That's what we are having, only the P&R is not automatic, it depends on the playoffs

For season ticket purposes 8 SL1 clubs will have 14 home games and 4 will have 15. The simplest solution is for everyone to sell a 14 game package and make the last game "pay on the gate" for the teams who were in the top 4 at the qualifying point.

For the top 8 SL1 clubs home fans this means they get to see 11 SL1 clubs (pre-split) plus 3 or 4 of the top 8 again (post split) - which means in theory they will see a higher quality of opposition and more intense games overall so more interest, more pay on the day fans, more away fans etc.

For the bottom 4 SL1 clubs home fans, they get to see 11 SL1 clubs (pre-split) plus 3 other games. Assuming at least 1 is against a fellow bottom 4 SL club, then they are only going to get to see 1 or 2 championship clubs at home. This is no different to now, since 2 current SL1 clubs will be playing in the Championship next year and are likely to be in that dvision after the 2015 mid-season split.

For the Championship top 4, they will get their regular rounds and then get to host SL1 clubs for probably 2 games, plus have a shot at promotion. This increases interest and revenue for all of them so I can see why they are so keen.

The target for Championship clubs is to finish 5th in the SL2 comp to get that one-off game against a SL club. In effect what SL2 does is create a final game play-off between the worst SL1 club and the best Championship club. The bonus to the championship club being that they will have had several weeks to practice and prepare against the bottom 4 SL1 clubs which should increase their chances.

That is a very good summary. What it also does is give a chance to a Championship club (including the 2 relegated SL clubs) who have improved their playing strength (using an increased salary cap) an opportunity to gain automatic promotion without the need for a playoff game. This is of particular note if any of the 12 SL clubs have done the opposite (as Fax did in 2003) and allow their playing strength to significantly diminish.

How does any of that bring them closer to the top of SL?

How do QPR get close to Man Utd & City? How can they match the top four?

They can't you tool. Ask them if they care. Ask them if they still love football.

I can't wait for Eddie and Stevo to explain it.

And Brian Carney's outrage when a Championship team walk out on the same pitch as a Super League one. He'll be scraping the sh** off his shoe as he remonstrates on the sidelines.

Again some definative statements like Attendances will nose dive.

I do think this is more reflective of their own outlook on the game rather than the majority of fans.

You can't impose your own attitude on the rest of the population and say well everyone will do the same as me. Everyone will react differently to the situation and if reckon you can predict what 100,000's of people will do, then become a stock broker and make your millions. As it's easier to predict the movement of share prices than it is to predict human behavior, to something which most people have admitted has never been tried before in this country.

Take out the absolutes....

Nicely put. I heard that men in white coats were looking for Barfield and Wood.

on a rainy Sunday in September. They need the Press Gang out to get them to Barton Bridge.

I'm not expecting huge shifts in away fans to be honest. But again you say it will. How do you know for a fact??? Predicting the future is in the realms of con artists and crazy people.

Past performance is no indication of future predictions. But here we don't even have past performance to go on, yet people feel confident to predict with full confidence.

There are three possibilities. Attendances will increase as more Fax fans will turn up with something to play for rather than hitting a brick wall at the end of the season.

Attendances will drop as Fax fans will expect a hammering and can't be bothered going.

Attendances will remain the same as the same people will be attracted by a game of RL regardless of the structure.

And how many extra Halifax fans will turn up because of the potential for promotion? Swings and roundabouts.

Also remember, in all likelyhood, the 2 teams relegated this year, will also be in the mix to be in the top of the championship. Ultimately (for example) the middle tier could be:

Widnes, Cas, Wakefield, Salford - Bradford London Halifax Leigh

Minus 2 games, that's no different to what we have now, a lot of championship fans tell us that they will be more able to compete (how true that is remains to be seen). Is it the system I'd of chosen? Probably not, but it should be interesting - and that's better than it has been for the bottom half than for a good few years, where once your done out of the 8, it's really quite tedious formality to keep playing

So, your season pass will cover the normal 23 game season (22+Magic weekend). At the end of the normal season, instead of entering straight into the playoffs, the league will split into 3 x 8. The top 8 S/L teams will retain the points they accumulated during the season and all play each other once again, with a further 14 points up for grabs. After these games the top four enter the Knockout part of the playoffs, so theoretically, a team that finished 8th could move up to fourth and enter the playoffs. The second tier play 7 further games from scratch, after these games, the top 3 go up, 4 and 5 play each other, the winner going into s/l.
This gives the prospect of the team that finished 9th in S/L being relegated and the 4th placed championship being promoted. It also gives the prospect of the bottom 4 proffesional S/L sides steam rolling the amateur championship sides and remaining in S/L. It also gives the prospect of paying for 7 extra games in S/L above your season pass price and still not making the knockout stage.

