rugbyreddog wrote:
Am I the only one seriously missing the point. Talk of Academies and Reserve Teams? 10 years ago we were world champions, 100% of resources should be piled into a first team that gets us promoted. Can anybody tell me what shape Toronto's Academy and Reserve team are in?
To be fair, 10 years ago is irrelevant now and we as fans need to remember the good days with fondness, but also a lot of fans (not aimed at you, but people I know personally) keep bringing it up and we have no right to be anywhere now regardless of what we did 10 years ago.
I agree the first team needs funding. But at the same time if Franchising does come back into play (all signs point to this) then what will the Bulls or Franchise be marked on?
First Team Performances? - been declining hugely. Mirrored by the relegation from Super League and finishing last this season.
Crowds? - Yes we have decent crowds still and get more than Salford so we could potentially have this in our favour for a franchise, however these have been declining too. There is potential for it to grow though unlike Wakey, Salford and Hudds.
Stadium - In the previous franchise I think Odsal was graded as a B or C due to half of it being uncovered. Whereas I believe 8 were graded A/B with only London and Wakefield graded lower than us I think. I could be wrong (probably am). This would be a positive.
Finances - we have no money, so can't be anywhere near an operating income which would put us in a franchise place?
New Club? - Technically we are a new club, however you feel like the past 5 years will go against us in terms of Admin and Liquidation, you know what the RFL are like. New club could also be in our favour due to not having links with previous versions of the club.
The final criteria would be Academy. Now as we already know our academy set up is good and have produced some quality players, along with some 'good' players who have made it into our first team. Having a reserve grade would give us bonus points as we are creating a clear pathway for players, and also it lowers the drop off level for players after they finish at the 18's.
Also if I am lead to believe is correct, the RFL are introducing a 'rewards' system. So every club who has an academy will receive some central funding, the likes of Leigh won't get this. Whoever runs an academy will get 'reward' funding for every player they produce. However the amount will differ based on the level they play at (SL, Champ etc), who they play for (more for your own team, slightly less if they play for others) and also what kind of contract they are on. So for this season (if it was in play) we'd have received more for Bentley, Ryan, Kirk than for Rickett, Butterworth, Storton etc. So in essence running an academy and reserve grade will produce money, and also the women's team isn't to be ignored. There is a lot of funding pots available for women's sports!!
