You're so obviously correct that I can't wonder if the original poster is some sort of imposter created solely with the purpose of making us all look stupid and bitter [insert joke here].

I reckon it's Casual Des the Stupid Postman or whatever.

Ok I will desist from mentioning it again ,if someone will explain one simple fact to me.

The Premiership was a knock out competion at the end of the season played between teams in the upper part of the final league table.

The Championship is a knock out competion at the end of the season played between teams in the upper part of the final league table.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE (baring a subtle change in name) ??????

in 1986 Halifax were crowned Champions and won 19 games over the League season.
Warrington won 20 games and finished in fourth...

how can that be fair that the Champions can actually win less games than the teams in second,third and fourth positions? If only we had a play off system back then to sort out the champions from the chancers..........


whats this thread about again.........

I agree that it is a pretty good sporting event and thereby I have a problem with it, (sorry for being "tedious" and "short sighted"icon_wink.gif. The GF is a one off, a cup competition IMO and for those 'historians' that claim for a majority of years that's how RL has crowned its Champions and therefore its sacricsanct I will offer a different view and point out that for many years the play offs were taken from a large league format where teams were part time and due to travel and costs not everyone played everyone else in an equal home/away format. your fixtures were organised along county divisions and the play offs therefore regularised the seasons' campaign.

Now in SL we have 14 teams and all working from a similar cost base, income and restraint and apart from Magic Weekend, (another farce), we play all the other teams twice thanks to the M62 and the invention and availabilty of a team sharrah. I just don't understand the lack of appeal in a first past the post system when the set up is clearly designed to equalise a professional competition.

Not a problem with we all knew the rules argument, a sincere well done to Leeds they were the best team on the day

Crowds for Warrington's last three appearances in end-of-season finals:

Championship Final 1955 - 49,434
Premiership final 1986 - 13,683
SL Final 2012 - 70,676

I've tried explaining this myself many times in the past but people simply aren't receptive to it I'm afraid. Tradition trumps all and they're not interested in the original logical reasoning behind using a playoff system to determine the champions, it simply always was a playoff system and that's all they care about.

Considering in many other areas history and the reasons for things being the way they are (broken time payments, the social divide, the fact Northern clubs routinely handed the southern teams their asses, etc) is a subject of interest to lots of RL fans, it's pretty sad really.

I have to say though that, as the rules stand, I think the sport has an absolutely fantastic end of season show piece (if you ignore the fact that the qualifying games attendances are poor), which really lets the sport end the season with a bang. But, also as the rules stand, I'm having a hard time defending the sport to casual observers who are interested in RL but simply won't stop saying "You decide your champions with a playoff system? Well what's the point of an even home&away fixture list then?" - I've simply stopped defending it now and started shrugging my shoulders.

57?

Not necessarily. Those of us who point out the tradition behind playoffs are usually (just like on this thread) responding to suggestions that they are a new fangled gimmick invented by Sky.



It's quite simple. A neat home&away fixture list (plus one neutral match) provides equal opportunity for clubs to attract revenue. If, for example, saints got a home match v Hull (who generally bring a good number), but we got one v Hudds instead (who don't), then that is unequal financially. That was less important in the old days when the clubs were less reliant in income.

Whoops, yes fair point, I should have included that one. I was there and remember it well.

And you will remember that it poured down all day

And to make matters worse the flag that I bought..the colours ran in all the rain £ 1.50 totally wasted

But it was our first Old Trafford appearance and despite losing I thought that we were at last becoming a" big player " in our wonderful game