Top Championship coach questions RFL on Super League expansion plan

Paul Cooke has spoken of his desire to take Featherstone Rovers into Super League – but not yet.

The top flight will be expanded from 12 to 14 clubs in 2026 with three Championship sides expected to make the step up.

The financial crisis at Salford Red Devils looks certain to spell the end of their stay in Super League. The likes of Bradford Bulls, London Broncos, Oldham, Toulouse Olympique and York Knights are vying for a top-flight spot in 2026.

For Featherstone, a proud old name of the British game, returning to rugby league’s top table is more of a long-time goal.

Rovers lie fifth in the Championship and head coach Cooke says clarity is needed on timescale for which teams will be elevated to the top tier.

He told Love Rugby League: “We just want to know what’s happening in terms of which clubs are going to be in Super League next year.

“As a club we’ve discussed this internally and we’re not going to rush going into Super League. I think too many clubs go up, spend way above their means and then come straight back down.

“Right now, we’re in a period where we need to be calm, collected and stay together. We won at Doncaster on Sunday and that keeps the pressure on everybody around us, so we just need to keep winning.

“We play Widnes at home and Sheffield away in the next two weeks and, if we can get four points from those two games, then we’ve near enough nailed a play-off spot. But I don’t think we’re ready – on or off the field – to go into Super League just yet.

“It’s about planning meticulously over the next few years to be honest.”

Rovers have not been in the big league since 1995, but Cooke is confident they can return to the promised land in the coming years.

“Of course there is potential for us to get back there,” said Cooke. “I think that’s the aim of Paddy Handley, the owner, and the club itself as a board of directors.

“It’s certainly the aim of the coaching staff and the players, so it’s about putting our best foot forward and making sure that we plan it.

“Some Super League teams overreach themselves financially and you only need to look at what’s happening at some of the clubs in there now.

“But hopefully we can get some answers from the RFL in terms of what’s happening with the league structure below Super League.

“We need to know whether there’s going to be promotion and relegation and when you can apply for Super League based on whichever format it is.

“That could be IMG grading, first past the post or a play-off system – there are more questions than answers structure-wise at the moment.”

Cooke, also a highly-respected pundit for talkSPORT and Sky Sports, can see benefits in increasing Super League to 14 teams from 2026.

“It removes loop fixtures and makes it more of a palatable competition, so I’m okay with it,” he reasoned.

“I’m not sure where the pool of players are coming from, that’s a worry, but as with any decision that is made in professional spot, there will always be negatives as well as positives.”

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