When are the RL going to announce which teams will be playing each other next season?
No doubt it won’t favour us, we’ll probably get 3 trips to Cumbria and go down to London.
It's not the big clubs that bother me, we get up for those, it's the numpty ones that we should win that let us down!!!
Eleven no marks and we lose!!!!!!We can't carry that sort of rubbish any more.
Our aim has to be the fittest, hardest, smartest PT team in the comp!!!!!!
When are the RL going to announce which teams will be playing each other next season?
No doubt it won’t favour us, we’ll probably get 3 trips to Cumbria and go down to London.
If i am off work London be good for me as i am 1 hour on the train away. 😂👍
I'm no admirer of the RFL but give them a chance.Its only been 10 hours since York and Toulouse were confirmed.
I wouldn't trust the RFL to get anything right. Have they announced whether there will be promotion and relegation next year, or will they leave that announcement to the end of the season!!
There was some talk of SL being increased to 16, 18 or 20 at some stage. I guess that will depend on the outcome of the Sky deal next year.
It would make sense if Championship teams knew whether or not they will be playing for a promotion spot before the season starts. That may well influence decisions on signings
Presumably they have agreed with Hetherington that there will be a place for London in SL in 2027,
Heard on the grapevine structure will be announced in November...
Woe is we.Poor old Widnes,always feeling sorry for ourselves.We will probably get a 7 AM kick off in the outer hebrides and have to get up before we go to bed.
Realise that the actual fixtures will take time to come out, but surely the decision of one league and the basis of the fixture format could have been decided and the tenure of the 14 L teams - is it 1, 2 years ?
it will be as long as their money will last!
If another club offers more for the SL status and independent committee will decide!!!
Beware that RFL/SL officers salaries could be at risk!!!!!!
@7-vikingnomad It has been announced that the 14 SL Clubs for 2027 will be based on IMG position. At least that is until it looks like Bradford will be in trouble and then, it may be an "independent" panel!!!
We should aim to finish top of the Championship and start working on the IMG short-cuts immediately. We should look for some sponsorship for a couple of quality players, a prop and a centre, to add to the squad.
Should we employ Nigel as a consultant for the IMG submission? I heard he was good at this.
The new SL structure will cost about £1.2m, or the same as many clubs need to meet their costs after they have spent their Sky allocation. I cannot seriously expect the Sky deal to be bigger this time to be bigger than the last.
It is more likely that non SL clubs, like us, will get nothing 'to pay for the new structure'.
The game as a whole is on its backside and is hoping that more McManus/ Leneghan's will rescue it out of club loyalty.
We need to find more WVIPs and take care of what we've got. We have it from the rulers - we need more money and if we don't have it we are history!!!!!
If the UK was in a booming economy there maybe a chance, but it isn't. It will be interesting just how the Oldham, Halifax etc factions will fare. A lot of money spent and London ready to jump into the gap!
Interesting to see that Saints are bringing in an English coach rather than a new Aussie.
The start of a slimming of the structure?
@sandgroper If the RFL cut adrift those Clubs outside the SL with reduced or no funding, what is the point of being affiliated to the RFL?
Outside of Wigan and Hull KR this season, most games have been pretty boring to watch and many I switched off before the end.
I wonder if those fans of the Championship teams could organise a mass boycott of a televised SL game, would it make them think that they actually need those teams and their fans to get a deal with Sky.
I'm going for 'Yeds v 'Ornits, Cru v Chemics, Worky v 'Haven, and Pinks v Lions (or vice-versa of course) on Good Friday.
Other than that, who knows?
Spelly.
That's what I am getting at Frank. The original Sky deal started the SL and bought clubs out of trouble but instead of concentrating on improving the game the clubs expanded , signing on much more staff than was needed and leaving them short and relying on their owners to bale them out.
We are fast approaching a pre-SL situation as the Sky deal runs down, but with fully professional clubs with a growing wage bill.
The note on our application that we need bigger and better cash funds tells the story as it is, sadly. If the Championship is to continue in anything like it is now clubs will need to manage without anything from Sky.
Some clubs may manage to stay in SL but those outside could need to re-organise their virtually part time structure without RFL help!
It will be interesting to see if any SL clubs release some of their second string players! Don't really know if Roby's departure from Saints wasn't an economy saving measure.