Hamilton helps to tackle the big issues

CHAIRMAN Chris Hamilton represented Oldham today at a crucial pre-season meeting of rugby’s non super league clubs.

The 23 clubs met at Featherstone for a summit designed to finalise the structure and format of this season's second and third tier competitions

Promotion and relegation are back, with Super League cut from 14 clubs to 12 at the end of the season.

The nine clubs in Championship One in 2014 will each play 20 games - eight opponents home and away and four games selected at random

Oldham's extras are against Hemel Stags and Gloucester All Golds at Whitebank and against London Skolars and Gateshead Thunder away.

The Roughyeds' first league game is South Wales Scorpions away, at Maesteg, on March 2, followed by the first of Hemel's two visits to Whitebank on March 9.

Hunslet Hawks and York City Knights have come down to replace promoted North Wales Crusaders and Rochdale Hornets.

To produce a Super League of 12 and a Championship of 12 in 2015, at least four clubs would be relegated to Championship One at the end of the coming season - even five, if one club was promoted from tier three.

That seems the likely option, with promotion going not to the club that finishes top of the league but to the one winning the play-off final.