The way forward for the lower two tiers of Rugby League’s professional competitions should be a bit clearer this week.
Championship and League One clubs are due to meet in Oldham tomorrow, Wednesday, August 6, to discuss how they are going to set up for the 2026 season.
Super League have already decided to expand next season with 14 teams set to contest the top tier competition.
One of the suggestions being discussed at Championship/League One level is for two Conference Leagues, to be split east and west with play-offs at the end of the season.
An east section could look like: Batley, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Hunslet, Keighley, Newcastle, Midlands Hurricanes, Halifax, Featherstone, Sheffield, Goole.
The west section could look like: Workington, Whitehaven, Barrow, Oldham, Salford, Widnes, Swinton, Rochdale, North Wales, Bradford.
That would create a good mix of county derby clashes for the Cumbrian clubs, boosting coffers.
There’s another suggestion gaining support although compiling the fixture list might be a problem – all 21 clubs in one league, which would result in a total of 40 fixtures.
The suggestion is, with that set-up, there would be a graded fixture list determined on where they finish this season.
A number of sports in America use this system with success.
