Maybe my personal guess , but based on experience , not something your club or your fans have , better to prove yourself against SL teams , even if they are the worst , than go up blind to the abilities of your squad

So sorry I thought we were discussing the merits of the current system against straight P and R , if not , what are we discussing ?

The current system has no merit. Despite odd flashes in the pan, Championship sides are simply outclassed by the SL teams. The results are invariably embarrassing. The concept, that a team on a Championship budget can "prove" itself against SL teams is insane.

You seem to have this irrational view that a Championship team should already be a SL team, while not in SL, and not on SL money. The flaw in your reasoning is pretty obvious, isn't it?

No comment on Leighs chances as, a) I am too biased & attached to the dream & b) there is no such thing as a sure thing in this 8's system.

What I do share with you is the thought that 2 Championship Clubs [icould theoretically[/i be promoted .....

I would LMAO all the way to Red Hall at the thought of the RFL's bigwigs in meltdown if it were to [imiraculously[/i happen.

FWIW, I agree with the argument by Bulls fans that Auto Promotion is the only guaranteed way in to SL etc.

By the way, has anyone noticed that the Leigh v Salford result seems to be completely ignored on the VT page ?
Seems as though all the other SL teams in the Q8's have been cast aside & forgotten by the VT crowd.

Very SL centric that page can be.

I agree I got sick of hearing people say this season that it was a good thing we didn't get promoted or we'd get hammered every week. This squad was built on championship money the squad in superleague would look different and would be built on superleague money. What's so hard to understand?

Of the two most recent systems attempted by RFL they both feel like cop outs.
Either go the whole hog and have a system like NRL where it's a closed shop and the clubs outside the league get designated as feeder clubs. This would increase player pool but would see the league sell its soul to the devil. Alienating 1000's of fans and in my opinion make the league less attractive to tv As its boring.

Or have proper promotion and relegation. If clubs are financed properly they'll still have academies and the quota rules stop you bringing in loads of old Aussies anyway. We've still got a very good academy. It's still producing superleague players.

I think you guys beat another SL team to mean there's two of them in the MPG and it'll be on.

Just have a look at comments on the Giants page. The way they're going on they're talking about who they want to lose between Salford and KR like it matters. The loss to Salford last week almost guarantees they'll be in MPG.

Because it's only two games in reality hasn't bitten yet.

How do you arrive at this conclusion?

It's all changed since the last time we had promotion and relegation. Leigh have practically got an SL standard team. Add a couple of quality recruits and they should be capable of holding their own. It's not like in the past where the promoted team had to more or less build a full time squad from scratch. The difference in squads may be even closer next year if some Championship teams opt to spend the same as their SL counterparts.

I agree with this - the salary cap increase in the championship has helped Leigh (and will probably help Toulouse and, eventually, Toronto) to sign SL quality players rather than picking up the scraps at the end of the season.

This does only help teams with a wealthy backer willing to spend his money though. It would still be a struggle for the likes of fax, fev and Batley to go straight up. The issue of uneven funding across the leagues needs sorting

Hogwash.

Perhaps if Bulls played other teams the way that they lift themselves against Leigh then they may be in with a chance of the top 4. After all the Bulls are the biggest club in the championship LOL

Thanks for the insight Sherlock.

Awful bantz #nobantzloser

No it's not. You need 10 points to make sure you don't end up in the MPG.

Huddersfield have 2 points with a further 10 available.

3 matches against championship clubs (beating Leigh won't be as easy as the other two they've got to play). Even if they win all 3 of them they still then need to win one against Hull KR or Leeds.

I think they are as good as in the MPG personally.

In fact I'll go further than that. If Leigh beat Huddersfield a superleague team is getting relegated.

There is no chance of a SL team being relegated under the current "promotion" smoke and mirrors. The system guarantees no relegation. Only an individual club meltdown, NOT the "system", may conceivably give a glimmer of a realistic if uphill chance. Deep down, you all know this.

I don't know how you can say that. Should Leigh beat one of Huddersfield or Hull KR (or Leeds, but that seems more unlikely) then they are guaranteed third place in the Middle 8's (assuming they account for Batley and Fev)

If that happens, then two SL clubs WILL contest the MPG and one WILL get relegated

Granted, there's a lot that can happen over the remaining matches - but it only needs one stellar performance from Leigh and/or one 'bad day at the office' from Huddersfield or HKR, and that will become a reality.

I have always made the in between case. No Championship side is likely to win the MPG but for extraordinary circumstances. There is every chance of a lackadaisical SL side finishing fifth and a side going up automatically.

It's going to be panic stations at the RFL if two SL sides end up in the MPG. I can see a sudden re-introduction of licensing. Applicable immediately.

I wouldn't go so far as "every chance", because that suggests the system is almost fair - which it so blatantly isn't; but I agree with your general point. I've long said that the best chance of a promotion is to finish in the auto-promotion spot, and the reason is because you could be helped not only by your own efforts, but if in addition results of others conspire against one of the other competing clubs. If that happens to be a SL club that your team happened to manage to beat, eg Salford when we beat them last year, or Leigh this year, then suddenly the other teams could do your job for you. As long as you win one more than them, of course.

That is still a tall order because they are a SL club with several fixtures against Championship opposition - and you are a Championship club with other games v. SL team to play.

Remember we thrashed Salford in the 8s last year and look what happened afterwards.

Fingers crossed it happens. Bring on the chaos

Don't the powers that be still have some weird kind of get out clause that means they can still reject the winner of the MPG if they are not currently a member of SL. e.g if Sheff won the MPG they could be rejected because of the ground.(Pedants please note: I realise Sheff aren't competing in the Qualifying 8's I was just using them as an extreme example because of their ground)

There's no sound mind and body clause though. Leigh will be fine.

They got more points than we did. Or Wakey.

This.

One result doesn't decide anything in the 8s. The only thing the Salford result gives Leigh is near enough guaranteed MPG.

I can't see Leigh losing to Fev or Batley which will probably give them 8 points, but on the same basis neither will any of the Super League teams.
This middle 8s will probably come down to Leigh managing a win v Huddersfield or Hull KR which will be a tall ask with Hull KR away or London managing to throw a spanner in the works against a Super League team.
Who knows Leeds could be 6 for 6 when they come to play Leigh and I doubt they feel the need to do Hull KR, Huddersfield or Salford any favours.
If Leigh get the million pound game I think like us they will fall short, they need a top 3 which means finishing higher than 2 Super League teams which shows what a mockery this system is.