So there's basically never been a system that avoided second chances and repeat fixtures then?* Since they are in my opinion the biggest cause of people thinking certain games early on are pointless and not going, you'd think they might have fixed the problem by now.

*In the Super League play off era. I know the Premiership was different before anyone points it out.

Ridiculous..stupid stupid idea

Why? What in particular is stupid about it?

The top 8 have something to play for. The middle 8 may be playing for P&R, but the reality is that the 4 SL teams, with their far more expensive squads, will make easy work of their 4 championship rivals and effectively finish 9th to 12th. The bottom 8 may as well pack up and go home.

I honestly can't see one redeeming feature from the 12/12 - 8/8/8 system that can't be implemented in other ways.

It's great to be innovative, but the RFL appear to want innovation for innovations sake.

That isn't reality, it is assumption based on recent conditions. The idea is that more funding (mostly from cutting top flight from 14 to 12) will be put into the top clubs in the second 12. And those clubs ought to be able to generate more funds themselves through season tickets and sponsorship and bigger crowds due to having a chance of promotion plus playing 4 SL clubs. The intended reality is that there should be a much smaller gap between the quality of the squads at the bottom of the top division and the top of the second.

As for the bottom 8 - for their last 7 fixtures they will be playing for the chance to appear in a final and win silverware (whatever it may be called) - why wouldn't they want that? They may also eventually be playing to avoid relegation.

Seeing as we splitting the league 8/8/8, then the top 4 might as well go into another league

Week 1
1v4
2v3

Week 2
1v3
2v4

Week 3
1v2
3v4

Top 2 in the final

What difference will funding really make to the difference between SL and Championship (or whatever they're going to be called)? There is already a huge difference in squad quality between the top and bottom of SL despite the clubs (Bradford excepted) theoretically already being on the same funding. Whilst Championship clubs can cause the occasional shock in a one off game in the cup, doing it 2 or 3 times in a league situation simply isn't going to happen.

And the idea of silverware competed for by the bottom 8 of 24 is just about the most farcical thing the RFL have ever come up with. You can come up with the ridiculous situation where a team battling for 4th in the second division may well prefer to lose and go into the 'Best of the Worst competition' rather than win have their backsides handed to them for the last 7 games of the season.

Maybe it's me simply not seeing this (and I am trying) but I truly cannot see anything good coming out of the proposed setup.

I'm loath to slag off something I don't fully understand, but that's the reason I'm going to slag it off! I consider myself fairly savvy in understanding these things (I can run you through any SL play-off system we've had, or even something like the NFL league/play-off structure), so take the view if I don't get it, most others won't (more from the fact that I take interest in understanding these things, and most are more casual observers, who just won't bother!)

I don't think there's anything wrong with the current fundamentals-league of H&A, plus Magic, with play-offs (I'll come back to that though).

However, by making the league complicated, you're risking confusing fans for a far longer period than just when the play-offs are happening! And this system is complicated, no doubt. Fans, clubs, the media, don't like uncertainty when buying/selling tickets or advertising/supporting events. Here your last 7 league games could be anything.

The thing I don't get is the middle 8-given your first 23 games will be against different opposition (ie half will have played top 8, other half bottom 8.), I assume all points are scrapped, and you start at nil? Therefore, you've effectively got a 7 game mini-season the determine our first 23 games of next season??

I could rattle on for ages as to why I don't like it, but I can sum it up easily-it's just too complicated, and potentially unfair, whilst offering little reward for relatively higher finishing in the league to secure play-off spots.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: we need to generate more interest/kudos back into league positions, and IMHO only a top 5 play-off system does that.

Whatever the structure of the play-offs, I still believe the team that ends up top of the pile after the end of the regular season should automatically go through to the GF.

It may yet be as follows for play offs

week 1.
A) 1 v 2 winner to final
B) 3 v 4 loser out

week 2.
C) Loser A v Winner B

week 3.
FINAL
Winner A v Winner C

therefore finishing 1st or 2nd gives an advantage of 2 attempts to make the final

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/28 ... -on-policy

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/28 ... -on-policy

Thats a better system if we go to top 4, its quite similar to the old top 5 playoff which a lot of fans have been calling to come back.

If it has to be explained and explained again its a fecking stupid idea.....

Our game used be simple with relatively few rules. the format was very simple, and it was easy to understand who was the best team.

it makes a mockery of our sport and you just couldnt explain it or defend it to a non fan that may have an incling to start following the sport...

the split 3 leagues will go through

we will become nothing short of a circus...

video refs at some game not at others
different rules for club games and internationals
a league structure not easily understood
Club call... will that be ditched...? that might sway a few people......

anyway it'll all turn to .......

I'm not a fan of the RFL