No! The team that wins the league are the champions (simples).

The play offs are great for the game and the Old Trafford experience is a good occasion for all to celebrate the greatest sport in the word.

No, absolutely not, but as said above the game has been engineered over the last few years to become wholly dependant on the play off format. Without it and the cash it generates the rest of the season wouldn't be as entertaining.

Yes I like the idea of the playoffs, although I'm not sure I like the current playoff system.

I love the play offs as can be seen from the regular season with no disrespect the likes of CRusaders, Wakey and to a lesser extent Bulls over the lasst couple of years. There have been to many one sided results. A good exampole of this is the recent Wolves Wigan match, not to take anything away from the Wolves performance but would they have played that well if they had to play the Saints the week before just like Wigan had to play Leeds? IMO I doubt it.

The play offs ensures that the the champion now has to put in the work and be constantly tested to be at the very top of the game. Although I do like the club call concept I wouldn't have it. I like the top 8 format as it would work ideally like this. The team that finishes 1st plays the 8th team, 2nd team plays 7th and so forth. One chance loser knocked out. This way the top two teams in theory shouldn't play each other until OT.

The play off comp is a great idea and I'm sure if you were'nt crowened champs at the end they would not bring is as much revenue as they do.

Having said that I'll say what I've said countless times in that if you come top of the league after 27 rounds you should win the league.

It does grate on me that potentially you can become champions from 8th???!!!

It was much better when it was top 5 but again this doesn't bring in as much money as top 8.

There needs to be a greater reward for finishing top and the playoff format really does need revamping. However how many of us would be hitting the season over depression if the playoffs didnt exist. February is a long time without any club rugby and to be waking up this morning with no build up to a Wigan game to look forward to till next year is a horrible thought.

Christ - why can't people accept that SUPER LEAGUE is not the Wendyball Premiership. The competition has a league and play off element, the ultimate winners of which are the champions.

Even though there are eight teams in the playoffs, realistically, it's only one of the top two - three at a push - who can win it. It is FAR better to have a champion side who has a good regular season, but also shows they don't bottle the big games. Under the first past the post system, you can grind out a load of dour wins and draws and still be crowned champions, and you don't necessarily have to hold your nerve, or finish the season by beating the best teams. A playoff system ensures you do.

Why does the NFL, RU Premiership, NRL and virtually every other sports competition in the world not come in for the same criticism?

It's a tiny likelihood that it will actually happen though, isnt it?

it's like the joke where a man asks his wife if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for £1m, and she says yes, then asks his daughter if she would sleep with Justin Bieber for £1m and also says yes. Potentially, he's sitting on £2m, but in reality he lives with a pair of slags.

I'm not sure how you know they don't but a possible reason is that for the previous 90 or so years we always had our champion team selected according to league position, just like football. Re the NFL I don't think all teams play each other, re RU they have not got our long tradition of league tables. The NRL I will grant you because I don't know if they have always had play offs or not. As for virtually every other sport in the world I take it this was a flippant comment?

The current play off format does nothing to aid the argument for playoffs deciding the champions IMO.

No team losing 13 games should be given the chance to be champions (that is HKR's record this season) and saying there is next to no chance that will happen anyway is no argument because if that is true the games that they play are simply pointless and a just rip the fans off as they pay to support a team simply too far of the pace to stand a chance.

Some fixture combinations are not possible. We could end up playing Saints twice. There is little significant difference if you finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th. No team in the top 4 goes out in week one but if 1st or 2nd loses then the entire season's work which is supposed to get them an a significant advantage is wiped out meaning the current format further devalues the league.

For the bottom 4 then the 5th team faces sudden death just like the 8th placed side so again league position only gets a home tie which in a cup type competition isn't as significant as in the league.

Then you have the stupid club call idea no doubt dreamt up by than man Wood which is just pointless.

How on earth did we get lumbered with this system?

The regular rounds SHOULD decide the champions, but they dont just like 99% of sports. Get used to it. The champions/premiers/league winners or whatever you want to call them, will be crowned on October 8th