Tim Sheens calls for these British clubs to merge

Recently, we have seen how much it is true that former Hull KR and Salford Red Devils man Tim Sheens is never short of an opinion but someone with his experience in the game is certainly deserving of having his opinion listened to.

Now Wests Tigers coach, Sheens has had more than his fair share of time in the UK which is perhaps why he defied the odds to bring Wigan Warriors star John Bateman to the NRL this year.

He coached Hull KR having also worked with Salford Red Devils. In fact he recently claimed that the two were going to merge in 2017.

Speaking of mergers, he has called on Championship clubs to merge with Super League clubs, or at least become sister clubs.

“Up north, of course, they’re struggling in a rugby league. But Champ and Champ One and Super League is a system that allows no development to any great degree,” he said on The Bye Round.

“The academies are strong in a certain number of clubs, but not every club. And COVID really upset it. I mean, COVID shut down reserve grade. They got reserve grade started again and it went under.

“The Championship clubs won’t amalgamate with the Super League club and be a sort of a sister club because they’ve got their own pride, because in the 50s they were champions at one stage. You just can’t get that out of the system over there.

He then used Featherstone Rovers as an example: “So, if they joined forces with say Wakefield, you’re in the same area, or Cas, which is in the same area, then they could be the feeder club.

“But of course the fans won’t allow that. The old fashioned fans, a bit like the Balmain Wests fans and St. George Illawarra fans. You’ve got the fans that follow the one franchise. They’re not interested. The kids would be the ones and then even the kid’s kids.”