Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:47 pm  

The success of the Catalan dragons proves the value of mergers.

It’s time we considered this in the north.

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:01 pm  

Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza wrote:

The success of the Catalan dragons proves the value of mergers.

It’s time we considered this in the north.

Haliford Bullfax seems a good first step

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:28 pm  

Come on then, what teams should merge? This will be a laugh

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:36 pm  

Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza wrote:

The success of the Catalan dragons proves the value of mergers.

It’s time we considered this in the north.

Whilst a great achievement let’s not carried away. They still need to follow it with consistent on field showings. Wasn’t long since they were stone dead last and playing away in a MPG. Catalans, Leeds, Warrington,Salford are all examples how fortunes can fluctuate easily in 12 months. Sheffield Eagles won the last big ‘romanticised’ underdog final and what happened there.

A trophy win is great but it’s only one step that can easily go backwards if they don’t follow it up next season.

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:44 pm  

Halifax & Huddersfield is viable for a Super League spot. Play out of the Shay. Both teams need more fans

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:44 pm  

Halifax & Huddersfield is viable for a Super League spot. Play out of the Shay. Both teams need more fans

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:10 pm  

The direct comparison is more Wests Tigers and St George-Illiwara in the NRL.

Not sure they’d ever really work in this country? For a start, you need two equal sized clubs, not one taking over another as in the past, and let’s be honest, we’re a little bit insular in the UK. Salford can’t get fans two miles further up the road, never mind to another city to watch home games.

I suppose it depends on what you want the league structure to be.

A Super League centric model where everything outside is irrelevant, or a well financed model where clubs can move between divisions based on how well they’re run instead of the dropping off a cliff edge we have now.

RL (and a healthy Super League) needs a well financed grassroots system. Not artificial creations and more short term experiments that are ended before they’ve even been given a chance to run.

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:12 pm  

Oh, and probably the direct comparison to Catalans would be Workington, Whitehaven and maybe Barrow creating a Cumbrian franchise.

They’d need to rotate home games between the three towns. It’d be useless having one home stadium that the other two have to travel to (or all three if it was in Carlisle)

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:13 pm  

Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza wrote:

The success of the Catalan dragons proves the value of mergers.

It’s time we considered this in the north.

Are you being KevJean for a day?

Re: Mergers : Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:31 pm  

Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza wrote:

The success of the Catalan dragons proves the value of mergers.

It’s time we considered this in the north.

Absolutely, can I suggest Huddersfield and Sheffield and of course Hull FC and Newcastle.