Correct. The second tier is very weak at the moment. Cant really argue with your post. Will never happen though, not with people like Nigel Woods at the healm. Idiot.

The more I think about it, the more my interest in Super League drains. I still have a high interest in the sport and in the Wigan club. But how can you get excited about this competition with this format?

As long as you finish in the top 8 which Wigan are guaranteed to do, it doesn't matter where we are at the end of the 27 rounds. You get a slight advantage for finishing in the top 4 but thats it.

I'm shocked to be honest at the extent to which the format has taken away my enthusiasm for the domestic year. I don't want to follow a competition that rewards mediocrity.

I am not sure you do.

We had to play...

Saints (H)
Catalans (H)
Saints (A)

Leeds had to play...


Hull (H)
Hudds (A)
Wire (A)

I don't think Leeds had a more difficult task than we did despite finishing 2nd and them finishing 5th. I know you get a second chance finishing in the top 4 but it doesn't make much difference as there is a likely chance you will need it. I doubt we would have needed a second chance playing Hull at home.

Under the old top 6 system (which didn't need changing) Leeds would need to beat... Hudds (A), Saints (A), Wigan (A) and then beat Warrington in the GF. A much more fair task for a team finishing 5th.

Instead they played the team in 8th, the team 1 place above them who they had beaten during the regular season and then lifted their performance hugely for one game and got to the final. Now this is not a dig at Leeds, they were superb and deserved to win those games, this is a dig at the system which helped them do so.

Personally I would have loved for Wigan to finish 5th this year. Play Hull KR at home and then go away to Hudds.

Wouldn't have made much difference would it? A farce.

as next seasons top 8 format is retained,and in its very same format as was introduced in the 2009 season
could anyone foresee until this past season that any side outside the top 3 finishing sides in the regular season would be able to go on and actually win a super league grand final?
will this ever be done again in our competition?
this top 8 play off format has been in operation since 2009 and no side has of yet gone on to do what the rhinos have this season,although catalan were very close to beating us in the 2009 play offs

in 2009 the sides that finished outside the top 3 were
4-hull kr
5-wakefield
6-wigan
7-castleford
8-catalan

in 2010
4-rhinos
5-giants
6-hull fc
7-hull kr
8-crusaders