Super League has 'nothing to lose' by naming Featherstone Rovers as 12th team, insists Davide Longo

Numerous clubs, including the likes of Leigh Centurions, London Broncos and Toulouse Olympique, have thrown their hat in the ring to fill the void left by Toronto Wolfpack.

Featherstone strongly feel that merits on the pitch should dictate who enters the top flight next year.

They were beaten in the 2019 Championship Grand Final by the Wolfpack in Canada and were unbeaten when their season was curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Featherstone were a top-flight club prior to the formation of Super League but lost their place as they were effectively relegated to make way for London Broncos and Paris Saint-Germain.

“When I was growing up, Featherstone were a top-flight team and had some of the better players in the sport,” said Longo.

“Unfortunately, for 24 years they haven’t been a top-flight club. We will just see how it pans out. I don’t think there is anything to be lost by putting Featherstone Rovers into Super League.

There is quite a bit to be gained but there is certainly nothing to lose.”

One thing that Featherstone can provide is two more derby matches, against Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers.

The only professional sports clubs in the Wakefield district are rugby league teams and Longo believes it is something that will be attractive to the broadcast market.

“The derbies would be phenomenal. You only need to look back at the Challenge Cup game we had against Castleford Tigers in 2012,” he added.

“We were due to play Wakefield in the Challenge Cup this year but sadly it didn’t happen.”

Other clubs will be able to offer their own arguments as to why they will be of benefit to the top flight but Longo insists Featherstone have already earned their shot on the field.

The club would need to improve the floodlights at their Post Office Road ground if their bid was successful and recruit “four or five” more players.

Longo added: “I am confident we can recruit. I think the team we have got now is a very strong Championship team, a lot of our team has got plenty of Super League experience.

“We are willing to put the hard work in for Featherstone to be competitive in Super League.”

Lord Jonathan Caine will chair a seven-strong panel to determine the 12th Super League club for 2021.

The panel will be completed by three members of the Rugby Football League and three members from Super League Europe.

A joint RFL and Super League statement read: “The full application process, and the criteria against which applications will be assessed, will be distributed to clubs and published on Thursday (November 12).

“The deadline for applications is the morning of Monday November 30.

“The RFL and SLE are conscious of the limited period of time for the preparation of applications, but equally aware that the successful club will need time to prepare for the 2021 season.

“The application criteria will be aligned, where possible, with information and documentation already held by the RFL, or which applicant clubs should already have in existence.

“A decision is scheduled to be made by Wednesday December 16, although that deadline could be extended in specific circumstances.”

Rochdale Hornets and Newcastle Thunder had expressed an interest in applying for the vacant spot but they have failed to meet the initial criteria.

The statement added: “A number of initial criteria for applicants have been agreed, including that the club must have been in the Betfred Super League, or have finished in the top six of the Betfred Championship, in either 2018 or 2019.”

League 1 clubs will be contacted in due course about the soon-to-be vacant spot in the Championship.