In the first 78 seasons of Rugby League Football the champions were decided in a Grand Final 53 times. They were all 1v2 from the league table. All three of our Championships came in Grand Final wins. In two of those three seasons we did not come top of the league.

I am aware of this PC, please read my post dated 17/9. I am also aware of the Championship Finals played at Maine Road when we were last crowned champions. I accept that's how it was.

Being aware of these historical facts doesn't change my opinion on how I think on the way that champions should be decided - play each other home and away and whoever tops the league are champions. As I've stated before, I don't expect this to happen, mainly due to the politics of the sky revenue being diluted amongst the current 12 superleague clubs. There's other barriers to this happening.

We don't always get what we want in this life, and people have different views, but it's the RFL who have the job of trying to find a way forward that benefits the game as a whole. It's unlikely that any structure changes will be universally accepted at club level, so there will always be some dissenting voices to how things currently stand. Therefore, we get changes on a regular basis, voted in by promises of cash from sky. My worry is what will happen when this current tv rights deal runs out, especially if there's no alternative bidder.

You are correct, but I only raise it as many seem to think there was a 'golden age' of the champions being decided by their final position in the table, and that it is Sky who have foisted play-offs onto us as the price of the TV money.

Immediately Pre Super League it was a standard league system and premiership trophy, so Sky did foist play-offs as the price of TV money.

The RFL is very worried about the next TV deal in 2021. With dwindling viewing figures and attendances the RFL have to act quicky to turn around fortunes. Sky has already bumped SL onto its lesser channel platforms. I think the days of £200M deals * may be in jeopardy.

*www.totalrl.com/ins-outs-super-leagues-lucrative-new-tv-deal/

Don't think that I implied anything as such. In fact, I don't think NFU/RL/Superleague has ever had one, just one struggle after another to survive as long as it has.
I'm not a fan of playoffs deciding who are champions, regardless of Sky's involvement, or when they started, finished, or started again.

Too many fixtures, what's wrong with playing everyone home and away just once? 22 rounds is enough!
Could mean fewer but more intense games, quality over quantity.
A shorter comp also means league positions can change more easily which adds to the interest each week, the qualifiers is a good example of this.

I don't think Sky would accept the drop in output (30 games -> 22) unless we introduce a weekly bye for teams.

If you think of it from Sky's perspective they want games that will either support subscriptions or drive advertising revenue and that is all about viewing figures. They also need to fill broadcast space on their channels.

So Sky want more Wigan vs Saints games (for example) and less Huddersfield vs Salford. That is why the playoffs exist to add more of the "big" games.