Sky Sports pair question ‘pie in the sky’ Super League expansion talk

Sky Sports duo Jon Wilkin and Sam Tomkins have further questioned the ‘rushed’ process to expand Super League to 14 teams in 2026 – with Tomkins offering a passionate defence of Catalans’ place in the competition.

Super League clubs have approved an expansion to the league next year, with at least two Championship teams coming in. That number could rise to three should Salford fail to make the end of this season or be removed from the equation given their problems.

And Tomkins, speaking ahead of Leigh’s clash with Leeds on Thursday, took aim at the two different processes – the IMG gradings and an independent panel – that will collectively find the 14 teams that will be in Super League in 2026.

He described that situation as ‘absolutely wild’.

Tomkins said: “We’ve got to have 14 teams in Super League next year that have all gone through the same checks. I think it’s absolutely wild that two out of 14, their place in the league is different to everyone else.

“We’ve got this panel and the Lord (Jonathan Caine) who’s going to select two, but if we think that’s better than IMG why are they selecting two? Why aren’t they selecting 14? It baffles me that 12 teams are in on one set of rules.”

Wilkin then interjected, calling the situation ‘rushed’ before declaring the prospect of overseas investment as ‘pie in the sky’.

He said: “It’s so rushed. I’ve got no issue with going to 14 teams, to 16 teams even. But you can’t just go okay, we’re going to take ten quota players and rush it through in August, for what? Jason Harborow (a member of Nigel Wood’s strategic review group) is going to bring in some investment from Qatar?

“It’s just pie in the sky stuff. I respect the owners of the game but this has been hastily done with a lack of information and they’re using loop fixtures which sometimes they’re great, and sometimes they aren’t.”

That was not all, with Tomkins insisting that the rapidly-declining situation at Salford makes a further mockery of threats to remove Catalans from Super League.

Tomkins said: “Catalans have been in Super League for 19 years and never asked for a handout. They’ve got a million euros of extra travel costs to deal with and we’re the club getting more and more hurdles put across us to make it near enough impossible to stay in the league.

“Catalans don’t bring bad news to this league. They don’t bring it down the way Salford have.”