How season tickets work is entirely down to the clubs - I wouldn't be surprised if what's offered in the season ticket varies from team to team in the first few years. But the rfl can't be blamed for how clubs market one of their major products.

As for teams winning the competition from 8th - it's no different from winning it from 8th now. You have to play in the 23 rounds to ensure finishing comfortably in the 8, and not being more than 8-10 points off the top 4, you have to play in the remaining 7 games to ensure top 4 and then the playoffs are simple, and what everyone's been calling for. 1 vs 4 2 vs 3 no club call nonsense, no second chances.

As for the middle 8, I agree, their needs to be some reward for finishing 9th not 12th - whilst not announced I'd imagine they would have an "easier" fixture list (playing the championship clubs 1-2 games in instead of on round 1, the majority of your home games being against the other sl teams etc) - at least that is what I hope.

I think you underestimate those in the championship calling them amateur, as discussed 4 games can see you promoted, that could be only beat one of the sl clubs and then beat the other championship clubs. Plus the relegated teams in 2014 will undoubtedly try everything to remain full time professional, since super league status is only a season away (and in reality they would be competing in the middle 8 even if they hadn't of been relegated)

I agree the key to this working lies with how the fans of the two relegation clubs in 2014 approachit. If there is the same drop off as normal relegation. Then it will change little. If those fans see it as less of a drop and turn up and buy into the middle 8. Then that is where success will be built.

Clubs will offer season tickets extensions after the first 23 games, I reckon season tickets will increase for the first phase of the comp as the initial cost outlay will be approx 20% cheaper.
The season ticket extension for the bottom 4 in tier 1 will drop off but I reckon the top 4 tier 2 will rocket knowing they will have a pathway of promotion against the non qualifying superleague teams.
So in reality the season becomes a 2 stage one with the 2nd phase being an optional one.

What will be the format of the Magic Weekend? 2 more games in 2016?

So, if I am reading this right, it's theoretically possible that the 4 bottom Superleague clubs could all be relegated in one season if the Championship clubs finish 1 to 3 in the middle league and the fourth one wins the sudden death match? (Not that I would ever expect this to happen though).

Great innit

I think I get it, but to be honest I don't care.

Probably best just to wait for the fixture list and see what happens next year. It's a ridiculously over-complicated system to decided two simple issues;

- who wins the league, and
- promotion/relegation.

That's RL all over though, isn't it. Great game made complicated by morons who run it.

If you look at 2013 Hull KR who finished 8th were 9 points a drift of Wigan in 4th place. Realistically how could a team turn around a 10 point swing over just 7 games to make the 4? Personally I'd start afresh after the regular season ends. The only advantage for finishing top 4 should be just an extra home fixture.

In the 2nd tier there is no advantage between finishing 9th or 12th so why should there be one for the top tier?
I agree with everything else but this.

Wouldn't that put us back to literally where we are now? Once a teams safe in the 8 there's no incentive to carry on, and sacrificing a home game for 4 - 5 weeks to rest your squad and prepare for the 7 games is something a lot of teams would take.

Saints finished in 5th 2 points behind Wigan this year. Had the two forms continued saints would of finished in the top 4 instead of Wigan (potentially) meaning in this system you wouldn't be able to afford a slide like Wigan had towards the end of the season before the playoffs.

Realistically, do you deserve that much of a chance if you are 8th after 23 rounds?

I'd put more emphasis on prize money on the place a team finishes in the regular season. For instance finish a couple of places lower and it hits the clubs and the players in the pocket. Perhaps the RFL should look into the prize money with less prize money for the Play-Offs and more for league positions finishes?

The play-offs should be for the prestige and the Championship should be for the allocation of prize money!!

Take away emphasis on the playoffs and the season ends with a damp fizzle instead of a bang, as clubs have had their pay day.

Also, prize money of any significance requires the league to have sponsors and that's a whole other story

The Grand Final is about the prestige. Tell me any club, player or fan who wouldn't want to be there regardless of the prize money?