THE Rugby Football League are close to confirming the new dual-registration system between Championships clubs like York City Knights and amateur clubs.
The Press revealed in October that discussions were well underway to formulate a similar scheme to that which has been in place for two years between Super League clubs and their semi-professional Champion-ships counterparts.
The Knights, keen for the system to come in, currently have York Acorn ARLC scrum-half Timmy Elliott, a BARLA Great Britain international, in pre-season training with them with a view to his becoming one of the first to utilise it.
The switch to a summer season by the National Conference League, plus other regional amateur clubs, has brought most of the amateur game in line with the professional calendar.
The RFL have also now announced how the first fully integrated summer-based season for the sport as a whole will look when it kicks off in March 2012 – with tier one comprising Super League, tier two the Champion-ships and tiers three and four the amateur game.
All this means dual-registration is now feasible between tier two and tier three, which features National Conference League clubs such as Acorn and Heworth.
The finer details are currently being ironed out but The Press understands the RFL will shortly announce details.
Such a system gives amateur players the opportunity to try their luck with a pro team without losing their registration to play for their amateur club should they miss out on a first-team berth at the higher level. In the past, once he was signed on pro terms, he could not play amateur even if he was not being picked.
It also helps out semi-pro clubs who can no longer afford to run reserve teams, as it means players on the fringes or coming back from injury can get game-time in the flagship amateur league, while National Conference clubs benefit as they do not lose players only to them see them sat on the sidelines and they can register others if and when required.
The Press understands that, like with Super League dual-registrations, the higher-tier club, in this case the Championship outfit, would be the players’ primary club. He would be allowed to play for the amateur club only on the pro club’s say so.
Knights general manager Ian Wilson was all for the scheme. “We think it’s something that’s been required at this level for a while,” he said.
“If it’s done right, it could be good for everybody, most importantly the players. It takes away the question of ‘will I make it or will I be sat on the sidelines for a year’. It gives players the opportunity to try to make the step up without that risk.”
One of the questions to overcome is whether dual-reg could work with amateur clubs still playing a winter season, such as New Earswick in the Pennine League, from whom the Knights signed Ben Dent and Joe Hemmings.
• Up to 30 coaches have signed up to the Knights’ first ‘coach the coaches’ session, which takes place at Huntington Stadium tonight, starting at 6.15pm.
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