Wigan and Warrington are among several Super League clubs in the process of arranging their own reserve games next season after expressing their discontent with the current setup.
Super League clubs currently only have an under-19s side below first-team level, meaning that any player over 19 either has to be sent to a partner club in the lower leagues or face not playing at all if they are not selected for the first team – whereas clubs could previously play over-age players in an under-21 league.
That has led to some devising their own plans for extra fixtures in 2016 on top of the under-19s competition, with the Wigan coach, Shaun Wane, revealing plans are well advanced behind the scenes. “I’m sure [the RFL] will fix it; I know meetings are going on and it’s high on the agenda,” said Wane. “But I don’t want a player sat here not playing; they’re born to play and we pay them a wage to play.
“We’re putting things in place to make sure we’re getting people games no matter what. We’re way down the line with plans about our own games. We speak to clubs about that a lot, about fixing our own games up for next year. Whatever happens we’re covered and we’re going to be in control and getting players games within our own system.”
Super League sides must decide by 24 July whether fringe players stay out on dual registration for the remainder of the season or return to their club, meaning some could have played their last game of the season by the end of this month. The Warrington coach, Tony Smith, used one of his own youngsters as an example of that scenario and says with nowhere to field players over 19 not in the first team – or those returning from injury – they too have had to look at setting up additional games.
“We’ve got young Declan Patton who won’t make the team at North Wales [Crusaders, their dual-registration club], and he could well have played his last game of the year already,” said Smith. “What sort of development is that? I don’t like saying it but these kids who aren’t playing much will end up elsewhere, they’ll go to Australia because they can play every week.
“We’ve simply got to act and do something different to how it is. It’s too big an ask for some kids aged 19 to step straight in and play Super League; if we had the under-21s again where you could throw some over-age players in too then that would be ideal.
“Simon Grix hasn’t played for a year due to injury and we’ve got to now throw him straight back into Super League because this deadline and the academy structure means he won’t be able to play a game elsewhere, and that’s why our whole system is just horrendous in terms of rehabilitating and developing people. It degrades the system and turns it into mediocre league rather than Super League.”
