We owe nobody any favours and I'm sure we feel no obligation to anyone. I hope we play the under-12's on Friday.

You fielded your strongest 17 'cos you don't run an academy or reserve team.

That's a terrible indictment saying that clubs like London, catalan and Bradford can't survive in a competitive industry, therefore should be subsidised by the creation of a cartel.

Sport is the ultimate competition, if you don't believe in competition in rugby league then it's basically saying rl is not worthy to be a sport.

Widnes 8 (6icon_cool.gif - London H, Catalan A.
Catalan 6 (-12) - Hull KR A, Widnes H.
Leigh 4 (2icon_cool.gif - Halifax H, London A.
London 3 (13) - Widnes A, Leigh H.

Next two weeks are going to be very interesting in the super eights. I genuinely hope that London get into the MPG, it'll show the system works even more with HKR promoted & another championship team in the MPG.

If you have to rely on other teams then it's your own fault really it's dog eat dog as we found out last year saying that I hope you stay up

I agree that there probably will be changes but not wholesale. Sheens will still want the team to win and will devise a suitable game plan with the players at his disposal to do just that.
I believe he will choose to include a sprinkling of fringe players such as Oakes and Cator etc, with senior experienced heads in there as well.
One thing is for sure, the younger players who Sheens does pick will all want to show what they can do, so you can be sure that they will all be fired up for the game against Catalans.

I completely agree with you. Leigh have had too many brainfarts in this middle 8's not to be considered for automatic promotion yet were good enough to spank catalans.

I think the middle 8's IS the best competition by some margin. HKR have done their fans proud by grinding out 5 wins and London have played some fantastic Rugby.

BUT, If Leigh beat Halifax London need to beat Widnes to qualify for the MPG.

3 teams, Widnes, Catalans and Leigh can still be promoted automatically. If HKR make it 6/6 points difference could be huge and London v Leigh could be a MPG in itself !

You cant force any club to field their strongest 17 and if any club has achieved it's seasons objectives, they would be mad not to be thinking of the future ie, resting players who may have a knock.

Having said that, these are all professional sportsmen and every club will still be trying to win every game, it's just that the "lucky" ones can afford to rotate their squad.
It's the same at the top of SL, with Cas and Leeds both able to rotate their squads, which may have a significant effect on who makes it to the semi finals.

No point bleating about it, it's just how it is (and always will be).

HKR's squad for Friday is.....missing a few familiar names, shall we say.

bet the rfl will be happy with that rover squad announcement lol, quite within their own right to pick who they want now they have done the job of being promoted


if catalan dont win friday night they dont deserve to be in superleague

Most of the players left out hare or are going to have surgery on injuries. They have been playing needled up for the past 4-6 weeks. Why would you continue to play once what you wanted to achieve has been achieved?

The Leigh and Widnes fans wont be happy

Then they shouldn't be happy with their own teams. Wire and Rovers have deservedly been put back into Superleague. If Widnes and Leigh don't like it then that's tough but its how it is.

thats just tough/unlucky

Every cloud......

Cue the "they're bringing the game into disrepute... showing a lack of integrity....not doing us any favours" claptrap

The RFL won't be too bothered, there eyes are looking over the English Channel.

And there across the English Channel th RFL see the Garden of Eden, where before too long (hopefully by 2019) we can have the Catalans vs Toulouse local derby twice or three times a year (including Magic Weekend). Moreover the RFL imagine the euros will start pouring into a new TV deal, which involves telecasting all Catalans and Toulouse home games (to be shown on Sky, hence an improved Sky TV deal for the RFL) and Avignon joining League 1 or the Championship in 2019, with homes games televised on French TV.

Maybe the RFL should move from Red Hall Lane to Rue Aime Ramond in Carcassonne and concentrate on the A61 corridor from Toulouse in the West to Narbonne in the East.

If Widnes and Leigh have a problem with Hull KR they should have beaten them themselves. They had Super League advantage over a Championship team. As it is, tough.

100% this

Still in Widnes' hands really so can't complain. With their much better points difference over Catalans then win their last two games and they're up.

I'm going for controversy here...

Widnes and Leigh to end on 6 points in 5th and 6th. Widnes auto relegated because Leigh stuff Halifax.

London win final 2 games.

London vs Leigh in the MPG with London having home advantage.

Leaving a possibility of 2 clubs changing over.

As for all the Widnes fans stating a championship club beat them.... when you are in the Middle 8s you are immediately classed as a FORMER SL team. You are no longer an SL team, but rather, requalifying to get into SL again. Its a realisation I got last season.

Very true, those in the middle 8s are no longer super league or championship clubs, they are all in the same new competition with the best 4 being promoted to super league and the worst 4 being demoted to the championship at the end of it

Out of interest, do London have a ground to SL standards, assuming SL has a minimum criteria ??

London don,t have, never have had , a ground, thats their problem, no roots, with all their multi millionair owners not a penny spent on a base, even a brown field site bought 20 years ago would be worht 10x that today, so i don,t think it will ever happen, so a nomadic existance, till they flop, shame.