John, it's knacked at all levels mate. Local RL is no exception, I understand that three or four players at one of our district's Conference club are signing for a Pennine division 3 club, that's technically division5 including Premier, Championship, 1,2 & 3. How right can this be ? If the names I'm hearing are correct, all of these lads regularly played Conference rugby this last season, one of them even playing representative rugby. Surely they have more ambition than division 3 ( or 5 in old money ). Look at it this way, if the club they're moving to only has minimal number of players and some of their loyal lads over the last few seasons suddenly find themselves without a game 'cos of these new signings, then they could be lost to the game. Let's take it a step further & I suggest the team gets promoted at the end of the season and the new lads go back to playing conference rugby, or even impress a pro club enough to get some reserve team rugby, what happens to the short-sighted amateur team that gets promoted but loses a couple of regular lads AND their recent signings, I'll tell you what, they'll start forfeiting games like they did at the beginning of this season 'cos they'll be unable to raise a side.
This comes on the back of the decision to make the Conference a summer comp to fall in line with the pro game, some Conference clubs actually said they felt "bullied into" the summer switch.
If this was junior RL it'd be governed by the number of signings a club can register from other clubs, it's known as "super-team-building".
Just out of interest, all of us who have any sort of affiliation to the amateur game, either RL or RU and know the lads who play at local clubs or are involved in the running of the clubs locally, how many people directly from these local clubs do you know who either sponsor at Halifax RLFC, pay at the gate, go to many matches at all following their local club, or as I suspect, just turn out for the big finals ?
I know very few who, unless they have kids playing the game, don't give their local club a second thought with regards to actually going to the matches nowadays. A long way since the days when we used to bump into lads at the sunday afternoon match & discuss the previous day's amateur fixtures.
The whole sport has been turned upside down in my opinion and has come out of it worse for wear.
Greetland All-Rounders v Selby Warriors tomorrow ? Aye if I can be ar$ed.....