That's true. There were plenty of games last year were Bradford only turned up for 20 minutes of the game, but still came away with the win at the end of the day

As we saw last year, the regular season is largely irrelevant as long as you finish in the top 4. For what it is worth I expect Leigh to finish top given the current squads.

I would also expect Bradford to have made a few more signings before the middle 8's so our squad could look quite a lot different by then. I guess it's a strategy with some risk but it seems we intend to spend our cap money closer to the business end of the season. If we play to our potential then a top 2 finish should be achievable.

Fax have enough about them to beat any side, so I wouldn't write them off but I don't think they'll manage enough consistency to finish in the top 2.

The biggest problem is the wide ability differential between many clubs in early part of the season. With many of the games, and let's not beat about the bush with this, being more like, 'opposed training sessions', than matches, the biggest difficulty is keeping our teams fully concentrating until the eights start and then being able to step up to a 'proper' set of high intensity games. In the great scheme of things, though there is a small advantage in being top, second - even third or fourth in the pre-amble won't materially affect the challenge of either club. I think it's intriguing that Leigh have brought in a host of big names before the season starts and that Bradford are, 'keeping their powder dry', until later. It will be interesting to see how the different tactics work out on the field.

One way around that would be Leigh, Halifax, Sheffield and ourselves to leave our games against each other till last 2 months of season.

Yeah, cos the RFL will certainly go for that.

Too true.

The RFL profess to believe that, 'every second counts' [or somesuch and are too much concerned about appearances and having good slogans than actually trying to improve matters.

In fairness to them, everyone already sees the Championship as the "pre-match" to the main event of the Middle 8s. If they changed it to the suggestion above, it would be like the crap singer before the pre-match before the main event. And as much people would turn up to watch those games as do for the crap singer too.

We've had a year to come to terms with the Championship and most of our new recruits have experience of it. We have a realistic chance of top 2 and that is almost essential to progress further. I don't see any need to finish first if that hinders our ability to arrive in the middle eights in the best condition .....I don't think it was seen as a big deal for us last year. I expect to be in the top 2 with Leigh.
As for those finishing 3rd and 4th I expect it to be close between Fax, Fev, Eagles, Dewsbury and London with Fax possibly shading it for 3rd.
I'm not sure how any of it will prepare us for the real business.

Agree with that. I think it proved last year that apart from a bit of kudos for finishing top, the middle eights made very little difference as to finishing 1st or 2nd.
Finishing 3rd would be a bit worse, but top isn't essential, top 2 is.

I'd really like to see us push for 1st. We probably got away with Leigh imploding in the eights last year. Going to their place will not be easy. Also i think us having to play Wakey away twice probably cost us. If we got them at odsal i think we would have just sneaked it with home advantage.

I'd really like to get Leigh and the bottom SL side at our place next year.

Should the middle eight fixture permutations be published with a guarantee that they remain as such I could see the benefits of finishing first.

That's obviously true, but the problem is that, that [iexact[/i scenario is the major part of what the club is selling tickets for. It is 'put upable' for the keener fans, but isn't very inviting for the fair weather supporters, who I'd guess are the ones now being targetted.

Top 2 should be the target so as to get the maximum number of home games. Finishing first means nothing if you cockup the 8's.
I think Bradford's tactics through the season were the right choices looking at the big picture.
My only complaint was that the last games were spread over two days giving one team an advantage. I don't believe that Fax would have had such an easy time of it had out game been played the same time as Wakefield's as that home advantage was still up for grabs

I dont think it will be a foregone conclusion at all.

As a Leigh fan, i think we will lose 3 or 4, Bradford the same.

Its going to be a cracker of a season and hopefully the Championship will get the coverage it deserves and at least one club getting promoted !

It won't.

Well, the Championship certainly can't get so lucky again as last season when the TV rights were given away to a company whose sole aims seem to have been to (a) pay clubs zilch for the rights and (b) simply prevent anyone else from screening Championship games.

You couldn't make it up. Even had they given away the rights free to someone else, clubs could at least have made the odd bob or two selling advertising etc. Which tw=#FFFFFF[size=5.[/sizeat signed that deal, then?

What worries me with these things is that it's nothing new. Stupid stuff like this keeps happening. How do they never learn?

The trouble is, the RFL seems to be capable of running a single event or short tournament, however they seem to make poor decisions when it comes to the wider sport. The Championship clubs need to band together and work out some sort of deal with Sky regarding televising games

Perhaps not that great at single events. They continued the tradition of messing up a simple cup draw again today, by Dave Woods reading East Leeds out twice, and not reading Stanningley out at all. He mistakenly read East Leeds when Stanningley's number came out.

Probably the same one that signed the Sky deal before seeing if BT were interested. I'm not sure but I think that Premier Sports deal ran out at the end of game 23 last year so they were miffed that they couldn't show any of the Champ team's games in the 8's or the Blackpool jolly, hence spat their dummy out over showing any games last season but still kept the rights.

No idea if anybody has rights to show the Champ games this year, though as Sky showed the Blackpool games they may decide to show a few of the bigger games at totally stupid days and times that just p!ss all the fans off.

Thought Sky has the rights to all the Championship games (until 2021 or something like that, it runs till the next SL contract runs out anyway) but didn't show any for some reason. Premier had the rights the year before but threw a strop and refused to show any as they weren't offered the chance to out bid sky. A bit daft as they weren't paying anything & sky now are, it just all goes into the RFL for central funding rather than being given to the teams when they're on as it is for the SL clubs.

the money that the championship clubs are getting as central funding is coming out of the money sky are paying for SL and the championship combined package. Don't know why people are saying championship clubs are getting no money from sky.
Its sky decision as to whether they choose to show any championship games or not. That said RFL basically threw the championship coverage into the SL deal for no extra money to keep sky sweet.

It was 2014 that Premier had the rights to the Championship but spat the dummy out and didn't show any because the RFL had agreed with Sky for 2015 without giving Premier a chance to compete.

Sky had rights throughout the 2015 season, but only chose to show most of the Bash and one game a week of the Middle 8s. I wouldn't expect that to change this season, as they don't seem interested. It's a shame that the RFL don't think to negotiate that if you have the rights for something, you have to show at least a game a week.

maybe we need Barry Hearn on board. Or whoever does the other lot. I have been watching some of the duffers world darts championship, most of whom, I could beat, but the BBC find time to show hours and hours of it every day. Due to the cutbacks this is one event the Beeb aren't renewing for next year but already BT Sport, who I think already show some of it, have stepped in and signed up. The total prize money is around £339k plus £55k for a 9-darter. But the exposure is great, with it being on terrestrial they average 2.5m viewers and peaks around 3.5m

2014 Premier had the rights to the Championship but didn't show it becuase they were losing money on each broadcast but had done so in 2013 becuase they thought they were building a brand/audience that would pay off in the future. The RFL selling it the Sky cut off that future, so less of a dummy spit and more of a stabbed in the back moment.