Last updated 13:20, Saturday, 22 March 2008

NOTHING would kill rugby league in Cumbria faster than ex-Great Britain coach Maurice Bamford’s idea mooted last week to create a new Super League club for the county.

Maurice is widely respected throughout the game, but his suggestion to form a new club near the M6 is a non-starter.

Super League would have little enough chance of success in the West Cumbrian heartland.

To launch a top-flight club elsewhere in the county would be lunacy.

Isolated from the traditionally strong areas of Whitehaven and Workington, it would wither faster than a Super League star faced with a goolie-grab from Leon Pryce.

Maurice, who also had a stint as Workington Town coach, is correct to say that a West Cumbrian merger would not work – the rivalries run too deep – but the only way a top-flight side close to the M6 could succeed is if it was situated next to the Wigan junction.

Does he mean it should be near Carlisle or Penrith? Neither centre hosts even a Cumberland League amateur club these days, though Carlisle still boasts a successful summer side.

RL fans are well aware of the danger of landing a team in to an area with little or no tradition in the 13-a-side code. Remember Mansfield or Kent Invicta?

Maurice also suggests retaining Town and Haven, as feeder clubs for the Super League outfit. But that’s another non-starter.

To keep the two National League clubs would simply deflect interest from the top-flight outfit.

Many supporters would be unwilling or unable to splash out twice in a weekend, to follow National League and Super League games.

Divided loyalties would then spell disaster for clubs at both levels. The county simply hasn’t got the population – or the interest outside West Cumbria – to sustain what Maurice proposes.

Super League should remain a long-term goal for Haven and Town. But when that means in terms of years, who knows.

Watching them on TV through the Super League era, they were the only team I consistently loved to see lose.

Yet when the big games came around, they invariably managed to pull a result out of the bag, and I would turn off Sky Sports with a grimace.

Nothing against Yorkshire. Leeds Rhinos are thrilling to watch. I even like Geoff Boycott.

I've given up hating Bradford Bulls. They have made me miserable for years and it has to stop.

But the Bulls have, for many seasons, been too reliant on raw power over skill, even, until recent years, with the magical Robbie Paul in their ranks.

But over recent months my opinion has softened – and it’s mostly down to, of all people, one of the strongest forwards seen on these shores for a long time.

Sam Burgess is simply a brilliant rugby league player. He is only 19-years-old. And he plays for Bradford.

I cannot remember a better young British prospect. Ever.

Andy Farrell was clearly set for superstardom when he broke in to the then mighty Wigan pack at 17.

But – and I know this might seem a stretch – Burgess potentially looks even better, given his tender years. He doesn’t turn 20 until December.

He is formidably strong in the tackle, can offload seemingly at will, and hits like, well … a Bull.

He has all the attributes of Kiwi sensation Sonny Bill Williams, who burst on to the Aussie scene a few years back.

There is another reason to stop my regular rants against Bradford. They recently signed Wath Brow Hornets teenager James Donaldson, and I’m all for encouraging local talent to prosper.

Of course, the 16-year-old has a long way to go to match Burgess, but he is heading in the right direction, and many rate him the country’s best prospect in his age group.

Donaldson had other top-flight options before joining Bradford, but he was sold on the Bulls because of their professional outlook. They made the youngster feel wanted.

The chance of one day playing alongside Burgess must also have held huge appeal. So, good luck to Bradford this season.

Oh, I almost forget. Last month, a fiver from the Morgan family housekeeping was ‘invested’ in the Odsal club winning October’s Super League Grand Final, at the inviting odds of 6/1. Given their record over recent years, it’s a snip.

It’s Bradford for Old Trafford glory. Come on ye Bulls.

• Gone are the days when a cup draw against a Division Two side was cause for celebration in First Division dressing rooms.

NL2 Workington Town really impressed me at the Recre on Sunday. They bossed the first-half against Haven, with half-backs Carl Forber and Martin Keavney running the show.

Haven’s extra class told in the end. But it was hard going for the hosts.

On the same weekend, red-hot NL1 title favourites Salford lost at League Two Oldham, ex-Haven centre Mick Nanyn’s 78th minute try sealing a shock win for the underdogs.

Almost as big a surprise came at Sheffield, who last season reached the NL1 play-off. They were humbled 50-32 by lowly London Skolars of NL2.

And York earned a home draw against Featherstone, promoted to Division One this year.

New coach Dave Rotheram has improved Town. Workington fans tell me they look much sharper this year.

But with standards rising across the board, nothing can be taken for granted in League Two. And that must be good news for rugby league.