Now you're being obtuse and when you're in that mood there is no point responding to you.

I can understand Simmons' reasoning. It's perfectly logical. However, it is also further ammunition to the - seemingly - growing number of people who feel disillusioned with the ... well ... [iirrelevance[/i of the league component of SL.

Maybe some players feel the same way about Royce

Was thinking the same myself. If it happens this way, and we make it OT again, it pretty much undermines the first 16 or so games virtually meaningless.

To be honest it only began to bother me when they changed the playoff rules. Prior to that I was not only happy with the system but fully supportive of it. Now I'm beginning to have concerns. I think the substitute situation under Simmons is symptomatic of a worrying mindset that has clouded the heads of many(/all?) SL coaches.

In itself Royce's decision seems relatively harmless. But set against the context of actions taken in SL over the past few years it simply underlines the prevailing wisdom that the league component of SL, which, let's be honest, amounts to 9/10ths of the season is little more than a means to an end for the top clubs.

Fair enough, some might say. It works in the NRL. It works - albeit slightly differently - in the NFL, MLB etc. But those competitions are all contested by pretty evenly matched teams (yes, there are some whipping boys - but not to the extent you see in SL). It's not uncommon for a side finishing bottom of the pile one year to be close to the top the year after. Which means if your game is based exclusively upon peaking around the time of the playoffs you run the risk of being overtaken by sides going flat out from the start and never getting there.

It's not that I want to return to the old league system because it has flaws of its own. I just think that the current playoff model applied to a competition in which the same end-of-season contenders keep cropping up with monotonous frequency is wide open to tactics and strategies that are not in the spirit of the game. Coaches are paid to think creatively and it is thus in their nature to push the boundaries of the system to breaking point in order to gain some kind of competitive advantage. My worry is that given the current "safety first" trend it won't be long before some coach makes a complete farce of the competition and damages its reputation.

He is a top class coach and if that bad I would swap him for Betts anyday.

I didn't understand Simmons after match comments when he said "All teams know how to beat Saints and that is to choke James Roby at the ruck"

He's the coach, shouldn't he have a plan B?

Some people want it all. Last year Royce got blasted for not keeping players fit and conditioned. Any injury and it was the full shotgun to Royce and staff for not keeping players fit. Now we have a fully fit squad he's getting the same 2 barrels from the same people for not playing players week in and week out at the start of the season.

I have no problem with prop rotation.

There is no way the massive 28 meters that perry put in last week against Hull KR would have made a difference to the Catalan game this week.

I think that some people just have never taken to Royce, just as some never took to Potter, and will therefore use what ever decision is made to bash him.

ie Gaskell needs to play, Lance is not a half, but we needed Lance's experience in the halves on Friday night and not Gaskell. EH!!!!!!!!

From what I hear, he's not even got plan A.

Potter was bad but this guy is only slightly better.

What was it he said,He needs to get the points against down to around 14 per game? Getting it down to 30 points would be a start.

Inside men

Talking of inside men, did anyone watch the last one the other night on bbc? If so, what the hell was that ending all about?

No, Sky and the RL have already done that - coaches are just doing what they're paid to do i.e. maximise their teams' chances of winning trophies which under the current system boils down to not bothering to put effort into preparing and playing the game properly until the last 8 or 9 league games and forcing fans to pay their 300 quid a season watching a never ending stream of dead, intensity-less warmup games until then. Unlike the NRL, NFL, NBA etc. SL simply does not have even remotely enough talent to be able to support a competitive playoff-based championship system with the cap as it currently is. The only way it could work would be to slash the salary cap still further to force the talent that does exist to be more evenly distributed through the league and make more teams have a chance each season.

I'm not sure what your point is here. I mean, I hate SKY as much as the next guy. But I'm pragmatic enough to realise RL was dead on its feet before SKY came in and injected its cash. It's certainly not SKY's fault the money was frittered away. And when one dances one must pay the piper.

SKY is here to stay. It's up to SL to fight for a competition structure that gives SKY what it wants whilst keeping the fans happy. Right now I'd say the balance is tipped too far toward TV and corrective action is required.

Alternatively we could move back to the 1st past the post system, whereby 6 games into the season, most teams have nothing left to play for, as having lost 3 or more games they are completely out of the running for being champions. No point therefore watching the rest of the games as they then become meaningless friendlies in the literal sense.
Of course its all fine and dandy for fans of the two or three big clubs who can retain interest till near the end of the season when one team breaks clear with four or five games left, and makes the final few games of the season for all sides into meaningless friendlies.

No wonder RL gates were far smaller under the 1st past the post system. Buying a season ticket was a complete waste of time, much better to pay on the day, and go the early games see if your team had a chance of doing anything, then sack it off for the season once you knew there was nothing left to play for.