i've no complaints from our point of view just an observation like someone else posted it gives other teams something to play for and like what happened in the nrl a team in 8th position might just upset the apple cart as catalan very nearly did my point was that posters were complaining about the revamp of the playoffs sometimes it pays to experiment if it doesn't work revert back but to suggest the top 2 have their own playoff is laughable you might aswell in that case scrap it all together. my opinion is have 20 teams play a season and the top ream is the champs simple as that

No different - we managed for years with top means top. I'd happily revert

the arguament against this is that all sides know before the season starts that it doesn't matter if you finish top of the league,as that is not the main goal of the season,winning the gf is
imo had the sl seasons top finishing side won the main prize on offer then maybe all the sl clubs would have approached the season in a different light
the rhinos have won the main prize in 2007 and 2008,they have clearly peaked for these past 2 seasons at the right time,although they finished 2nd in both of these seasons is irrelevant as they were clearly playing by the rules set out at the outset of the season

The Grand Final was classed by many as a daft gimmick in 1998!

And many of us who thought that then still do now.

Not too many, the GF concept has hardly struggled has it.

Trouble is the RFL will feel the top eight is justified due to the performance of Catalans in the play offs. It wasn't 7 & 8 Cas and Cats who were disappointing but 3 & 4 HKR & Hudds.
Cas went well at Wigan and Catalans were superb even at Leeds.
HKR & Hudds were awful and both club's end of season games were poor.

I do think there should be more made of coming top of the League.
The LL Trophy now doesn't do it justice.
Bill Shankley's said about it , First is first and second is nowhere!

The play offs are down to money and SKY's influence. The play offs and the GF put a lot of money into the RFL and clubs. Money neither can do without.
The GF is here to stay, the play offs will be over four weeks. After that the format can be managed as the game wants.

But this just de-values the comp because you are allowing mediocre teams who have lost as many games as they've won into it. A lot of clubs' ambition dosen't stretch further than aiming for 8th place. The top teams are consistently making the final because they are simply the best, not because of a system that is "unfair" to the clubs finishing lower in the table.

Sadly I think you have it spot on, to give the end of the league stage a bit more oomph the need to put some money on the line otherwise clubs will continue saving players for the end of season games.

If a significant monetary prize was awarded it would make it all the more important to the men at the top - I vaguely remember the all conquering Wigan only started taking the previous "Premiership" tournament seriously when the prize money became significant around 1992 when they previously treated it almost as a reserves match