Faxlore wrote:
Sorry for misunderstanding about being invited. I know that the Bulls have a very good academy and reserves set up but the RFL making you have a reserves is as bad in the present situation you are in. They wont let you sign players, you don't know if you will be at Odsal or where you may play next season. The RFL are squeezing you financially over Odsal , yet they make you put money into a system that is competing with the SL clubs. I'm sure the Bulls can keep running their academy and reserves but to me it just stinks that they make some teams run this system and tell others, who have one, they can't.
Still to be informed of the decision about Fax and the reserves but concerning the RFL who are now firmly under the control of Super Greed.
Generally what the RFL and SL do to control others such as Fax (when they don't want them involved) is.
They know what they (Fax) have in place and then as part of the criteria ask for something they haven't got.
If it was say income streams and attendance and Fax had an average crowd of 1500 then they would set the bar at 2000 if Fax had 2000 then it would be 2300 etc.
In this case they know Fax have a reserve side so they insist on having an academy or something else that is missing, simple really.
The glaring contradiction is if it is so important for SL and rugby league in general to have a pathway through the reserve comp that it becomes mandatory then why would they deny access to it to others who have already got a self funding thriving reserve team?
It leaves them with just the first team squad which over the season won't be enough, forcing more and more loans and DR deals so the SL clubs fringe players can get some game time and becoming more and more reliant on their SL masters!!
It's win win for SL, if the clubs survive then their fringe players get to play, if they fold then guess who will end up sharing the central funding money saved (central funding money to everyone outside SL will gradually be reduced anyway, watch this space.)
IL and associates want an Aussie style comp and in summary for the minnows it is, become feeder clubs or die.