There's a shocker on the VT at the moment suggesting we do away with awarding 2 points for a win (and 1 for a draw) and that the table should be determined solely on best points difference from a teams For & Against column.

There will always be blow out scores. RL is a tough unforgiving game. I have played in many matches which appears to be even until 60 mins then one team or other gets blown away in the last quarter.

The game is so much about momentum, that once your energy levels dip, you find it very hard to get back in the game. Even though its tough to be on the end of a large defeat, with most of the points in the last quarter I think its infinitely better to how it is in RU, where you can have been dominant all game long but not have a big lead through repeated slowing down of the game then a fluke breakaway try loses you the game.

In RL you tend to get what you deserve, especially if you are patient. Things like possession and territory count over the course of a game.

I posted this on the VT a few days ago, but for the Super 8 fixtures how about increasing the points for a win to 3? Say there's a difference of 6 points between 4th and 8th, it would then be 2 wins difference between the two as opposed to 3. If teams at the bottom of the 8 hit a purple patch in form they have a better chance of reaching the semi final spots. The teams at the top can still hold them off though if they keep winning, so it remains fair.

Agreed but that doesn't explain why there are significant more blow outs in SL than in the NRL - fatigue is not the sole preserve of SL players?

is not but the NRL is more even with most clubs able to spend full cap, which I guess is why the top 8 changes so frequently. SL is more uneven so there will be more mismatches

I wouldn't go that far.
2013
#of games with a winning margin of 30+ points:
SL = 36
NRL = 33

Total # of games incl playoffs =
SL = 198
NRL = 201

What period does the second stat cover?

It's the total number of games played in 2013 in each competition, to give context to the first figure.

But my point is there's this general assumption that there are far fewer blowout scores in the NRL when I don't think it's true. I see plenty of blowout scores in the NRL too.

BUMP

It seems no team wants to cement top spot... If next season follows a similar pattern then the top 8 will be very exciting.

An interesting idea.

I don't think it is a case of not wanting to. It is more a case of teams either not able to because of injuries (e.g. Saints) or teams like Leeds looking at the bigger picture and not going all out to finish top.

I know that. I'm not a Wigan or Warrington fan so I'm not daft enough to believe a professional RL side would lose on purpose.

Well I am a Wigan fan but hopefully not one of the daft ones you are referring to.

If any game was an advert for not rewarding sides losing by less than (say) 12 points with a bonus point, last night's game was.
We deserved nothing from that game & that's exactly what we got.

dead cat bounce at that too.Soon as I saw the team I thought they could lose this.

You weren't the only one.

Based on recent evidence, I'd have given the Bulls a chance regardless.

Think everyone on here needs to take a long hard look at themselves given some of the reactions on here.

We remain 3rd on points difference, 2 pts behind the leaders who we have a better PD than, and play the teams in 1st & 2nd again before season end.

We've given some players with niggles a rest before the biggest game of the season so far, in which our opponents went all-out in a very tough game they narrowly won. One of the first teamers who did play on Friday picked up a serious injury and is now out of the semi final.

Yet because we lost to Bradford, it's the end of the ing world.

Grow up.

Everyone has the right to come on a message board and put their opinion forward however, what's become apparent over the last couple of years on this board is tat every thread turns into a pi55ing contest between the same posters with (what I assume are) grown men throwing petty insults at each other, it's become almost impossible to have a debate about RL on here because every thread gets derailed.

You started this thread a week ago, telling us that the competition were poop, because one had lost to Wakefield, and one had lost to Bradford, yes Bradford.

You might want to take a good hard look at yourself before telling others what to do, this is on the back of the Wigan game, where on that one performance you were posting that BJB should never pull on a Leeds Jersey again.

You should also look more closely at the posts made, and you will see the concerns raised are based on a succession of poor performances, that are coach is struggling to turn around, rather than one performance.

You should also check the table more closely, as in just under a month, we can very easily be out in the semi, and in sixth in the league, just as easily as we could have won a CC final and be top of league. On current form it's not hard to see which one of those scenarios the bookies would be edging towards at the moment.

Yeah I did. Because everyone seems to think that we're playing terribly because we lost to Wakey and Bradford despite the fact that Wigan & Wire have also lost to Wakey & Bradford.

We scored more points than Wigan did losing to Bradford, and we shipped fewer than both Wigan & Warrington did losing to Wakefield.

So I'm not that worried, no.

we have been dreadful, cas game apart, since early may and yet you aren't worried????????????????????

If you look at the Cas result today they battered London by fielding a pretty strong 17, we decided to rest at least 6 possibly eight if you include Clarkson and Ward and with Sinny serving his last match of his ban, Bradford with nothing to lose playing like it was their cup final the task was difficult, that said I take McDermott's point if you drop so much ball as Leeds did you aren't going to win any rugby matches.
To put the game into perspective if we'd have played only three of the players rested we would have beaten the bulls, to take both your centres out of the game was nonsensical when you don't have recognised centres to replace them, the pack needed a bit more grunt but when all said and done the acid test will be next Saturday when those rested will return to play the Wolves. My preference would have to followed the Tigers approach, played a stronger team and claimed the two points. Taking in winning run into a cup competition has to be the way to go

Nah, got my tickets for the cup final, grand final, a weekend away at friends who live in St Helens for the semi and a trip to the lakes to look forward the week after next. What's to worry about?

What kind of idiot actually worries about this stuff? They need to get a life and enjoy their rugby.