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Just got back from 'Haven -v- Castleford, great game. 'Haven very poor in the first half, didn't half turn it around in the second half to win 32-22.

Interesting semi-final between Cas' and 'Fax next weekend!

The game was so nearly spoilt by terrible refereeing though... our close friend Steve Ganson was in charge! He didn't seem to bother with offsides, missed knock-ons, forward passes and most 50-50 went the way of Cas, the ones that didn't left the Haven fan shocked as to why he gave it to them.

yeah great comeback by haven rob ganson is a clown

if whitehaven are promoted do they have a realistic chance of staying up. leigh where the best team in that division and look how that turned out. maybe promotion should be decided by the RFL by looking at the team being religated and the team to be promoted and working out what would be best for superleague. last year leigh came up cas went down, leigh where a disaster. it would have been better to keep cas and reject leigh.cas could have kept all there players and started to prepare for the next season look how the ex-cas players are playing now.

Whoever gets promoted will struggle. Castleford are a pale immitation of the SL team. Relegation = losing your best players. Whitehaven would be a nice boost to Cumbrian Rugby League and maybe McCormack can use his Wigan connections to lure the likes of Bob Beswick and co to Haven.

The only way promotiom and relegation can ever work is if that the only thing you loose if you get relegated is pride.

The only way that could be so is if there was enough money in the game for the NL1 sides to be full time allowing them to retain their squads.

As it is a side comes up, gets pasted all season, gets relegated and goes down with a worse sqad than it came up with when all the contracts are cancelled and any decent player gets snapped up by the SL sides!

Look at Godwin and I am sure a couple of Castlefords forwards from 2004 have ended up at Bradford and Hull.

Dave

Surely the only way to sort out promotion relegation is to either have a initial season 'immune' from going down, or to stick with franchises and sack the promotions off.
Hopefully Haven will make SL, but then they've a limited time to recruit, and as favorites for the drop, who will sign anyway?
Needs a good dose of lookin at by the RL.
Good luck to the 'Ham Eaters'!!

Haven have acknowledged the problems Leigh faced when coming to Super League. (I think) one of the board have said that they don't plan on buying all the players from relegated Leigh and Widnes should they make SL but they will operate with the core of players they have currently.

Haven have the some of the best amateur clubs in the country as feeders. A lot of Haven players have come from teams like Wath Brow, Kells, Hensingham (we got Lee Mossop from here). They have some cracking young players as well as some ageing players that might not make it (again) in SL. Players like Paul Davidson will be forced to leave and older players like Aaron Lester and David Seeds are probably a little too old for the transition now. Players like Carl Sice, Craig Chambers, Craig Calvert (although a little light), Gary Broadbent (former Salford), Craig Walsh, Mick Nanyn (his dad played for Wigan), Joel Penny and Howard Hill would make a decent core to build a team around. Players like David Fatialofa and Leroy Joe may be able to make the move up too, however, are on the wrong side of 28 IIRC.

As someone else mentioned McCormack is from Wigan and may well have contacts, he also has contact with Cullen as he was Haven's last coach so there are some links there too!

It would also be really good for RL in Cumbria. Yesterday the town was buzzing, there were loads of Cas fans about, many casual Haven fans went to the game and there were fans that wanted to go but couldn't get a ticket. I know of people in Carlisle that would have liked to go too, if this became a regular fixture with an SL side up every other week it would do wonders to promote the game further.

Finally, it would be fantastic to be able to walk to and from the game rather than have a 300-400 mile round trip

I have a big soft spot for Cumbrian RL, with family coming from the Maryport area [my mums cousin is Ike Southward, one of Cumbrias greatest ever players].
I can't wait for a Cumbrian team in SL, if only they can do better than Town did back in SL 1 !!!!!!!!

I do not hold Robs optimism as regards the current players being able to do well BUT I concur with everybody that Cumbria is a place that should be cherished as a RL stronghold. I think they have wrongly been largely ignored in the clamour for expansion outside of areas traditionally associated with RL. Nothing wrong with consolidation and indeed it is badly needed.

cpwigan posted:
I do not hold Robs optimism as regards the current players being able to do well...

Why not?

Last season they pushed Warrington in the cup and did well against us this season, it was the fitness that they were lacking though when it came down to it, something a full time SL side could improve on. I think it's good they have acknowledged that buying in rejects from Leigh will not keep them afloat and McCormack plans to get them there and keep them there.