Question is in the title really.

People have talked about a "professional French league" but how do you build that with only a handful of clubs? With a conference system, you can start with 4 and build from there. Obviously not saying we're in that position yet, but I think it could be the only way to make major inroads into France. The new system doesn't really look like it will lend itself to expansion myself.

In terms of expansion the answer is always the same. MONEY! PATIENCE! MONEY!
Without these you are wasting your time.

The game is in retreat faster than a French General.

It's also struggling to maintain its tiny and largely irrelevant heartland.

I'd suggest that expansion of any kind at pro level is a dead duck for the next decade at the very least.

Again I find myself agreeing with young billy.......the bottom 8 in the 888 will be a fun but pretty pointless exercise whilst once a few plucky losers from the million pound game realise they are simply not allowed to compete, we will see a Return to 1 up 1 down and it'll be like the last 10 years didn't happen!

The key one is patience, which many a RL fan doesn't have. People too often want immediate results within a year or two. If at the end of 2015 the 4 teams who went 'down' go back up then people will cry foul straight away that this system is a failure. People want a stronger international game but expected Wales and France to be at competitive level within a few years of introducing Crusaders and Catalans. The former of course they tried rushing up before it was ready because they didn't have the patience to let it find its feet more naturally.

as much as it pains me to say this, I agree with you


The RFL need to stick to this 888 farce for 10 years + and if needed, tweak the rules (standard cap across the 24....closed door overseas) and then, if it's still a closed door, maybe make 2 more step down and have a 3 x 10 scenario with 1 up one down......

I know I'm in the minority with this view, but i think if we had persisted with the licensing process it would have worked with a little bit of tinkering now and again.
I can't for the life of me see many if any benefits to the game with the new system.
OK i will put my tin hat on and shut the door on the way out.

TBF I agree with you. I honestly think we will be back to the boom and bust of clubs spending above their means to get into SL. P&R isn't the answer to the games ills.

No need for that. You are absolutely correct in your opinion. Moreover licensing would have been quite compatible with conferences.

There are 2 main benefits to the new system.

1/ The top 8 have the chance to play a more intense set of fixtures AND will gain financially because of this.
2/ There is a pathway into the top flight for clubs currently in the Championship

Unfortunately the list of negatives attached to the new system is somewhat longer.

Hampering junior development, due to the need to survive (at whichever level) and the difficulties in ever expanding the game.

We have seen that most clubs struggle like hell in their first couple of seasons in the top flight, so the chances for survival are minimal.
Ok, you could argue that any such club should be able to compete in the middle 8, but that is not much of an incentive.

Hindsight is brilliant and I'll say with those glasses on that I'd of kept Licensing, but would have been tough on it - so Wakefield, Bradford and probably London should have been dropped following their financial meltdowns. If we'd had a NGB that were respected by clubs then they'd all have had their shops in order.

What happened was teams continued to dream and even though the licence was in place were allowed to spend over the odds and go bust. Yet, somehow managed to survive in the top flight.

That was the joke - and I'm a London fan.

The new system will just mean it's more open on paper for a team to get promoted, but still very unlikely in reality. Teams will continue to go bust in pursuit of the holy grail that is SL existance and the bottom teams in SL will struggle to maintain themselves there.

What we have is the same situation branded differently. I don't want to be seen as a negative, but the game may as well have an 8 team SL and then spread the rest down the leagues - it'll be more competitive.

The NRL is the blue print to some extent - there is a league with teams who can win the tournament one year and be out of the play-off's or bottom the following year. That creates excitment and interest - SL is miles from that.

You could still have relegation and conferences.