‘If we’re in Super League…’ – Salford Red Devils boss gives verdict on move to 14 teams

Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley has had his say on the announcement of Super League’s expansion to 14 teams, and confirmed that he was not involved in how the club voted.

Super League announced on Monday that there would be two more teams entering the competition in 2026, with the 12 teams with the highest IMG scores placed in Super League and the remaining two spots chosen by an Independent Review Committee.

Rowley’s Salford are at threat of dropping out of the automatic spots, as they sit twelfth, only 0.39 points above Toulouse Olympique in 13th.

The Red Devils boss, speaking in his weekly press conference stated that he didn’t have any strong opinion of the decision to expand, only that of a fan, and agreed that it would be interesting to have more teams involved in the top tier.

He said: “If we’re in Super League, then I’m all for playing more varieties and different teams in different places. But, I guess with any business decision the devil is in the details, so to speak.

“Without being sat in the meeting and knowing the facts, the figures and detailed information that they’ve based their decision upon, then I will abstain from having too strong an opinion.”

It is reported that in the meeting, there was a 9-2 split between the teams in favour of the proposal – Wigan Warriors abstained from voting. Salford were one of the majority that voted in favour of expansion, however Rowley admitted that he had not been consulted in regards to his opinion on the decision.

Salford Red Devils boss expresses concerns over expansion

One of the many challenges bringing in two more sides to the top tier is the need for more quality and talented players. Championship sides will have to recruit strongly to bridge the gap between them and the current Super League teams,  and Rowley believes this could be a reason for the increase in quota spots that clubs can have going forward.

“There’s enough rugby players to service teams across the globe. So if you’re going to fine tune it to England, then at present there’s probably not enough English players, but I guess that’s why they are increasing the quota.”

The overseas spots were increased from seven to 10, and the consensus amongst fans is that clubs will now look to stack their squads with overseas talent and ignoring their youth pathways, hence limiting the next generations of English players coming through.

Rowley believes that this will not be a problem, and that it can only be a positive as it will improve that quality of the game.

He said: “I actually don’t see too much of a problem. I think it makes it a tougher (competition) and I don’t think making it tougher is a bad thing. I think everybody’s standard needs to raise right through our pathways and to get to the top everybody needs to be that little bit better.

“I think time will tell whether it improves standards and if the benchmark becomes a little bit higher etc.”