I have to say that when I read the article at the time, the first thought in my head was that it was the kind of rubbish that only Martyn Sadler could come up with.
The conference systems are a success in America. However, the target audience is different. We have different tradition and expectations from sport. Individual games and their results don't necessarily do it for us here. There has to be a bigger picture, be it titles, promotion, relegation or reaching play-offs, to get people excited.
The issue of funding is something he pays lip service to but doesn't address, simply because he can't address it. The gulf between current Super League clubs and the lower League One clubs is probably about 80 points. The gulf in finances is even wider. So, for a start, we are seeing a number of clubs get slapped by the kind of scoreline that instantly turns fans away from the game.
Now, currently the Super League clubs get something like £1.5 million a year, Championship clubs £300 K and League One clubs less. I've pulled these figures out of thin air, to be honest, but they sound right. So, do we dumb existing Super League clubs finances down to get an equilibrium, thus bankrupting current Super League clubs or do we fund as per Martyn's suggestion, by giving £1.28 million for top spot in each conference, down to £80,000 at the bottom?
Two things here. One is that how can you sign players on a contract and pay them a wage when you cannot guarantee your income to a reasonable degree? The second is that, actually, you might be able to, because such financial disparity is going to guarantee that the whipping boys forever remain whipping boys. They won't get the money to build a team and they'll continue to get flogged until the point that the last fan out of the door can turn out the lights.
At the moment, teams play teams who are broadly speaking at their level. That makes things competitive and interesting for the spectator. Crucially, it's the weekly intensity that primes players for international competition. If eight of Saints games are against Widnes, Whitehaven, Widnes and Workington, there is no intensity and the competition will never even up because of the financial issues I highlight above and the fact the game is split between full and part time players. The competition will not sell to the fans, crowds will go down, funding will lessen.
If Rugby League was commencing from Ground Zero, it could be the way to go, but it isn't. American sports often have draft systems in place. They are much more equal. In RL we have big clubs, not so big, small and tiny. That disparity in wealth, quality, stadia and support means that the system would merely be a preparatory system for the big clubs to walk through without getting enough intensity and preparation.
I've put a link to the article here for those who haven't seen it. However, in my honest opinion, like 99% of Sadler's writing, it's fit only for the dustbin. It's simply not been thought through.
https://www.totalrl.com/a-future-str...-competitions/