Bramley Buffaloes is urgently on the look out for a new rugby league competition to take part in for the 2013 season after finding out in October that their place in the RFL Conference no longer exists.
The supporter owned co-operative club, a resurrection of the former professional Bramley RLFC that disappeared in 1999, has been competing very successfully in the fourth tier of the game since 2004 but found out in the autumn that they no longer meet the required criteria for entry into the revamped summer game.
Club Chair Martyn Cheney commented: “Since the disappointing news that we were not successful in our bid to join the National Conference League we have been seeking clarification as to criteria we were judged against. This quest is an ongoing situation with the management committee of the National Conference League unwilling or unable to answer our questions.
“Whilst we are disappointed to have our application rejected out of hand, we are more frustrated by the lack of clarity over the application process and criteria. We have written to the RFL and the management committee asking for clarity on the criteria posted on the official NCL website.
“We last wrote to the RFL and NCL Chair at the end of October and as yet we have had no contact back from them. We have been told that once we meet the criteria to apply again, however the NCL management committee have two differing views on the criteria and how we don’t meet it, neither of which are present in the published version,” continued Cheney.
The new Buffaloes Head Coach Steven Gill, appointed just before Christmas, commented “This has been a frustrating time for me and the club, as whilst we are in limbo we can’t plan for the next season. The club has applied for the Yorkshire Men’s League and we are hopefully of being accepted into the Premier Division.
“There are lots of rumours about the clubs demise however the committee and I have some exciting plans for the future of the club, which will hopefully see the Buffaloes on an upward path for the next few years,” contiuned Gill.