue, with a minimum standard for entry into both divisions.
Credit to the Widnes Board for their careful approach over recent years, whilst facing criticism from disappointed fans at times, as not being ambitious enough. We seem to be financially viable and well run club, with a decent fan base, and just need consistent performances on the pitch to convince fans that we are capable of competing at the top in the Championship; and ultimately getting into SL
What a tempting proposition to potential investors- second division rugby,no hope of promotion,no central funding,no TV coverage,little away support at home games,shared stadium.
What a tempting proposition to potential investors- second division rugby,no hope of promotion,no central funding,no TV coverage,little away support at home games,shared stadium.
Indeed. And unless Widnes can find a way of getting in to SL in the next couple of seasons, I'd say that's probably the permanent future of the part-time game; beyond that, it's more likely to morph in to playing Thatto Heath than going the other way.
Well in all honesty looking back fax is not a major shock
would not be surprised to see a few more follow, particularly in cumbria
But the problem the game now has is how to make the championship work - it was a dogs breakfast from the start, but without fax lots of teams are losing 2 fixtures - the home one would probably be amongst their biggest gates of the season ( swinton,Rochdale for instance)
feel this is what the RFL wanted
Well in all honesty looking back fax is not a major shock
would not be surprised to see a few more follow, particularly in cumbria
But the problem the game now has is how to make the championship work - it was a dogs breakfast from the start, but without fax lots of teams are losing 2 fixtures - the home one would probably be amongst their biggest gates of the season ( swinton,Rochdale for instance)
feel this is what the RFL wanted
Too many people in rugby league feel entitled to salaries that simply aren’t supported by the sport’s actual revenue. You’ve got part-time players asking for £50k, Super League players expecting hundreds of thousands, and clubs carrying bloated staff structures.
Clubs need to be run far more efficiently — leaner, better managed, and aligned with the financial reality of the sport.
Once again it seems incredible that the RL supposedly ran a due diligence test on the consortium who took over Halifax in 2022 yet the club has no comeback when that test is found to be worthless as the club appear to have been in financial trouble pretty much since the consortium took over.
If these due diligence/fit and proper persons tests offer no protection for a club from the RL then they have zero value or credibility.
HMRC will have first dabs at any assets that comes out of Halifax but I’d be surprised if there aren’t a host of small, local companies who can’t afford to lose money who will be scrambling for pennies in the pound for services they’ve offered.
@jdgsport Good to see your optimism for the future of RL, but probably right.
What future do you envisage for the rest of RL? Other than hoping that the NRL will bail them out, what do you think is the long-term strategy of those currently running the game? Do they have a strategy?