Should the middle eight fixture permutations be published with a guarantee that they remain as such I could see the benefits of finishing first.

That's obviously true, but the problem is that, that [iexact[/i scenario is the major part of what the club is selling tickets for. It is 'put upable' for the keener fans, but isn't very inviting for the fair weather supporters, who I'd guess are the ones now being targetted.

Top 2 should be the target so as to get the maximum number of home games. Finishing first means nothing if you cockup the 8's.
I think Bradford's tactics through the season were the right choices looking at the big picture.
My only complaint was that the last games were spread over two days giving one team an advantage. I don't believe that Fax would have had such an easy time of it had out game been played the same time as Wakefield's as that home advantage was still up for grabs

I dont think it will be a foregone conclusion at all.

As a Leigh fan, i think we will lose 3 or 4, Bradford the same.

Its going to be a cracker of a season and hopefully the Championship will get the coverage it deserves and at least one club getting promoted !

It won't.

Well, the Championship certainly can't get so lucky again as last season when the TV rights were given away to a company whose sole aims seem to have been to (a) pay clubs zilch for the rights and (b) simply prevent anyone else from screening Championship games.

You couldn't make it up. Even had they given away the rights free to someone else, clubs could at least have made the odd bob or two selling advertising etc. Which tw[size.[/sizeat signed that deal, then?

What worries me with these things is that it's nothing new. Stupid stuff like this keeps happening. How do they never learn?

The trouble is, the RFL seems to be capable of running a single event or short tournament, however they seem to make poor decisions when it comes to the wider sport. The Championship clubs need to band together and work out some sort of deal with Sky regarding televising games

Perhaps not that great at single events. They continued the tradition of messing up a simple cup draw again today, by Dave Woods reading East Leeds out twice, and not reading Stanningley out at all. He mistakenly read East Leeds when Stanningley's number came out.

Probably the same one that signed the Sky deal before seeing if BT were interested. I'm not sure but I think that Premier Sports deal ran out at the end of game 23 last year so they were miffed that they couldn't show any of the Champ team's games in the 8's or the Blackpool jolly, hence spat their dummy out over showing any games last season but still kept the rights.

No idea if anybody has rights to show the Champ games this year, though as Sky showed the Blackpool games they may decide to show a few of the bigger games at totally stupid days and times that just p!ss all the fans off.

Thought Sky has the rights to all the Championship games (until 2021 or something like that, it runs till the next SL contract runs out anyway) but didn't show any for some reason. Premier had the rights the year before but threw a strop and refused to show any as they weren't offered the chance to out bid sky. A bit daft as they weren't paying anything & sky now are, it just all goes into the RFL for central funding rather than being given to the teams when they're on as it is for the SL clubs.

the money that the championship clubs are getting as central funding is coming out of the money sky are paying for SL and the championship combined package. Don't know why people are saying championship clubs are getting no money from sky.
Its sky decision as to whether they choose to show any championship games or not. That said RFL basically threw the championship coverage into the SL deal for no extra money to keep sky sweet.

It was 2014 that Premier had the rights to the Championship but spat the dummy out and didn't show any because the RFL had agreed with Sky for 2015 without giving Premier a chance to compete.

Sky had rights throughout the 2015 season, but only chose to show most of the Bash and one game a week of the Middle 8s. I wouldn't expect that to change this season, as they don't seem interested. It's a shame that the RFL don't think to negotiate that if you have the rights for something, you have to show at least a game a week.

maybe we need Barry Hearn on board. Or whoever does the other lot. I have been watching some of the duffers world darts championship, most of whom, I could beat, but the BBC find time to show hours and hours of it every day. Due to the cutbacks this is one event the Beeb aren't renewing for next year but already BT Sport, who I think already show some of it, have stepped in and signed up. The total prize money is around £339k plus £55k for a 9-darter. But the exposure is great, with it being on terrestrial they average 2.5m viewers and peaks around 3.5m

2014 Premier had the rights to the Championship but didn't show it becuase they were losing money on each broadcast but had done so in 2013 becuase they thought they were building a brand/audience that would pay off in the future. The RFL selling it the Sky cut off that future, so less of a dummy spit and more of a stabbed in the back moment.