More is less when it comes to Super League reforms, says Luke

It seems Super League wants to change... again. Plans (and several of them) are afoot for the competition to be restructured in 2015.

So, instead, there needs to be some consolidation of what we have got and making the most of the product in the best possible way. I just think that we have to find something within our game and stabilise it, making it as strong as possible. Splitting into three leagues, for instance, is just not feasible in this current climate. I have spoken before about having too many teams in Super League because I don't think the spread of talent allows for a really competitive competition with 14 sides, which is not through mismanagement of clubs but just a statement on the talent pool to choose from. By narrowing the number of teams it would increase the funding to those in the top flight and also increase the quality of the squads. That is the type of consolidation the game needs. In tough economic times, companies don't try and go for broke - they downsize, look to re-structure and find a way to maximise what is working for them. I don't think rugby league is currently in a state that can handle a return to promotion and relegation, either. In football it's fine, because there are quite substantial (and that is something of an understatement) sums of money given to those who drop out of the Premier League. That is because the game as a whole develops so much revenue. In Super League, though, I'd fear for the long-term future of any side that goes down, particularly those currently in the bottom four. They've been financially run to try and be successful in the top flight, yet suddenly would have to cut their cloth accordingly. I'm not certain they'd be able to compete to get back in the short term, and the longer you are on the outside the tougher it becomes. Personally, I feel the licensing system works. I don't think it has been done very well at times in the past, but in principle I like the formula. It's got to be simplified down in the Super League and Championship, giving everyone the chance to make the top division by running their club in a financially sound way. Yes, people will say the Championship clubs have nothing to play for, but if everyone is on a clean slate and has their finances in the right order, then there's no reason why they should have a weaker case than those clubs that aren't being so fruitful or successful in Super League. If we have promotion, where does the team coming up get its talent from in October? We already have concerns over the drain of talent to the NRL and rugby union, but now we're asking a side that is suddenly well behind its future competitors to find players in a pool that is already small enough as it is. A team that is going to get promoted is never, for instance, going to be able to buy a Sam Tomkins, just as no club promoted to the Premier League is going to fork out for Gareth Bale. In rugby league you've just got to consolidate - sure promotion and relegation adds a bit of excitement at the back-end of a season, but the NRL doesn't have it and that competition is still working just fine. It's about planning and helping the clubs. By managing the game in the right way it can flourish. If they truly want to make it a national game, then so many years down the line they should look to have teams in all areas of England.