Seems like we have both this year.
12 Rounds to go and a lot of "4 Pointers" still to come....

This coming weekend.
Castleford v Hull.....2 of 6 teams fighting for 5 spots.....Hull win, then they are a step closer to the play-offs, Castleford will want to stay a step ahead of their neighbours.
Leeds v Wigan. A Wigan win and they're out of the race to the floor, a Leeds win and they have one foot i the door to safety
St Helens v Huddersfield. Saints win and they get back on track, Huddersfield win and they're safe....they lose and they could still be sucked back into the mire
HKR v Wire. HKR can take a step to safety, but Wire need to win to keep the pressure on Saints.
Catalan v London. Catalan need the points as they are one of six chasing only 5 spots......a London win and the bottom of the table becomes very congested.
Salford v Wakey. Salford are an outside bet for the 5.....lose this and they'll be mid table.....Wakey can't afford to lose ground on the 5.....

12 Weeks left in the season and every game is actually counting.....this time last year Widnes were down already and Saints had one hand on the LLS.

I was a big fan of licensing (still am if it were done properly), but I have to say this season is a breath of fresh air. In the Championship, smart money would be on Toronto hosting Toulouse to replace whomever finished bottom of SL.......and only 4 points separate the bottom 6 at the moment.

Do the top two championship sides play to see who replaces bottom of SL ?

I think Hull KR will be bottom come the end of the season .

I agree with much of your post.

The fact that London have proved to be competitive, plus the runaway success of Wire and Saints, seems to have compressed the rest of the league, with most sides able to take points off the others, on their day.

For me, despite the erratic form of both sides, Catalan and FC look like they will make up 3rd and 4th, with the rest battling to try and gain 5th spot an/or avoid the wooden spoon.

The season looks like it will go down to the last 2/3 weeks, before the play offs and relegation spots are decided and it is indeed going to be an exciting finale and now that we have reverted to the top 5 play off format, once the wooden spoon is decided, attention will rightly shift to the play offs and GF.

Despite their reverse against London, Saints still look like they will take the LLS, although they may be less willing to rest players for some of their future games, assuming that they are bothered about winning the "hub cap", after all the SL trophy is what they (and Warrington) would really like.

I can quite easily see Catalans dropping out of the top 5. Cas and Wakey will both overtake them when they get players back.

Agreed, probably more than likely Cas than us, I just think it is all dependant on picking up points where we can until we get to that stage and also how quickly we can get players back on the field - It could be by the time we get anywhere near putting out a decent side the 5 is already out of reach. Although Catalan are still inconsistent they seem to have improved from previous seasons, that said I still think they will drop off as the season goes on.

Same top 5 system I believe.

I would of preferred a one up one down as I think that is fair given that really there is no reward for finishing top of the pile, never the less it makes it a little more interesting.

The championship would have been a whole more interesting this year if Toronto didn't bottle it last year.

I'm pleased that the Championship does have a play off series to decide the promoted side, which reduces the impact of Toronto's bottomless pockets.
Any side is vulnerable in a one off game (as Toronto showed last season)
You could argue that this makes it unfair on a side that has lead the comp pretty much all the way through the season.

With the sides that are currently challenging at the top of The Championship, it's going to be a fascinating end to the season and currently, you would say that it will be 5 from the current top 8 that have a chance of making the play offs, with Toronto and Toulouse very likely to finish 1 & 2.

It looks like being a cracking end to the season in SL and The Championship.

No we don’t, London will go down still and it’s all but a guaranteed Saints vs Warrington Grand Final.

Same could be said of Super League too.......best side over 29 rounds are the winners....but instead they have to win a few more thereafter........35 or 36 competitive games for Hull, Warrington or St Helens this year should they make both Finals....Roosters played 28 games winning last years NRL including 4 Play-Off Games.......we really are flogging our players to death on the whim of our broadcast partners....but that's a whole other thread!





Toronto didn't "bottle it"...they were out thought and out played by a well drilled London Side. It wasn't a classic game, but with so much on the line, the side that won dictated the pace and style of the game and Toronto had no plan "B".......why is it that people still refer to that game as a loss for Toronto rather than the reality....London Won it!

On the basis that London were massive underdogs, saying that Toronto bottled it is fair comment.
Yes, London played well and fully deserved their narrow win, although they (London) were one of the 2 sides that had beaten them in the regular season.

Well....those results (HKR and London Winning) weren't expected and set up another cracking weekend of fixtures.

London v HKR...winner steps a little closer to possible safety
Wigan v Huddersfield, Loser right back in the mix for the drop
Salford v Castleford......a loss for the home side and they could be dragged into the mix, a loss for the visitors and they lose their grip on a top 5 spot
St Helens v Leeds.......Leeds could find themselves bottom if Saints "open up"
Wire v Wakey........Wire need this to stay in touch with Saints, Wakey need it to keep their top 5 hopes alive
Catalan v Hull. Catalan may well drop further down the table, Hull can cement their top 5 spot

Exciting stuff..........and other than the Saints v Leeds Game, hard to pick a winner (even then Leeds are due to click at some stage)....

After this weekends result Leeds are in real danger of being relegated.
Even though they started the season badly, it was fair to assume that they would eventually click and work their way up the table.
London are playing well as a team, they seem well organised and will pick up more points.
Hull KR will get a bounce with a new coach in charge and Tony Smith has a good record as a coach.
I could understand Leeds getting rid of Furner but since Agar was already there, he was also part of the problem.
It needed someone new from outside the existing set up.
They need a new coach or a new organiser on the field urgently

The thing is, there's no pressure on London with regards to relegation. No one expects them to do well and that lack of expectation allows them to play with freedom. Where as, clubs like Leeds and KR are worried due to the damage relegation would do to them and the more games they lose the more that pressure mounts on them