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

MS the playoff is the top 4 AFTER the 7 games

Exactly, my response was to the person who suggested after the 7 games to still have a top 8 playoff ...

I did write something about this somewhere.

But basically this would not happen as there is no history of the team in 9th being so far behind they can't make the 8 with 4-5 games to go. When the league was 12. Sometimes there were only 3 points covering 8 -11.

Even in the years of 14 teams it would be only at the last game when people would know they can't make the top 8.

This is my point about some of the negative responses to the SL clubs decision. Scenarios are being thought up that actually have no basis in what has gone before. So yes you could ease off in some years for the last game. But most years you would still be in the running for the 8. The point of cutting the league to 12 is to make those teams closer. They still get a full season of matches against SL opposition, the only difference is that teams outside of the top 8 will now have an extension to their season.

Sorry, missed that

I bet youd be happy if you were still floundering in the championship days of down and stay down.

Bottom line if your teams in bottom 4 its theyre for a reason.So instead of teams malingering at bottom knowing season is dead now they have to fight to stay up and the top4 of the championship have warrented their right to see of the bottom 4 of the super league gives them hope knocks complacency out of bottom 4 of super league whats the prob?

If the top 'championship clubs' could afford to go full time, I would have brought back promotion/relegation. 1 up/1 down....but as my club have been stuck in the 'RL Wilderness' for years, this is better than leaving it as it was.
Guess we'll have to wait & see, but splitting into 3 leagues of 8 seems a little odd, and unbalanced. As for league 2, right now, if (part timers) Fev, Halifax, Leigh, Sheffield, Batley etc were to beat a SL side in the challenge cup it would be a shock, never mind winning a few, so that you can get into the top 4 of the 'mini league'.
Time will tell.....