The RFL have made big changes to the reserve competition for next season
Hull KR CEO Paul Lakin with Kris Radlinski(Image: SW Pix)
An improved reserves competition will be introduced to the rugby league landscape next season, Hull KR CEO Paul Lakin has confirmed.
Most Super League clubs have had reserve teams for some time, and there is a competition in place with a table, which Wigan Warriors topped this year before winning the grand final with a 42-0 victory over Warrington Wolves.
However, some teams played just 10 matches over the course of the year and moving forward, more emphasis will be placed on the second string format to bolster its structure and standing.
Games have often been played in midweek and in many cases that has prevented first-team players on the edge of the senior picture picking up minutes in the competition, with clubs favouring loans or dual registration before then.
That looks set to change next season, with Lakin confirming an 18-game season has been agreed upon, with reserve teams getting the opportunity to play a full campaign with semi-finals and a grand final to follow.
Matches will also be played in conjunction with the first-team, on the same weekend or potentially even as a curtain-raiser, ensuring the option for senior players on the outer to drop down.
The league looks set to be made up of 10 teams, which are still to be confirmed, but the Rovers chief believes the introduction of such a competition is a huge step forward.
“There’s much more structure to the reserves league next year which I’m really pleased about,” Lakin told Hull Live. “That looks much more positive for me.
“You’ll find the reserves league next year, probably for the first time since I’ve been back in six years will be a genuine competition.
“It will be 10 teams in the reserve league with a semi-final and a grand final. The intention is for the reserves games to be played in and around the first-team fixtures, say around 24 hours before. The intention is that whoever we’re playing home or away, that’s who the reserves will play home or away.
“There’ll be a lot more opportunity for players that aren’t in the first-team to play in the reserves rather than midweek and you ‘re not able to choose because you don’t want to get them injured for the first-team at the weekend.
“I think that if you’re 18th man for the first-team you’re very likely to play for the reserves the day before or the day after, however it works. I think if you’re not in the squad you’re likely to be playing in the reserves because it will be a competitive league.
“The scheduling will work that way and you’ll have far more chance to do that. That will likely be our strategy and other clubs might have a different strategy.
“The point I’m trying to make is that a lot of the reserve games were midweek and it made it impossible because coaches would naturally not put players in the reserves because they don’t want them injured for the first team but if they’re back to back and closer together you can make more decisions.”