Spot on.

Widnes lost 20-12 and 18-12 to Saints this season. Win both of those and they'd have finished the 23 rounds level with Saints on 24 points. Losing those games is nobodies fault but their own, not the structure, not the RFL.....Widnes'.

Last year Hull and Warrington you could see them using the Super 8's as good preparation for this season and without it they might not have made the jump up the table.

Too much of a "what can the RFL do for us" attitude with some clubs rather than a "what can we do for ourselves". It wasn't the RFL that made Widnes lose 12 of their last 16 games. Win 6 or 7 of those 16 games and even though that'd be less than 50% they would have started the Super 8's right on the edge of the top 4.

If teams want to be in Top 4 at the end of the season then they've got to start targeting Top 4 from the very first round, not target Top 8 after 23 rounds and then go "ooh it's not fair we can't catch 4th". That was probably Hull's failure last year that they then fixed this year.

Anyone except Wakefield & Widnes fans.

After years of misery, some fans (who have actually witnessed misery) do feel like it's a success.

Take your one rubbish season (THIS ONE) & try and imagine that's nearly as good as it gets, my success threshold is much lower than yours.

More clubs supporters have genuine excitement about the Middle Eight play-off's than what's gone before.

Sure, the Batley & Fev supporters don't expect their clubs to achieve promotion, but just that little bit of hope lifts your soul.

Last year when Hull made the middle 8's they had zero chance of making the top 4 from game 1 bit like Widnes and Wakefield this year. However it gave Lee Radford, Motu Tony and Adam Pearson the foundation to build on for this season.

They was able to sign real quality from the NRL in Pritchard, Manu, and Fanou as well the likes of Scott Taylor and Danny Washbrook because Super League status was already guaranteed by end of July.

Radford was also able to give more game time to the likes of Bowden, Green and Hadley as well as blood youngsters such as Naughton, Abdul, Logan, Turget, Downs and Fash once again because Super League was guaranteed.

These players stood up in an awful injury crisis but at least it showed Radders that taking 300k from Warrington for
Lineham and Westerham was pretty good business

Wakefield and Widnes and need more fans. They need new fans. Lots of them.

Call me crazy but i think they will be far more likely to find, far more of those new fans if they have some actual success once in a while rather than hoping to find them with the 'contextual success' of a mid table finish to the first part of a competition.

Indeed, that's the age old conundrum, but I don't see how a move to one up / one down, or franchising, will help their cause.

Anyhow Wakefield have got far bigger problems than an ignominious final third of a season.

Btw, how are you enjoying your sabbatical, is it a welcome change from S.L. domination?

No system can force those clubs to be a success. But some can make it harder. The 'jeopardy' of relegation in any format makes it harder.


it has limited novelty value. But its been a poor season quality wise throughout the league in my opinion, and now we are playing the worst of opposition, plus a couple of inferior sides. Its hardly burning with excitement. I think attendances will hold up on that novelty but i can't imagine many people all that interested in seeing us put 60points on part-time sides or games of the absolute awful quality that was HKR>