Last updated 19:38, Thursday, 15 May 2008

Gary Hetherington, Leeds Rhinos, Chief Executive:

SUPPORT for the notion of a Super League club for Cumbria was almost unanimous when, in 2004, the Times & Star went looking for views outside the county’s three clubs. What follows is a little of what they said:

{CUMBRIA is the only grass roots area without a club in the professional sport’s highest league.

Rugby league is played in a lot of other areas but none have the heritage, tradition and interest that West Cumbria has.

I think the vast majority of people involved in the sport would like West Cumbria to provide a Super League club.

It is certainly a player-producing area and has good local support. What the area needs now, to move to the next level, is a stadium, be it at Derwent Park, the Recreation Ground or a newly-developed facility.

But there’s got to be an infrastructure full of quality people who can manage and grow the business. And it needs the whole of West Cumbria to get behind it.

I have serious doubts whether Town or Haven are capable of going it alone in Super League. So staying - and thriving - in Super League has got to be the paramount concern for any new club.

The majority of clubs will feel, like me, that we should be working towards a West Cumbrian team joining Super League. It’s another piece of the jigsaw.

The clubs want to do it on their own, but you can’t do it without partnerships.

You have got to have a sustainable business plan with the business community supporting you and the club must strive to be the best it can on and off the field.|

Paul Sculthorpe, then St Helens and GB captain:

{IT WOULD be tremendous to have top-flight rugby in the area. But the only realistic way forward is to create a new team, rather than amalgamate Workington and Whitehaven.

The problem is with the clubs merging. I don’t think that will ever happen.

There is a lot of talent in Cumbria and there always has been. Look at the players who have come through.

If they have their own team I don’t think it would take long to take off.

Definitely it can work. You have feeder clubs to a Super League club and bring the young players through from the smaller clubs.

It would be great for the rest of rugby league to have a top team in Cumbria, and people should get their heads together and look seriously at the issue.

It would be great for Cumbria. People have got to take their Whitehaven caps and Workington caps off and do what is best for the game.|

Eddie Hemmings, Sky Sports rugby league commentator:

{WE MOURN the loss of Cumbria as a Super League county.

There are many hurdles to overcome if Super League is ever to return to the county, not least the dreaded ‘m’ word - merger between bitter rivals Workington and Whitehaven.

But a new Cumbrian team could be created with the existing clubs - including Barrow - retaining their identities.

Super League’s chairmen are thought to be in favour of a top team in one of the sport’s main heartlands.

The new club could exist in a similar format to Australia’s National Rugby League. In the southern hemisphere, the big clubs have lower leagues acting as feeder academies.

But the standard in Super League has risen immeasurably. It will be difficult for a Cumbrian team to become a force in the competition.

I know merger is a dirty word, but then maybe a merger is the wrong way. An amalgamation of the clubs could create a major force, with them still operating in their current leagues.

And the new club would have to be marketed properly to make as much money as possible.

It would take a great deal of investment to launch a new Cumbrian club, but the fans are in place and the area is certainly not lacking in playing talent. Many rugby league greats have hailed from Cumbria.

We have lost Cumbria as a Super League force, which is a great shame. And we’ve expanded in France at the expense of the heartlands.

It would be fantastic to produce an elite team in the area, just sensational.|