i'd go with this

Wigan v Wire (evenly matched)
Saints v Leeds (some great battles between the two)
Hull FC v Hull KR (obvious derby)
Bradford v Huddersfield (Local-ish derby)
Wakefield v Castleford (obvious derby)
Quins v Catalans (evenly matched)
Salford v Crusaders (evenly matched)

Thats a decent fixture list, and miles better than this weekends.

I'd go with that. They would have to release the draw a week or two before the event to account for form. Wigan v Wire this season may be evenly matched one year but not the next for instance!

Another way that could work is based on last seasons table, have 1st v 2nd, 3rd v 4th etc. At least you would guarantee some good games.

or base it on the same season

No one would know who they had until a week before.

See that would be good

Then you guaranteed top games that are fair and evenly matched.

didn't focus on other posts because this was so glaringly daft. We've 1 or 2 near sellouts a year and they attract the most armchair fans. Players love derbies and they're the most lucrative games for the club. Season ticket prices would have to fall in the year we lost a home tie to saints because most fans wouldn't be happy travelling. TV figures would fall as most only want one match a day so could cost RFL money too. All in all a really bad idea from every angle.

The [iONLY[/i way to do it.

Any other way = scrap it.

They'd need to do some savvy marketing, use the mystery element to their benefit.

Plus it would actually be a very important game in terms of position in the league and intensity.

Do away with it and use that spare weekend for one of the Easter fixtures.
Just have one game at Easter Good Friday and do away with the one on Monday.
Then you would not have three games in eight days.

That would be class actually, and it'd be so easy to market the games as well, in the coming weeks everyone would be wondering who they'd play. Only difference it might make is people might not buy the tickets until they actually know who they are playing. Either way it would be better to market it that way than with some stupid video about mascots in cars wacky races style. Who on earth thought of that?! Idiots

I think if the Challenge Cup final was moved back to May we could then have the Magic Weekend on the August bank holiday (the date the CC final is now played). Having it near the end of the season would give clashes with contenders for places a more tangible bearing on the competition. If this was done then I think that ties of 1st v 2nd, 3rd v 4th, 5th v 6th, 7th v 8th, 9th v 10th, 11th v 12th, 13th v 14th based on the table the previous week would attract more sales. Despite being uncertain of who they would play fans of all clubs would know that their tie would have an effect on their final league position as they would be playing their immediate rivals in the table.