So what's the incentive to finish first in the regular rounds if you just end up with the same points as 8th? Teams who are far behind 1-4 only have themselves to blame not the system.

I'd say to win the league......

Well, because the top championship clubs are on 30+ points and the bottom SL clubs under 20 that's why!

Well, winning the league would become even more irrelevant if teams 5-8 had equal chance of getting the Grand Final? For example, it wouldnt be right if we got the Grand Final at the expense of Saints.

If such a thing were to happen it would be a travesty, however I could live with it.

You could put the same argument forward for the team finishing fourth. I think it never seemed right in the old days of a 30 team league that the championship play-offs allowed the team finishing fourth to be "champions", and not the side finishing top, even though that's how Trinity achieved their two championship trophies. Lets face it, the play-offs are purely there to make money.

True.

And I suppose they're aren't any Rhinos complaining about winning the Grand Final from 5th.

exactly.
do you get the point now??


seeing as you've just contradicted yourself by mentioning leeds......

Mainly because the teams taking part in the middle 8’s have been involved in different competitions. And of course it’s a level playing field, every team in the super 8’s has had the exact same chance to be as far up the table as possible. The fact that teams like us weren’t good enough to rack up enough points in the regular season is quite frankly tough luck. The teams at the top deserve the lead they have. The incentive is to be better over the whole season. Yes it’s going to be pretty dull for the remainder of this season but that’s our own fault for not winning more games.

FWIW i’d do away with the whole 8’s concept, go to a 14 team SL and a top 6 play off, with home advantage and second chances the bias for the clubs at the top of that. Then a straight one up, one down at the bottom with second bottom of superleague playing second in the championship as the million pound game for a potential second promotion place. Personal opinion though.

Well, the top 8 back then were all playoffs, a bit different and easier to this format.

But why should a team, like Saints and Cas last year, who's built a ten point gap over the course of a season, have all their points scrapped, just because a few teams didn't play as consistently and found themselves with to much do to make the top four?

Anyway, sounds like this is the last year of this format, and it's back to the easier way.

I'm sure the RFL will find a play-off system eventually that might get rid of us before we get a new ground!

Peeved not at all. We'd all know before the season and all the top clubs won't be resting players until they're guaranteed 3rd or higher.