Had Wigan been top, who would you think would make the decision for us?

IL?
BN?
The players?
The fans?

I think we can all answer that one.

IL. But it would be November before he made his mind up

why not make it top four ,the top team goes straight to old trafford the team who comes second plays the winners of the 3rd and 4th match.the competition being won by the 8th team who qualifies is a possibility ,that seems wrong to me.

Good idea !

Quote: Mick Hogan "If anyone has any thoughts/ideas that they would like to share with the club then either post them here or email me direct via It is very good that you are willing to ask the fans the reasons why they did not attend or do not support the playoff system. Hopefully the RFL will do the same and take it on board. I did go to the match on Sunday but as I mentioned before on this thread my sister and nephew (both season ticket holders) did not purely because of the kick off time. I noticed that a lot of people that normally attend with chidren also stayed away. I appreciate that it was for reasons of TV coverage but I think that the RFL should ditch the late sunday evening game in future. The playoff system needs to change as well for two important reasons. 1)The games involving the top four teams are a waste of time as no teams go out as a result of them. That is why fans won't attend in large numbers, if it costs two of you £50 to attend a playoff game and you know you will have at least one more to watch you will save your £50 for a match that matters. So matches where no team goes out should not occur in my opinion. 2)The 8th placed team making the playoffs has been a source of annoyance for fans (as well as some chairmen) ever since it was first announced. The idea that a team in the bottom half of the table can end up as champions is ridiculous and should not be continued. I think a better system would be as follows.(Was suggested by a poster on another forum) 7 teams qualify for the playoffs. 1st placed team gets a bye in week 1. Week 1 2nd v 7th 3rd v 6th 4th v 5th The three winners go through. The losers are eliminated. Semi finals 1st v lowest placed winner from week 1 Highest placed winner from week 1 v other winner from wk 1 Winners of these go to Grand Final With that system all games have survival at stake so should appeal to fans. The team in 1st gets a reward and nobody else does so more incentive/reward for being top of the table. Also only teams in the top half get a shot at the championship.

Quote: Mick Hogan "If anyone has any thoughts/ideas that they would like to share with the club then either post them here or email me direct via It is very good that you are willing to ask the fans the reasons why they did not attend or do not support the playoff system. Hopefully the RFL will do the same and take it on board. I did go to the match on Sunday but as I mentioned before on this thread my sister and nephew (both season ticket holders) did not purely because of the kick off time. I noticed that a lot of people that normally attend with chidren also stayed away. I appreciate that it was for reasons of TV coverage but I think that the RFL should ditch the late sunday evening game in future. The playoff system needs to change as well for two important reasons. 1)The games involving the top four teams are a waste of time as no teams go out as a result of them. That is why fans won't attend in large numbers, if it costs two of you £50 to attend a playoff game and you know you will have at least one more to watch you will save your £50 for a match that matters. So matches where no team goes out should not occur in my opinion. 2)The 8th placed team making the playoffs has been a source of annoyance for fans (as well as some chairmen) ever since it was first announced. The idea that a team in the bottom half of the table can end up as champions is ridiculous and should not be continued. I think a better system would be as follows.(Was suggested by a poster on another forum) 7 teams qualify for the playoffs. 1st placed team gets a bye in week 1. Week 1 2nd v 7th 3rd v 6th 4th v 5th The three winners go through. The losers are eliminated. Semi finals 1st v lowest placed winner from week 1 Highest placed winner from week 1 v other winner from wk 1 Winners of these go to Grand Final With that system all games have survival at stake so should appeal to fans. The team in 1st gets a reward and nobody else does so more incentive/reward for being top of the table. Also only teams in the top half get a shot at the championship.

I think its quite obvious the play off system this year isn't working and is just going to get worse with the introduction of the choice system and the involvement of chairmen/owners.

I think the best idea ive heard and the one i tend to agree with is the top 4, as the league winner should be rewarded and if you finish 8th you shouldnt be winning anything really.

Shortening the paly offs by a week or 2 would perhaps allow time in the year for the re-birth of the County of Origin, which i would love to see.

What needs to change, if i understand it correctly, is the central money pot which is obviously a dis-incentive to the bigger teams. Why should they do everything they can to attract the bigger crowds generating money for the pot of which Leeds or Saints are going to take the largest chunk. Hence the lack of marketing for Sunday.

the money goes into a central pot that the RFL shares out depending on final positions. if any club contributes more to the pot, they get more out of it at the end.

That is not a problem IMO because if all teams can go out in the 1st week then it makes no odds if you finish 1st or 8th. That totally undermines the league season and the whole idea if a playoff system is that it is not a simple knock out format but a format that rewards higher finishes in the league. No offence but if you really think this then you have not bought into the idea of a play off system because it really is different to a knock out competition. Or should be.

The best system by far is the top five system. In the top 5 system only one team goes out each week until we arrive at the two finalists and any team who wins it must beat all the teams above them to do so. There is therefore an inherent sense of fairness that at least a side finishing 5th has some moral right to claim the championship.

This also has the advantage of making the league more of a factor and muddling along in 10th place hoping for a late surge to make the 8th is not an option.



This system means it does not matter if you finish 2nd or 7th.



This is knock out competition in essence and once the champions were decided makes all those who are secure in the top 7 have a bunch of meaningless games. With a top 5 system each league position further up you finish gives you more reward.

The biggest mistake the RFL made was moving away from the top 5 system to the simplistic top 6 because if I recall correctly they thought the top 5 system was too complicated for fans to understand. Given we seemingly have disenchantment with the top 8 system its about time the bit bullet an reverted to the original top five, educated the fans about it and kept the person who I think came up with these changes well away from it.

Dave

good point, and one the RFL might take on boaed and revert back to a top 5/6 system.

i also think these extra games were introduced to put money in the RFL kitty.
well it isnt working.

maybe less games , but meaningful ones would bring in more fans , alogside a more realistic pricing system...ie a tenner all round for adult season ticket holders who have attended all year and deserve summat back for their loyal support.

gf prices can be left alone.

I think it works round by round, so for the first round all 4 attendances are added together and the proceeds shared, after certain costs are allowed for. Good for Wakey, not so good for us....