It isn't remotely similar to having a normal P&R system in place. The Crusaders went bust and Widnes have been doing exactly what the current system allows which is building a team for future seasons not trying to get enough half decent players on board to avoid going straight back down. Widnes also knew they were going to get promoted and so were able to start planning for that. Fans will soon tire of being promoted then relegated and the yo-yo effect we would inevitably see given the gulf between the two leagues.

Franchising isn't perfect or it would have perhaps spotted impending problems at Bradford but if we had P&R things would have doubtless been no different in that regard anyway but being immune from relegation for three seasons really does help clubs bridge that huge gap between the two leagues.

And in any case that ignores all the other problems I pointed out the main one being relegation is a financial disaster for the the clubs and the players who may well find themselves unable to pay their mortgages.

Some OK suggestions but some have been tried before and not worked. And why is there this idea that the game is on its backside come from? We as a sport rare always facing struggles but for some round here it's as if its on its last legs.

And as for making more of the league leaders (I wonder why that has been suggested!) we have just had a 70K plus crowd attend a showpiece event, the media coverage has been excellent and positive, all good for the game, Ive spoken to quite a few non RL followers and they have all said what a great game it was (funnily enough none of them question why Wigan weren't there) by making more of the league leaders will just make the GF less meaningful and having what Ive written above why on earth would we want to do that?

I do however agree that the top 5 or 6 format was better and should be brought back.

I don't think a 70K crowd is anything special. In 1985 I was at Wembley with 94,000 on the ground. It also does not follow that making more of the league will make the GF less meaningful. Where does that idea come from? The problem is the current play-off format reduces the league to a pointless 8 month exercise that has little to no baring on who ends up champions. If you want the GF to be the be-all and end-all the link between the two competitions has to be stronger otherwise people will just not bother going to league games.

In all seriousness, the OP appears to talk a lot of sense, but might it not be better to let Maurice Watkins do his job based on access to a lot more information, rather than attempt to solve all the problems with contested views from the terraces? These things are seldom as straightforward as they look on the surface, and all the suggestions have pros and cons.

For instance, as pointed out above, while most people would probably prefer a promotion and relegation system, the gap from full time to part time leagues is too big to make it work. Somebody pointed out that Widnes struggled but then improved. It isn't a good argument for P&R though, as under that system, improve though they did, they'd still have gone straight back down. They couldn't support a SL wage bill on Championship income, so they'd have been cutting their squad and then if they did the yo-yo routine, starting the cycle again next time. The Championship has to be stronger before P&R can work.

It's then possible to view the 8 team play-off as a response to that. Without P&R a 4 or 5 team play-off format would virtually remove interest from the fixtures of half the league in the last quarter of the season. In that sense the 8 team format is a pragmatic solution to a less than ideal scenario.

Because you are taking some of the focus away from the 'main' prize. the point and the reason teams compete in SL is to become champions and to do that you need to win the GF. If more emphasis is placed on the league leaders, this means there are 2 prizes on offer, I personally think this is wrong. As I said I think giving the league leaders a better advantage in the playoffs is a good idea, but then again I think Wigan had a great advantage in this years playoffs, but just didn't take it (like a champion team should!).

in my opinion we should reward the top team for the regular season and thought this event when warrington won it or whoever before them in the other proceeding 5-10 years.

I think in order to give a greater value to the league winners position we must differentiate the playoffs from the league altogether. Rename it as the regal trophy or whatever but only allow the top 8 teams to be in it - possibly in groups of 4 with the top 2 in the semis from each group.

If we did that it would seperate this competition from the League which is a marathon and not a sprint.

It's a salary CAP, not a requirement to spend £2m.

The challenge cup doesn't take focus away from the main prize and never has. As I said in 1985 I was at Wembley with 94,000 on and it got a lot of coverage in the press and on TV. Better than it has done recently IMO but it didn't devalue the league despite it being a bigger day out than the GF which was then how we decided the champions. The only reason more emphasis on the league would devalue the GF is because you let someone tell you so. Pretty much the same way as just deciding a play off system delivers worthy champions is a completely arbitrary decision. The idea one competition detracts from another when they are different competitions (which they are) is nuts.

As to the advantage doing well in the league gives - there isn't any. There is no difference between 1st and 2nd except the club call gimmick and if you finish 5th you get an easy game at home v 8th while 4th is away at 1st. Any team who needed two points to finish 4th in the last game of the season will throw that game. Guaranteed. That would never happen in a top 5 system. Wire having to play away at Saints is equally daft. They finished 2nd so should always have been at home to any side lower than them in the league. A seasons worth of effort over 27 games should not be wiped out because they lost in week 2. The top 5 is miles better at rewarding league position and what that means is the league and play offs are then linked much more strongly and you could then call them one competition.

I would agree with this, we are losing out to Oz and RU by dragging the clubs that can, down to the level of the clubs that can’t. It’s now becoming a case of sink or swim; we are looking like a poor man’s sport to possible new recruits for both on the field and on the terraces. I also agree with a great deal of the original post, but no reduction in the league unless another competition is brought in as stated. This is a must for me no reduction in overall games.

As opposed to removing interest from all 27 fixtures you mean as the current format ultimately will IMO? There is a simple solution to the problem of a clubs season ending early. Improve the team and compete! The top 8 system is like prizes for all in school sports. No matter how rubbish you are you still get a prize. There is no incentive to improve when you can get into the play offs on the back of losing more games than you win as Wakefield did (lost 14 won 13).

Making it necessary to win more league games to qualify for the play offs is imperative if the game wants to maintain any creditability for the league cmpetition.

As long as measures are put in place to stop clubs who can't afford to spend that, us included, then it's a good idea. In fact why bother with a cap level at all? Just say that all clubs can spend 50% of their income on players wages.

Pemps for Prime Miister

How many leagues do you know in any sport where the whole league is in contention for a spot in the top 4 or 5 with two thirds of the season gone? Even in a well structured league it doesn't happen.

Your answer of "improve and compete" works at the individual club level, but if a couple of teams get better, somebody else will slip out of contention and their matches will be meaningless instead. I'm not saying this because I want to reward the clubs themeselves. Meaningless matches are no good when you're trying to market the competition as a whole.

The current system is not perfect either. The best solution, IMO, is to try to drag the quality of the Championship up to a higher level. You could then go back to P&R with a viable top 5 play-off - which I think is by far the best play-off format we've had in my lifetime.

Surely you are ancient and loyal enough to remember the old Premiership? An end of season seeded knockout competition for the top 8 teams? You should remember, it was around in Wigan's glory days and most of the winners' spoils will be gathering dust quietly somewhere at the back of the Wigan trophy cabinet. It doesn't exist anymore. And it doesn't exist because after the novelty wore off, fans, players, sponsors and media were disinterested in a second or third tier additional competition at the end of the season. If you separate the play-offs from the league, you should scrap them altogether.

Of course the Challenge Cup doesn't detract from the SL Grand Final, its a different competition so not a valid comparison.

I agree the top 8 system is not perfect, but you seem to be missing the fact that 1-4 get a second chance, so how finishing 5th is 'easier' than 4th is a mystery to me. Just because Wigan couldn't use their advantage doesn't mean there isn't one.