Dave Craven: National exposure can only help Championship but don’t be surprised if Kear’s Bulldogs surprise Yorkshire rivals

Admittedly, with seven Super League clubs from the region to cover it is not often I get to report on the teams that make up an increasingly competitive second tier.

But when I do – whether it be Northern Rail Cup finals, Grand Finals or Championship sides pitting themselves against top-flight clubs in the Challenge Cup – they invariably impress this correspondent.

There has been much conjecture about how Championship clubs will fare given a potentially more level playing field with their elite neighbours.

The drawbridge between the two has, in theory, been wound down once more to open up the chance of promotion again, not this season but next.

The likes of Featherstone Rovers, Halifax and Leigh are intent on showing they will have the ability to force their way into the upper echelons.

Champions Sheffield Eagles, too, will surely prove competitive even if they do not plough as much money into their plans as some of their rivals.

There could be a sense that everything is on hold now until 2015 when the battle for the top four in the Championship will reach fever pitch.

But, given some clubs are already recruiting in preparation for that, the new season, which gets underway in just under a fortnight’s time, is set to raise the bar once more. Sheffield will look to win a third successive title while Featherstone Rovers – under new coach John Bastian – remain desperate to turn four consecutive top spots into more than their one solitary Grand Final success.

Like Featherstone, Halifax have undergone some major surgery when it comes to reassembling their squad but it is Batley Bulldogs – last season’s surprise Grand Finalists – who have seen the most drastic overhaul.

It would be no surprise, though, to see the wily John Kear quickly fashion his new recruits into challengers too,.

It is a blow that Premier Sports – who had done such a great job televising the Championship over the last two seasons – will not continue this year due to Sky Sports taking it on in 2015. But the Championship clubs will gain greater profile next year under the terms of that deal, especially when the top four’s games against the bottom Super League quartet will open them up to a whole new audience.

In the meantime, I, for one, will be looking to increase my fill by getting out to see some live Championship action soon.