One of the league's hardy perennials is that every year, someone connected to the team finishing top after the weekly rounds, will claim that achievement is more important than winning the grand final. They'll usually use words like 'consistency' and 'endurance'.

Tragically, I see Darryl Powell hasn't been able to resist that siren call. The problem for him is that in making this laughable claim, he's sending out a huge signal to the other clubs that he doesn't think Cas are going to be able to stand the pressure of the finals series.

Because that's the reason our champions are crowned at the Grand Final. The regular season puts clubs in contention. All qualifying clubs have to demonstrate a degree of consistency and endurance in order to be in the hunt. But the finals series also demonstrates an ability to compete when the pressure is on, when there are no easy games against weaker clubs, and when all professional coaches - hopefully including Powell - have prepared their teams to peak.

To state that the hubcapis more important than the grand final is an admission of defeat. Getting ones excuses in early in case it all collapses when the pressure is really on.

I have enormous respect for Powell's talent spotting and development skills. He's done a great job at Castleford. But you don't get to decide you've won when the competition isn't over. We all knew the score when the season started. If he wants to be coach of a champion side, he needs to win at Old Trafford. Anything less, and his protestations will just be the sour grapes of a defeated man.

Certainly I imagine the coaches of the other competing clubs have taken great heart from his comments today.

One of the league's hardy perennials is that every year, someone connected to the team finishing top after the weekly rounds, will claim that achievement is more important than winning the grand final. They'll usually use words like 'consistency' and 'endurance'.

Tragically, I see Darryl Powell hasn't been able to resist that siren call. The problem for him is that in making this laughable claim, he's sending out a huge signal to the other clubs that he doesn't think Cas are going to be able to stand the pressure of the finals series.

Because that's the reason our champions are crowned at the Grand Final. The regular season puts clubs in contention. All qualifying clubs have to demonstrate a degree of consistency and endurance in order to be in the hunt. But the finals series also demonstrates an ability to compete when the pressure is on, when there are no easy games against weaker clubs, and when all professional coaches - hopefully including Powell - have prepared their teams to peak.

To state that the hubcapis more important than the grand final is an admission of defeat. Getting ones excuses in early in case it all collapses when the pressure is really on.

I have enormous respect for Powell's talent spotting and development skills. He's done a great job at Castleford. But you don't get to decide you've won when the competition isn't over. We all knew the score when the season started. If he wants to be coach of a champion side, he needs to win at Old Trafford. Anything less, and his protestations will just be the sour grapes of a defeated man.

Certainly I imagine the coaches of the other competing clubs have taken great heart from his comments today.

I would find it interesting to see from which examples you can show that DP is good at getting his excuses in early Roy.

His statement today - if quoted accurately - on the BBC website. To suggest that the hubcap is a greater achievement than the Grand Final is risible.

What I'd expect of a confident coach is more like 'Finishing at the top of the table is an impressive achievement, and one of our goals, but we want to be champions, and that's where our focus is'.

Not 'we've done the hardest job now, the rest doesn't mean as much'.

Whether the hubcap is more important or not (and it clearly isn't), surely any coach wanting to go on and win the GF should be talking it down, just to keep his players focused on the "big" prize.
IF his players actually believe that they already have the most important trophy, there is a risk, however small, that they may go a little bit soft.
Having said that, for Cas to finish top of the pile for the first time in their history, is a big deal for them and no doubt, sales of KFC and Pomagne will go through the roof if they are presented with the Hubcap tomorrow.

Apologies Roy, i didn't make my question clear enough.

When i said examples, what i meant was an example of where DP's representation of his thoughts has been questionable in the past.

There is a case for the argument that the "hubcap" is a greater achievement than winning the Grand Final, as used to be the case in our sport for many, many years, and is so in many other professional sports to this day.

I think the issue may be that people do not like change generally, in whatever way it presents itself.

You are,of course, assuming that DP delivers his tactics to the team via the BBC website! What a coach says publicly & what he says to the team are worlds apart; but I'm sure you know that & can empty your net now!

Mountain out of a molehill. I suspect a tinge of jealousy.

I would agree if all the sides went in at the start of the season with that attitude, and the champions were actually the team that finished top after 30 games and not the team that wins the GF.

Look, i'm not saying cas Wouldn't have finished top even if that were the case, they have cantered home this year and it will mean a lot to them i get it and am happy for them. Still doesn't change the fact it will mean nowt if his side doesn't win at OT..... he states in his quote that Warrington finishing top of the pile last year means they were the best team of 2016 but in all honesty i had already forgotten who finished top last year, but can remember Wigan celebrating lifting the trophy infront of 75k last October. I can barely recall a handful of LLS winners over the last 20 years but i could reel of every GF winner from 98 to last year without missing a beat.

My team (Tigers) have never won it so I'm quite happy to be seeing them on the verge of something truly historic. I'd love them to go on and win at OT as well but even if they didn't get to the final I would still be content with the season we have had.
The prize money for the LLS (100K) now means is is well worth winning as well so that is not to be sniffed at either.
I wouldn't take to heart too much either what coach Powell says to the press.

There is an argument that the LLS is awarded to the best team over the course of the season.
However, in RL the Grand Final is the real prize. Grand Final winners have beaten their closest rivals when it really matters.
I hope Cas win the GF this year. Not just because they are my team, but because otherwise 2017 will be remembered as the year that Castleford were by far the best team but didn't win the GF.
I have never been a fan of the GF 'sudden death' concept when it comes to crowing a team as the 'champions'. For me, this should be the team who finish top after the full season.
However, it's the system we have and I'll enjoy the home semi-final and (hopefully) the grand final.

