'Car crash waiting to happen': Batley Bulldogs express disappointment after losing promotion vote

The special resolution proposed by Batley to amend the grading system was defeated by 63 per cent to 37 per cent following a vote of clubs and other stakeholders at a council meeting in Salford on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs had pushed for the Championship Grand Final winners to replace the lowest-ranked Grade B club in Super League, provided they held the same status in the system.

As it stands, promotion is only possible for a second-tier club if they have a higher overall score than a Super League outfit.

"We're disappointed for the sport," Nicholas told The Yorkshire Post.

"It's not that relevant to Batley Bulldogs this season because we're not a Grade B club at the moment. Personally, it doesn't have a massive impact on our club at this juncture – but there's a car crash waiting to happen in the sport and we could have avoided it.

"There clearly should be minimum standards and being fair to the system, it probably has improved clubs' behaviours to an extent, which is a good thing.

"But with the system, there are potential scenarios that would be a total car crash. We got away with it this year because London finished bottom of Super League and Wakefield won the Grand Final so it was irrelevant.

"You could have a scenario where a club wins the Grand Final and the loser of the Grand Final or a team that finishes fourth has got 0.1 points more than them and goes up. Equally, you could have someone who finishes bottom of Super League but has 0.05 points more than the team that finishes eighth and the team that finishes eighth goes down because they're not an A club (with an exemption from relegation)."

Nicholas expects the situation to reach a tipping point in the not-too-distant future.

"Around the corner, something is going to happen and it's not going to look good," he added. "Rather than wait for it to happen, let's pre-empt it.

"I've been in the game too long. This system will not last as it is now without us doing something.

"I'm not saying we can influence it. We're Batley Bulldogs, not Wigan or Leeds Rhinos. It will change naturally.

"It won't be a good look. Any other sport looking in will say, 'What's all that about?'"

There were 14 votes for Batley's proposal and 16 against, with each Super League club's vote worth 2.09 to ensure an equal share.

Every professional club got a say – other than French outfits Catalans Dragons and Toulouse Olympique – and there were seven representatives from the community game.

Nicholas has taken issue with the 10 that decided to abstain.

"People have got their opinions and might vote against it," he said. "I understand that because not everybody has the same opinion.

"What I don't understand is people abstaining. We don't know who's voted for what but the only people I understand abstaining are people from the community game or other areas of the game who felt it didn't impact their representation and that they shouldn't have a view one way or the other.

"What I don't understand is professional clubs abstaining. That must have happened with 10 abstentions."

Batley's score was conspicuous by its absence when IMG revealed the rankings in October due to incomplete data.

The Bulldogs have since been given a score of 7.13, the same as neighbours Dewsbury Rams.

Nicholas has prioritised pushing the club beyond the 7.5-point threshold for Grade B status to boost the coffers, which he says is possible by completing a straightforward admin task.

"The situation in the Championship is that the IMG gradings are important in the sense that they influence your financial distribution," said Nicholas.

"Because we're not Grade B – and some of it is our own fault – clubs in our league get nearly twice as much money as us in distribution. That's the impact of grading and I haven't complained about that.

"To me, they could do that in Super League. That's an incentive to improve.

"But I don't think it should override on-field performances. At the end of the day, we're a sport and not a grading system."