Oldham chief’s backing for RFL

LIKE most owners and chairmen outside Super League, Oldham chief Chris Hamilton is backing the RFL in a power struggle that threatens to split the sport down the middle.

Doncaster's Carl Hall, Halifax's Michael Steele and Dewsbury's Mark Sawyer have also reacted strongly to a late revolt by a majority of Super League clubs against RFL plans to restructure the game and reintroduce promotion and relegation.

Leading the Super League stand-off is Wigan Warriors owner Ian Lenagan, who successfully called for the postponement of an extraordinary general meeting of the Rugby League Council last week - at which extensive and far-reaching RFL proposals were expected to be rubber-stamped.

An angry Hall, who owns Doncaster, raged: "Who does Ian Lenagan think he is? For him to have the meeting called off at such a late hour is nonsense. If he wants to run the Rugby League he should leave Wigan and try to do it.

"I fully support the RFL, but I'm not happy at the cancellation of a big meeting on the back of one individual's comments."

Key proposals to shake up the game are now in the 'pending' tray until after the World Cup, amid fears

in the two Championship divisions that at best it could mean radical changes are delayed for another year.

Hamilton, while urging caution, said it was "particularly disappointing" that Mr Lenagan had undermined all the progress that had been made.

He added: "The proposed changes offer a suitable way forward for the entire game. They won't suit every club's needs in every respect, and that includes Oldham, but we have to look at the bigger picture.

"I urge everybody to be mindful of the dangers.

"One of the great beacons of rugby league is its independent RFL board. One hopes that as soon as possible it will again come together to move forward collectively."