It will be a disappointment but I very much doubt it counts as nothing.

Sorry wrongly worded in this case, as i have said it will mean a lot to cas, as it did Hudds a few years back it has been many years since they got to the summit so it will be special for the club and fans. If you were a regular contender though LLS doesn't mean much, it is nice n all, but just a box ticked on the way to the big prize.

Anyway, good luck to Cas if they play like they have all year in the play offs i don't see too many problems and they will be one of the most deserved winners ever.

What a tiring thread. No doubt if/when Cas win the LLS we'll see the fans crawling out and telling the club shhhhh cos they haven't won anything yet, when it's 1 of 3 you can win. Let us little clubs have some fun for once, eh?

There is literally no worse feeling than winning the LLS and not converting it into a GF win. People can kid themselves all they want, it is a truly rotten feeling and the hubcap is no consolation at all.

I do hope Cas win it though, good for SL.

Exactly. I could tell you every GF Saints won. But I actually had to google to find out when we'd finished top of the league. Bluntly, it doesn't matter. Only the GF does.

The only reason people don't think winning the league matters is because the RFL made finishing top worthless for so long they made it that way, and then when they did try to make it mean something that got the crappest, cheapest "shield" they could find.

If they want finishing top of the league to matter, firstly they need to get the old 1st division championship trophy back (from Wigan?) and present that to whoever finishes top of the league as the Super League Championship/Premiership and then the Grand Final is a separate end of season tournament for the best 4.

Actually first past the post with promotion & relegation lasted 22 years 1973 to 1995, prior to 72 you had a play off. Dewsbury the last side to do it.

The league leader's trophy is sadly undervalued, it is the best reflection of who has been the best side throughout year. Its not 100% perfect because that infernal extra fixture at the Magic weekend unbalances the fixture list but even then it deserves respect. The Grand Final winners are the team playing best at the end of the season only and there are more than a few times when you can't honestly say that the winners were the best team that season. The Leeds teams winning from 5th spring to mind - yes they won their play off games fair & square but the best team all year? I think not. Even last season a grindingly boring and nasty Wigan side who finished with a paltry +109 points difference got it right for 2 games to win it. Were they really the best last year? Some years with a tough draw the Challenge Cup can be harder to win (and some years not) but you rarely hear about the Cup winners being talked about as the best - and with good reason.

Anyway congrats to Cas, I respect what they have achieved.

The LLS isnt undervalued. Its just not that important.

To be Rugby League champions you have to be consistent enough to get in to the play-offs, have enough quality to win the play-off games, and good enough to under the bright lights, with the crowd baying, in the title fight. Thats how you champions are forged.

I wouldn't disagree that the LLS has been undervalued to a degree, but everyone knows how the Champions are determined before a ball is kicked. Whilst the playoffs have flaws, the Grand Final is by far the biggest event in domestic RL, and is a great occasion to end the season. It really makes sure the season goes to the last day.

If the LLS was the be all and end all the season would sometimes be over weeks before the end. In the days pre SL and summer rugby it didn't matter quite as much because the CC Final kept interest up, but plenty of clubs used to coast to the end of the season once they were out of the CC and knew they weren't going to win the competition or get relegated. In fact the lack of effort from those mid table teams could affect the end of season table, so how valid is a table based competition even then?

To be fair the LLS will mean more to Cas than it would to ,say Leeds or Wigan because they aren't usually in the mix up for the silverware. I don't recall Wigan fans being too distraught when the helicopter turned round a couple of years back. I'm sure they were more distraught after the GF. However, we shouldn't diminish Cas' achievement in the eyes of their own players and fans. They've been a joy to watch even when spanking us. They just don't want to put the cue on the rack like Huddersfield appeared to do in 2013 and not even reach the GF. I think it's just DP being coy and trying to take pressure off his players. I still expect them to be at OT in October.

I think I'm one of the few Cas fans who respects the grand final and think it should be kept.

It's all very well being clear of 2nd place and saying that's that and we should be the rightful winners of the league. But I heard few if any similar protests from fellow Castleford fans in previous seasons when we finished in the playoffs but were way behind the leaders. Likewise, when we failed to win the 2014 shield in the final regular match following the collapse at Catalans, many fans consoled themselves with knowing we had the playoffs to try for the grand final. I'll ask the question in future seasons when we don't finish 1st and see if we still think the winners should be the team who finish top.

The playoff format needs changing to make it more exciting (1st has 2 chances to get to OT, 5th needs to win sudden death matches), but getting rid of one of the showpiece occasions which is regularly attended by 65-75K isn't the answer.

Anyhow, looking forward to tonight and if we finish the season with just the 'hubcap' I'll be disappointed but not gutted - I've seen us humiliated and knocked out of the cup by Barrow, seen us play at Widnes on a Thursday when we took just 37 supporters, seen us relegated twice so this is a hell of a contrast.

Fully agree with this - top 5 it should be, not only to give more benefit to the LLS winner and make it more valuable to achieve but it also makes S8's more interesting to the end.

week 1 - 4th v 5th loser eliminated

week 2 -game 1 - 1st v 2nd winner to GF game 2 - 3rd V winner of week 1

week 3 - loser Game 1 v winner game 2

week 4 - GF

I've been made redundant a couple of times. Literally.