Ooh, ooh, me me. Is the answer "no"?

Gold star to El Diablo.

In fact - one for the proper stattos here - since the introduction of the playoffs, how many seasons has SL had a straight home and away fixture format with no Magic weekend, on the road or repeat fixtures?

McShane still worries me in defense, he got put on his backside quite a few times yesterday.

None.

I think the 69 times that a play-off system has been used since 1906 underlines what is "tradititional".
To get a number of 37, we have to include the years 1896-1906 when only regional champs were decided (during your mentioned "first decade") plus another one from somewhere.

I do think the current system of top-eight playing-off is making a mockery of playing consistently through the season and should be seriously modified.
I don't subscribe to slavish adherence to tradition, to me the invocation of tradition is the sign of a lost argument... but, if I did, I would obviously lean towards playoffs.

Regional county championship seasons were 1896-97 to 1900-01. The first season in 1895-96 was the full monty championship decided by league placing and the full monty championship returned again from 1901-02 to 1905-06 seasons. That's 10 seasons right there. I haven't included the 1903/04 season since it was intended to be settled by league placing, but two teams finished on the same number of points on the ladder which created confusion and it was decided to have a play-off to settle who were champions. League placing returned for two seasons in the 60's... 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons... then another 25 seasons from 1974-75 seasons until and including the 1997 SL season.

Interestingly, Leeds have never been champions courtesy of finishing top of the ladder which might explain why some Leeds fans prefer to wear blinkers by considering 37 seasons of RL history as a mere "experiment" as opposed to the so-called "traditional" way of deciding things




Agreed.


Depends on what the issue is WRT adherence to tradition. I'd like to see the return of GB, traditional tours and a return to the former winter schedule. The SL era has all but destroyed any international credibility the sport once had. Huge price to pay for being a bit-part in Sky Sports scheduling.

Indeed they were, I made a typo, should have said 1896-1901 not 1896-1906.


I wouldn't mind returning to GB and tours, not for reasons of mere tradition but because it's better.

Winter? Nope.

I don't think it was just McShane yesterday, Brough made more than one or two players look pedestrian at times.

Didn't Lunt look good ....brilliant in fact.

Agreed with the 25 season run for deciding Champions on a first past the post League table but that sequence started the season before 1973/74

The last Championship Final took place at Odsal the year prior to that and had seen eighth placed finisher Dewsbury beating the third placed finisher Leeds. IIRC Stevo scored two tries and won the Harry Sunderland Trophy that day.

Winning the competition from eighth?

Disgraceful.

To be fair to McShane he put Ta'ai on his backside in the first half, that takes some doing!