Top 5 (only through gritted teeth) ....purely to maintain interest and cash flow, it does nothing to enhance the integrity of the sport.

Provided everyone plays everyone else home and away.....from Feb through to Aug/Sep....you've had good luck....bad luck...injuries and suspensions ....dodgy decisions for and against....and so has everyone else, and after all that, if you finish top of the pile..you're the best !

Earlier poster was out of order saying Halifax won the league in the mid 80's when there were other teams who were better.....Drivel....if they'd been better ...over the whole course of the season....they'd have finished in front of them ....but they weren't ...so they didn't.

Seem to recall a discarded Colin Whitfield featuring for Halifax that season, and kicking them to a vital win (or was it a draw ?) at CP in that season.

Stevo was captain, I think.

Some very valid points, although tarnished by it coming from McManus, as he has been on the receiving end of two defeats and smacks of sour grapes.

The question I would pose is when it was a "normal" league, when was it actually exciting? We all get to tune in to see whether Saints can beat Celtics at home to make themselves certain of the title, or whatever? The top 6 was no different to the top five, as even with the six, a team at sixth would still have to play all the team away from home.

would EM be saying this if it was saints, who had finish 2nd and went on to win the grand final, other then the other way round?

I see peoples point and i wouldn't disagree with the whole credit should go to top of the league.

But we had that at the very beginning of superleague and sometimes you will end up with the season finished with 6,8 games left, plus most teams will know there not going to win anything half way through a season, making half their season meaning less also, which then cancels out some of the points made on here.
By having not just the likes of leeds and saints but the other teams something to play for it makes the competition better in general.

Look at the premierleague, they have the top team as champs, but even they had to introduce european places and give the cup competitions extra incentive so that half the teams in the league didn't just gave up. Added to that they have relagation which superleague no longer has, giving teams extra incentive to "play". Yet we all moan that its boring and over with half the season left with simlar problems as superlegue that only 3/4 teams will ever win it.

Without the play offs you would irradigate some of the best games we get e.g. Bradford v wigan. It also means when catalan, huddersfield etc get into the play offs it creats an underdog feel to games which fans, neutrals etc enjoy. Also only one team outside the top 2 have ever won the league, so from past years you can actually say the most consistant teams have been crownd champs, without getting ride of the hope that maybe, just maybe one year someone outside of the top 2/3 might get there.

What's changed there? Fourth and below remains impossible.

I think the captains of all the teams should play a game of musical chairs, the winner becomes 'Champions', I have forwarded this suggestion to the RFL and it is being considered !!

the RFL should have a top-14 playoff, that will keep interest going through the season especially with no relegation ..