Best ever team been 5th in the leage twice in a row. Bet the great Liverpool,Man Utd,Real Madrid and Barcelona thought like this?

The sport needs play offs because unlike football, we dont have a higher level ( European comp ) to keep teams and fans interested, other sports ( NFL ) have them because the teams dont play even games against all the opposition

It is also a money maker, that football doesnt need, we have no choice in the matter, it has to stay unfortunatly

Nobody would complain if the team finishing top were champions. If Leeds had to finish top to be champions could they do it? Are they good enough? Probably not as you have to be the best over 27 weeks, not 4 weeks. They are too old to compete for the entire season but are good enough to keep energy in reserve and work hard for 4 weeks in knockout games when the playing field is a lot more even.

BTW i don't blame Leeds, i blame the RFL for cheating the fans and season tickets holders of knowing who the real champions are over the entire season and letting the top teams rip into each other all year instead of one month.

If RLFans had been around between 1906 to 1973 (with a gap in 1962-4) I wonder if they'd have been having the same debate? We have play-offs to decide the title, they aren't going anywhere, get on with it. Why is it so hard for people to understand any concept that isn't what English football does?

there was a genuine reason for playoffs from 1906 to 1973. There isn't now.

Yes I am a Liverpool fan and admit it is stupid as we where crap in the league and where not Champions.At least I can admit it except the idiots on here.As dougy said 4 games to be Champions?Wigan did well over 28 games not 4.I found the play off system boring except t semi and final.Well I don't think a team who wins just over half t games in a season should be Champions.It is stupid.

Get over it I found the playoffs boring just t final and one semi decent games.

Exactly.

People are also tending to glorify the old league system as well. If you want a 'dud' end to the season, just have a look back at the 'good' old days of top equals champions. More often than not the competition was over well before the end of the regular rounds, and avoiding relegation was the only thing keeping some clubs going.

What saved the season from being a complete fizzer at the end was the Challenge Cup Final (again usually a month or so before the end of the season) and then the hopelessly contrived 'Premiership', which was a knockout trophy for the top 8, and certainly in my lifetime was won either by the team that really wanted it, or in later years Wigan if they could be bothered.

Now, we have TWO massive finals each season (as opposed to county cups, john player and all the other second-rate cup comps we used to have). Both are big events, and generate a lot of interest for the sport. I can just see the massive news interest in Team X managing to win the title because Team Y lost against Team Z three games before the end of the season - NOT (which again believe it or not was the sort of way the league title was settled in some seasons).

The Grand Final is a huge plus for the sport. The Play Off format could be improved on, but suggesting we get rid of it for the sake of some fictional purity is ridiculous.

You talk bollox.Rugby fans on here are stupid.Playoffs is knock out rugby the best teams are consistent for 28 games.Wigan and Warrington won more games than Leeds in t season.

Just have a separate competition at t end of t season, as Champions should be top of the league.