Scary thing is our crowd will probably be the highest crowd of the weekend



You're right in what you say. The only way I can think of solving it is by somehow including the play offs in season tickets (obviously for an extra cost dependant on clubs making it).

When you look at the result would it not be better no second chance I take it that's what it will be next year no second chance, lose and you are out

First thing Stevo has said right in many a year after last nights game is the playoffs should be if you lose get out.

Next year should be much better thankfully. Shame its taken so long for them to get rid of this playoff format.

More reason to revert back to League Champions system. It seems to work for the most popular sport in this country. Here are all the blow out scores from the history of the playoffs. 2003 was the only time the series was blow out free. This is not to say all the matches not included were "close", they were just not ridiculously one sided.

Leeds 44-16 St Helens (1998)
St Helens 38-14 Leeds (1999)
Bradford 40-4 St Helens (1999)
St Helens 36-6 Castleford (1999)
Wigan 16-54 St Helens (2000)
Bradford 46-12 Leeds (2000)
Wigan 40-12 Bradford (2000)
Wigan 44-10 St Helens (2001)
Wigan 41-18 Leeds (2002)
Leeds 40-12 Wigan (2004)
Warrington 6-40 Hull FC (2005)
Bradford 71-0 Hull FC (2005)
Bradford 52-6 Salford (2006)
Leeds 36–6 Wigan (2007)
Catalan 46-8 Warrington (2008)
St Helens 38-10 Leeds (2008)
Leeds 44-8 HKR (2009)
Wigan 42-18 HKR (2010)
Warrington 47-0 Huddersfield (2011)
Leeds 42-10 Hull (2011)
Catalans 56-6 (2011)
Wigan 44-0 Catalans (2011)
Wigan 46-6 Catalans (2012)
Hull 46-10 Huddersfield (2012)
St Helens 46-10 HKR (2013)
Huddersfield 76-18 Hull (2013)

Just think how entertaining the season ending would have been if those finishing top were the true champions.

Maybe, they'll definitely be of a higher standard than any other 'RUGBY' played anywhere this weekend.

Couldn't believe how poor Huddersfield were. Wigan controlled every aspect of the game.

Most shocking for me was how first choice England centre Leroy Cudjoe was so easily left for dead by Joe Burgess.

Which were elimination/qualifying games?

Next year the same fixture will be a knockout semi final, rather than a warmup for a quarter final.

On first reflection you'd suppose improvement. But what if teams haven't been tossing it off during the regular season and we end up with say 3 of the usual suspects when it comes to play off shaftings making the top 4?

Turned off at half time, as I suspect quite a few people did. Which would be a worry for Sky given the size of the contract they've just agreed to (and I don't think that the new structure will make a scrap of difference to attendances or the pecking order in SL).

The whole idea of using the "maintain interest" argument as a justification for having 8 teams in the playoffs has always been spurious, but I think what is being overlooked by many is that the biggest reason for the embarrassing debacle was how abysmally Huddersfield contrived to play, for a full 80 minutes.

No cunning plan by Nigel Wood nor anyone else can offer a solution to that, the score would have been the same even if it was the GF, Huddersfield just didn't play on the day and to make excuses for them by citing the format or whatever is just hot air, they were unmitigatedly crap.

It also brings more disgrace on the current playoff system, as a part of its obituary, that a team as bad as Huddersfield were aren't now away on a beach somewhere, instead they are bizarrely still as much in the playoffs as their Wigan tormentors. How can you be annihilated in a playoff game, not only by such a score but so emphatically thrashed in every department, yet still have the cheek to carry on? If they had any self-respect Huddersfield would resign from the competition after that.