which rule and a reference to it please

If he has written dispensation to do so and that is usually only in exceptional circumstances - which this isn't! Tho I'll take the point swifty, however slender it is!

was quoted on one of the threads here the other day.

said if plays for a non-member club can play for member club after certain date.

There is, didn't some aussies play for a French team and then for Gateshead last year?

Not at a professional level though.



Someone could play for one of the Armed Forces in one round and play for professional club in later round (as happened at Oldham couple of years ago) or in theory we could have signed someone from Siddal after they beat Doncaster and then played him against Swinton (unlikely seen as half of them have already been here before and released!).



Basically a non-RFL member club player can also play for a RFL member club in same season but you can't play for 2 member clubs in same season as has happened with us.



I guess the French side mentioned in last post are not members of RFL so could legitimately play for Gateshead too?

did not say at professional level, i just answered the question.

So did I, its just that I elaborated to save any further replies asking for reference or rule number....

Wheres Tony? Im worried

Yer as I have put elsewhere this mess up must never happen again, it is bad enough letting it ALMOST slip through the net but even worse to only take action on the day of the game.

Surely a filter to see who played for who aint too difficult is it?

Something like a spreadsheet of players who played in one round in alphabetical order are compared to one for the next rounds just to check?

Too simple that for our wonderful RFL.

Like politicians they play to what tune they think we want to hear or more likely the powerful ones who tell them what to do.

Who runs the RFL???

To be perfectly honest about this whole situation, I'd have to say the RFL are at least as much to blame as Halifax. Yes Halifax should have done checks and it should not have happened, but the RFL should be policing this rule and they should have put measures and checks in place to ensure that no club could ever play inelligible players after the embarrassment of the Thackeray incident 2 years ago. Yet it takes a post on a message board to bring this incident to anyones attention. I fear the worst for you in the subsequent misconduct investigation as the RFL are sure to pass on any blame in the whole affair. There seems to be a lot of talk on here about casting blame to Calland, the board, even ShayFax who posted this in the first place, but the real incompetence IMO is from the RFL for allowing this incident to happen again in such a short space of time.

If the RFL can't monitor the issue of player elegability for cup games, how on earth can they monitor bigger issues like the Salery Cap. By relying on RL Forums and e-mails presumably

They're far too bloomin' blinkered over expansion if you ask me.