Agree with you - playoffs are hyped up beyond belief.
Huddersfield are worthy champions, but it;s just a money-grabbing exercise to hype up an artificial competition at the end of the season.
If you win the league after 27 games you should be champions, yet we get the hype about "making the 8" - more like being also-rans in the 8 !!

can't see why it wouldn't for those that are also first teamers

I'd go with
Shaul
Crookes
Crooks
Yeaman
Briscoe
Holdsworth
Horne
Watts
Houghton
Green
Whiting
Tickle
Westerman
Subs
Miller
Heremaia
Johnson
Bowden

How are they injured or tired?

Not sure, Ellis ribs, O'Meley knee I think not sure on the other two

Injured and can probably add Ben Crooks to that list

Didn't Pitts dislocate his shoulder/collarbone?

I know he's injured but only one I heard a reason for was Ellis with rib cartilidge.

Gentle said he could figure if we go well in the playoffs, so guess we won't see him till 2014

So at a time when RL is so obviously struggling you want to get rid of the competition that actually does consistently draws the crowds, the sponsorship and the TV audience? Smart move.

I agree with the earlier sentiment. Top 8 is too large for me. It should be Top 4 imo. Top 8 rewards mediocrity. But the play off competition is a good one, indeed when I asked which meant more, CC or PO's, the response was pretty much universally the later.

You realise that play-offs are the [itraditional[/i way of deciding the champions in RL, right? Not something just invented by Sky?

Oh look, you're back.

Yes, up until 1973 if my memory serves me correctly.

However it was most often a top 4 contest and played as a straight 1v4 and 2v3 format without this silly aussie nonsense of letting in more than half the table and some teams getting 2 chances.

1973 to 1996 it was the league leaders who were champions and there wasn't much compliant about it (or nostalgia for the playoff method)

I just don't like the fact a team can finish 8th and somehow be playing for the championship !

One of the reasons that many see this is the big final is that SKY tell everyone that it is. From round 1 they bang the drum about Old Trafford so not surprising it has a raised profile compared to the Challenge Cup which is only mentioned when the games are actually on.

Being pedantic, theirs is half the table, not more than half.

I agree that 8 teams is too many. I'd have preferred it stick with 6 in a 14 team league. I guess it will change again next season with the league restructure. Really needs to be the top half only.

I don't have a problem with the teams that finish top and second getting some advantage in the playoffs, whether that's a bye through the first round or whatever. In fact the 'old' top 6 format worked just fine for me.

In short, I don't think the playoffs themselves are the issue - it's the current format that needs changing.