Let's have a look at how last year would likely have gone under those scenariosSt Helens - This game did happen in week 1 anyway
Catalans v Leeds - This happened in week 2 anyway

Week 2
Wigan v St Helens - Alright we lost to them in the last round of that season but that was a dead rubber lost due to McIlorum getting himself sent off, pretty confident we would turn them over, we generally did that year
Warrington v Leeds - This happened in the final

Week 3
St Helens v Leeds - It's up for debate of course, but Leeds were in great form, and have always been able to beat Saints in the final

Week 4
Wigan v Leeds - This happened in the semis anyway

Top 6
Week 1
St Helens v Hull FC - Again just an opinion, think Hull would have had a good crack like
Catalans v Leeds - Happened in week 2 anyway

Week 2
Wigan v Warrington - Just my opinion of course, but they always seem to beat us
St Helens v Leeds

Week 3
Wigan v Leeds - Happened in week 3 anyway

Week 4
Warrington v Leeds - Happened in the final anyway

Top 8 Leeds had to beat Wakefield, Catalans, Wigan and Warrington
Top 6 would be Catalans, St Helens, Wigan and Warrington
Top 5 would be Catalans, Warrington, St Helens and Wigan

So yes it would be slightly harder, playing Saints rather than Wakey, but I'm still pretty confident they would have done it.

Tony Smith is quoted in the Metro newspaper today as saying:

"It doesn't really matter if we finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd there's no real advantage to either"

THAT is how sad a state of affairs we have in the game at the moment.

Even if we accept the playoffs are a good thing, surely a good final placing should be something to strive for.

The problem is that with this system a higher finishing place other than top 2 is not necessarily a better one.

Well you would think so, but it appears to me logic plays no part in how the SL is set up and run today. I’ve read a lot of posts, and studied a lot of permutations, but I’m still as confused as I was at the start of it all. I think I’ll just go away and do something really simple like splitting the atom instead.

I've seen it myself and I agree with him.

It's the format of the play offs that is wrong not the concept of having play offs in the first place. There is next to no advantage to finishing 1st in comparison to 4th, Infact a team like us may be better in 4th. Our home record in big games ain't great and the club call is a gimmick that motivates the opposition.

The main advantage finishing fifth gives you under the current system is the "on paper" easiest game of week 1, playing 8th place at home. It's obviously more difficult from there on in but by finishing 5th you get to play a side that may have barely scraped in to the playoffs (every season since the top 8 has been introduced the team that has "qualified" for the playoffs in 8th has at least lost as many as they've won during the weekly rounds), it's effectively a bye.

And in the case of Leeds you go away to a team that have just been flogged

Looks like Wire fancy 5th place

Beacuse when gary hetherington took over his task was to overturn decades of underachievment, the only way to do that is win titles, so the club from top to bottom is structured around making sure they are at their best in october, which means they won't be in august, as much as they would like to win the CC there will be better teams.

They've only been flogged because they've lacked the ambition to go and win. They've gone and tossed it off knowing they would get a second chance at home in week 2. Hudds did this in 2011 and so did catalans in 2012. They went to wigan and bent over, they got the lube out.

In 2010 leeds didn't get flogged, they went to wigan and won.

It's the teams own fault.

They've paid the price for not treating a playoff game with the importance it deserved.

Sorry but that's rubbish. No matter how you look at it, the team finishing 5th does not deserve as easier game than the team finishing 4th. Would you be against a simple 1v8, 2v7, etc playoff system? I honestly can't see an argument against it.