Reach its potential. You miss the point. There is no potential without mass marketing of the game and ambition. Currently the plan from the RFL seems to be to manage the games decline.

Some laughable over-reactions on here, as if a change what happens after a full season of SL games is going to force you to stop watching the sport entirely. Super League still has a complete season of 23 games before the split, what happens afterwards seeks to address some problems specific to RL - the disparity both within SL and between the top SL teams and the championship clubs, and the genuine and upsetting disaffection with the sport felt at many clubs for whom the aspiration of getting to Super League has been destroyed since licencing came in.

In an ideal world, 12 teams, straight promotion and relegation would be the answer. Teams would go up and be competitive and go down and be able to re-organise and fight another day. Fans wouldn't abandon clubs who have a poor season and relegation wouldn't mean bankruptcy.

But there's the world as we'd like it to be and the world as it is. Introducing some gradient, some smoothing to the promotion and relegation process, trying to find more even competition for each club, trying to make each game have importance in its own right. These are laudable aims. The solution isn't perfect, but the alternatives, in my view, are less perfect still.

The whole focus of the regular season will now focus on who finishes 8 th. For the vast majority of SL clubs you could predict now before a ball is kicked whether they will be in the top eight or out of it and they will just tread water until the play offs begin.

The points carry forward to the 2nd stage, so whoever is in 8th will have little chance of making the playoffs (the top 4 after the 7 game round robin).

On redvee there is a poster who has posted about why they are coming round to this idea and it's a very well written argument.

I have to say the last few seasons have been pretty dull in terms of the main set of league fixtures.

Did anyone not expect Wigan/Leeds/Saints/Warrington/Catalan/Huddersfield/Hull not to make the top 8.

It's been a cake walk for these teams for years. Now 7 into 4 does not go. So you would imagine the intensity will pick up now that top 8 is not the aim and you can't spend weeks just going through the motions as a win or a loss makes little difference.

Again at the bottom, you could probably predict the bottom 2 clubs in the last few years.

Now the aims of the clubs are to get higher and not just coast as coasting will lead to decline.

I very much doubt this drop off in fans. But lets see the profit and loss accounts come 3 years time.

How about the clubs that voted/supported it market it. After all if they don't they will struggle and the RFL will not be to blame.

Yes they put it forward. But clubs have pledged their support or at least a majority of them

Bizarre that they can vote on something with the funding to be sorted out later. Licensing was never done properly, I think we have to get rid of the historical baggage that the game has and have proper licensing as in Aus and merge teams like Wakey and Cas.

I agree the top part MAY become more exciting. But the problem I can see is similar licensing, meanings games. If was the Bradford coach and realised we won't going to make the 8 cut with 4-5 games to go.
I'd send the senior players to have their operations and clear outs, couple weeks off, come back for the "exciting
" second tier fresh to beat our part time colleagues to make sure they were back in SL the following year.

To do what you mentioned above, we could have done exactly the same with a 12 team comp and a 4/6 team play-off with relegation. Then every team has something to play for until the end of the season and all teams are on level playing field.

This is just the worst of both worlds for me. Yes top
Part may become exciting in the split, but he long term finacial state for clubs yo-yoing between the split could hurt.

But better the last 4 games than the last 15

I'd be alot happier if they change the top 8 league's 1st round playoff format into 1 v 8 2 v 7 3 v 6 4 v 5 otherwise even before the top 8 split of you have the potential to have 4 teams with nothing whatsoever to play for other then finishing between position 5 & 8 in the table.

If everyone has a shot at the (actual) playoffs where's the point of playing 7 more games after the split? Top 8 playoffs don't work.

Basically everyone wants a system that suits there team best - outside of super league? We want a promotion to play for. Bottom of superleague? - we want something to play for after the 8 is decided. Now it's placed between 5 - 8 and you think there's nothing to play for??? No wonder the rfl picked the most ridiculous idea it can't win!

Also I can't remember when there was a 14 point gap between 4th and 5th