Quote: Mike Oxlong "Yeah, that is what I was getting at.
And to play devils advocate even further - what if the CC runners up are the GF runners up, and finished 2nd in the SL table? Unlikely I know, but could happen, and then I think you are taking something away from the comp by then involving teams that finish 3rd and 4th IMO if you want to have any substance behind it.'"
It works as:
Grand Final winners
Challenge Cup winners (or runner up if winner is same as GF winner)
League Leaders winner (or 2nd place if LL is same as GF winner, or 3rd place if LL & 2nd place are GF winner, CC winner and CC runner up.
So if for example the season ends as:
1. Saints
2. Wigan
3. Warrington
Grand Final winner = Saints
Challenge Cup winner = Saints
Challenge Cup Runner up = Wigan
What would happen, apart from uproarious p|ss taking directed towards Wigan from a certain town known for its glass making, is that Saints obviously take the Grand Final Winners place.
Wigan, as runners up, take the Challenge Cup place.
Warrington would then take the League Leaders place since both 1st and 2nd are already involved. It's not really a "League Leaders" place, more a "highest league position" place.
It would only be as low as 3rd place in the table that would ever be involved (unless of course a team from lower in the league wins the Grand Final or is involved in the Cup Final.
I dont think, if you're involving 3 SL teams in the comp, that having the team finished 3rd involved is devaluing it.