Quote: Aboveusonlypie "There's always the chance that the teams finishing 7th or 8th after 23 games have no chance of getting in the top 4. They will then have 7 meaningless games and games that the fans won't be able to plan for because the fixture list won't be available until all of round 23 is completed which no-one seems to have picked up on.
At the moment the fixture list is out in December enabling people to plan for the season. The top8 and middle 8 can't be sorted until round 23 finishes. We might be playing Catalan away for example with a weeks notice. We might be playing Leeds for the fifth time in say 6 months if we get them in the cup as well as the magic weekend. Try marketing that as the Big One 6.
Similarly the top 4 may already be pretty much nailed on by then also. Leading to teams coasting through August and September, as pretty much happens now.
The problems with the new structure is the same with all structures that try to manufacture excitement. In a sense it may be best to stop tinkering around with systems and just play the season out. Let the top 2 go to Old Trafford. Try to build something in to reward the team coming first - like greater prize money.'"
It's very easy to scratch the surface and say "this MIGHT happen". I know it isn't perfect but too many people seem to be too premature in dismissing it because it's a bit unconventional. We could get Catalans away at short notice in the cup or the current PO structure. I agree that we may end up playing one team too often (as we did in 2011 under the current system when we played Saints 6 times), but that's because of the poor, additional game format of the MW IMO. It's very unlikely that 7th and 8th will mathematically not be able to reach the top 4 and have nothing to play for the whole 7 games.
We didn't know the finishing positions of 5 of the top 6 until the last game of the weekly rounds this season, if that happens under the new structure then one team doesn't make the POs. Neither Leeds or Warrington would have been included. The tactic of coasting through the weekly rounds and peaking for the POs disappears, because you could end up missing out on the POs altogether.
I would have liked them to structure it as 22 pre-split home and away games with a 9's tournament MW as round 23, that would at least give an extra week to sort the post-split fixtures and get rid of the extra game and lopsided fixture calendar (which shouldn't exist now relegation is back).