Anyone wanting an indication of what lies ahead structure wise I'd say head to the Whitehaven FB page ....lee Butterworth(chairman/CEO ) has done an interview which more or less lays out how it will work ....single league of 21 ...24 games will be played in total (initial 10 home 10 away) against teams around where you finish last season..so in our case that would be immediate five above you and five below ...so In theory we would definitely play the following teams home and away ...featherstone ...Oldham ...Halifax.....Doncaster ..barrow .. London... Sheffield..Batley ......York Bradford Toulouse all into SL...so by that I'd assume hunslet and north Wales would be the 9th and 10th.....then you will have two additional regionalised home and away games ....with north Wales already slipping into our fixtures and the fact already be playing Oldham I'd guess those will be Rochdale and Swinton ......for me unbelievably stupid format that could see midlands finish above Oldham due to who their fixtures are .....the game is literally off it's head
The powers that be in Rugby League mess around so much with the rules and structure its a joke.
We can only wait whilst the already discredited RFL dream something up!
No sensible organisation would make these major changes without any consultation.
What a shambles
Let's hope he's got the wrong info, that sounds like madness.
The only thing that we can do is work hard with the squad so that our structure and game plans (if any) go smoothly. We have to be ready to be at our best every week, whoever we play.
We gave away too many games that we should have won and no matter what the league structure is we can't afford to do that again!!!!
Personally, I would prefer this structure which at least provides us with competitive games.
How many teams are likely to survive until 2026 and beyond, with the likelihood of central funding being reduced further or cut altogether? Do the Championship Clubs know what funding they are likely to be getting in 2026? Probably not, I would guess and someone will have to pay for the extra funding for the two additional teams.
You never know, the RFL may be looking to expand the SL further to 16, 18 or 20 Clubs in the future, as suggested by Derek Beaumont, who seems to be calling the shots these days, together with big Nige; although with Bradford getting into SL, Nige may have lost interest in the future expansion of SL!!
So, the RFL will probably have to re-address the structure next year. Hopefully, they are actively considering this now, to be taken into account in the negotiations for the tv deal post 2026; and not simply looking after the SL Clubs and putting the rest of the game out to dry.
It has been mentioned that the Championship play-off will involve the top 10 teams. If we can't build a squad capable of finishing in the top 10 of this league, then there is no hope for us. A top 4 is a minimum aim.
A stupid format if true. As has been said some Division 1 teams from last year, have a very good chance of finishing in the top 6 of the proposed new division because they will be playing mostly weak teams.
Just when I thought I couldn't care any less.Three second division teams catapulted into an already weak SL comp at the drop of a hat and now this fiasco.All at three months notice.Like organising a game of tick and pass in the local park after school.
Well there is no doubt this fixture structure if true is bizarre at best
i have said many times play each other once with extra fixtures
but it seems to me the RFL are trying to move to the Aussie model - 1 division, no PR and teams coming up have to be an approved franchise
I think I have 2-3 seasons left watching my club after we disappear into history, unless we are allowed into the expanded SL in 2028
Widnes Vikings
According to Love Rugby League these are our 10 home and away games formatt
Barrow, Sheffield, Hunslet, Workington, Dewsbury, Oldham, Salford, Halifax, Featherstone, Doncaster.
That would mean 2 trips to our “Neighbors “ in Cumbria!
no London fixture in there - don’t tell me they have the bottom placed teams ?
and very much like last seasons championship !
farce
@7-vikingnomad London are one of our "regional" fixtures alongside north Wales .....yes that's right as incredible as it sounds ...not Swinton...not Rochdale.....chuffing London ... brilliantly farcical
I can see this lasting one season.
I'm not bothered about playing London as a regional as I bet they would have ended up in the Western Conference if they had split it regionally.
Bar loyalty to the club, what is actually attractive about this set up?