I'm not counting any chickens here.   York have a great chance, they're the best team we've played this season.  They have a tidy stadium and seem well run.   As said above I reckon London will be in with shout due to Hetherington getting on board.   Despite Toulouse being top I'm not sure there's a big appetite for a second French club in SL - could they afford to pay the travel expenses of 13 other clubs like Catalans would?   


A lot depends on if Salford get relegated.   A lot of people are making assumptions.


On the Bradford juniors in SL there's a decent starting 13 spread across the SL clubs now.   I just wish them well, it helps if they're in a side that beats Leeds too!

There is a new Australian team next year in there S L so that could cut down the players ,coming over hear

Not read back but my initial thoughts are that I think a 14 team comp is the right way to go. 


Realistically Bulls will struggle beyond the short term without considerable investment unless thousands of fans come out the woodworks probably not seen in a decade. The stadium was in a state last season. A new pitch is needed and the terracing was covered in orange dust etc. A new pitch and cosmetic upgrades may see it look a bit more appealing but long term without significant investment I have reservations about Bradford. 


York would be my number 1 pick to be the most successful. 


They are probably in a similar boat with bulls to fans that they need to effectively double their fan base to be sustainable long term. They are very good at marketing and socials and perhaps this will aid them in that front. What they have over Bradford is a newish 8.5k stadium that looks better and is probably more cost effective and functional. It won’t be a weight on their backs. 


Toulouse I think have gone from 2000-2500 fans to doing double headers with other teams to keep them in the 3000+ bracket for the points. I would say a lot of that income from extra fans won’t see their coffers and it likely won’t be a true or sustainable reflection of their fan base. Again, a club that needs sustainable investment and to double their fan base. 


Some of the away supporters should go some way to increasing the attendances for these clubs so that will be a small part of the battle, perhaps if they market it right they could bridge the gap somewhat for these clubs rest. 


I do think it is the way forwards and a if the drive and investment is there in 2/3 years we could see the comp really flourish with a view to look at 16 teams in 4/5 years time. 


I would hope that a reserves comp and academy are mandatory though and I think an extra few teams after a few years will see the player pool increase too.

Ellis has spoken on JDs show about this.
He says the intention is to assess the extra teams to make sure they are ready. If not then it might nit be 14 teams.


Now I'm quite pro IMG so was not happy about the extras being assessed differently but if what it means is an assessment to make sure the teams in 13 and 14th place are high enough in the rankings to succeed then fair enough.
IMG was always about getting a league of As.
If expending to 14 means you are letting in a C, then you shouldn't do it.


I guess we'll see whether it's just badly explained.

Although it wouldn't help us this year, the top 5 play off was the best of the lot, with the top 2 having more chance to make the GF.