Once again they bring in people to help improve the game and the clubs themselves continue with their narrow minded views & self interest within the game ignoring what the fans of the sport say. The loop fixtures are a farce and bring the integrity of the competition in to question as it creates an unlevel playing field with lopsided fixtures. Either play more games so they play every team once more or not at all, not play half the teams on a random lottery based on final league positions the previous season. The clubs need to look at themselves as individuals and a collective when they wonder people are losing faith in the game and nothing changes.
Not point continuing bringing in people to change things to rake the game forward when they just continue to keep their heads in the sand, ignoring change and carrying on with blinkers on.

making the challenge cup into a group format is just a way of disguising the loop fixtures, teams will still play each other 3 or 4 times a year still, even before the play offs, will they be home and away group fixtures or lob-sided like the loop fixtures atm? Cant see many fans paying separately for that format!

Totally agree
Another change that does nothing to enhance S/L .
Its a knockout competition leave it alone
Doing really well that IMG

Main advantage of this format is its guarantees a home game so teams can sell an extra game on season tickets and it increases crowds which have dropped a lot for the early CC rounds.

You could also seed the draw so the groups contain an SL, Championship and League1 side meaning some different matchups, though unfortunately likely to be some one sided scores.

Eight groups of three presumably means twelve Championship / League One clubs joining the twelve SL clubs so four groups will have two SL clubs and four will have one. Knowing the RFL this would be based on the previous year's placings so the top eight from this season will be seeded one per group and the bottom four will join the twelve qualifying lower league clubs in the draw.

My other long held thought about the CC is go back to SL teams entering earlier but make the lowest ranked team get the home game, gives the lower league sides a pay day and some different grounds for SL fans to visit. The BBC also like to cover games in unusual places early on, they do that for the FA Cup.