Super League is in a rut at the moment. The regular season matches simply have no meaning or point to them. The intensity is non existent in most games and I must admit my interest in them is waining terribly. The Challenge Cup is the only thing that matters until September/October and that is because its a knock out competition.

We need to bite the bullet and reduce the number of games, and reorganise the format at the very least to ensure there is some point to the games.

As the Saints chairman has pointed out this season the current playoff system is farcical, bordering on complete stupidity. The 8th placed side have a chance of winning the competition and there is hardly a big scramble for playoff places. None of the smaller clubs care as they know they can't win the playoffs so aren't really bothered about reaching them. The bigger clubs can ease off completely (Leeds have been on the deckchairs since they exited the Challenge Cup) in order to prepare for the playoffs meaning the regular season games are lethargic at best and feature 17 players going through the motions.

I reckon 12 regular season games is the ideal number if we are going to have playoffs, this would mean a defeat would be meaningful and games would therefore be 'bigger' deals. They could extend the CC if need be or the WCC to more teams in order to incentivise a high league position.

dont think we need to scrap them completely, but they should be restricted to the top 5 and each position in the league should have a major benefit in the playoffs. make the playoffs hard to get in, and make the rewards bigger for getting there.

perhaps there should be an RFL bonus pot for players who get into the top 5, increasing for players in teams higher up the league - at least then if clubs dont care, at least hte players might do.

How will scraping them make games more interesting? Surely that'll mean there is [iless[/i to play for than there already is?

If the Magic weekend disappears, there is absolutely no rational reason to decide the Champions by a play-off system other than to generate a large wad of cash for the RFL.

With the uneven fixture list created by Magic, you can just about make a case for needing a play-off system to decide the top team.

We've been deciding the championss via post season play-offs since about 1900 (with a brief interlude in the 1970s (?), 1980s and early '90s, when we had to invent the premiership to take their place). Why change a tried and tested system which works?

Should make the play-offs the top four, so that it's an actual achievement to qualify for them. Even with the shoddy seasons for Wigan and Bradford, they might still make it in to the play-offs.

Even better, revert to first past the post and have a post-season Premiership competition.

So what was broken about the system which had run uninterrupted from 1974 to 1998 whereby the team finishing at the top of the table at season's end were champions, hmm? That seemed to be working ok.

By this, do you mean only six home games in a season? This may cause a slight hiccup with the club’s revenue streams.

As for a team finishing in 8th winning the competition, well, if they do, they deserve it.

How many times did Cas win the title between 74 and 98? Hey? Clearly the system wasn't working.









[size=17(Ok we didn't win the title between 26 and 74 , or 98 to now, either. But we did reach a final once)[/size

Seems to be popular as union and the Scottish Premier League have adopted similar systems.

are you also taking into accounts the decline in attendances ?

As a Leeds fan, I should be in agreement with that I suppose...

If Bradford or Wigan were to scrape 8th with a 50:50 record, they would then have to win three consecutive away games before a GF at Old Trafford against a rested Saints/Leeds (most likely). Get through all that lot and you can make an argument for them as the top performers of the year.

Funny now Saints fans who loved the play-offs in '99 seem to have gone off it of late. And Bulls fans who weren;t so keen have come round to it

BTW Bulls vs Wire had plenty of meaning in it yesterday thanks to the extended play-offs. Go back to first past the post and then it's meaningless.

I think clubs need to get round to making each game a contest worth winning in its own right, regardless of what impact it has on the rest of the season.

I think you might be missing the point. Some people may be looking at the league table and thinking: "uh-oh Saints are peaking too early and will get turned over at Old Trafford again. If it weren't for the play-offs Saints might actually win something from SL instead of having to settle for the CC". Again.

The whole league is asleep this season. How many classics have we seen on Sky? How many competitive games have we seen? How many games can you say were honestly played at full intensity?

The vast majority of games I've seen this season have had the atmosphere and flow of a friendly. The players don't want to know because they know there is nothing to be gained from it.

Eh. That's more likely to be down to the two extra clubs than the play-offs. We had play-offs last year and every year since 1998 so why would the league go to sleep now? Or are you on a wind up?

I don't mind the play off system, but only when the fixture list is inconsistent to justify them. Otherwise, you might as well have regular league champions...

That said, isn't it ironic that as soon as the league became somewhat more interesting; Saints winning in '96, Bradford in '97 - it was reverted back to play-off's.

Imagine these last few seasons with Leeds and Saints vying for top spot with five or six games left. Oh well...

The Playoffs are good, but there should be massive benefits for winning the league.

In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that the league winners should qualify automatically for the final.

It's a joke at the moment, and as a Leeds fan, I am more than happy to watch us plod on for an inevitable second place finish. I don't even think about Saints.

With the gate and Sky money from that we'll all have to go semi-pro.

I like the play-off system. You have to be consistant enough to qualify and then good enough to beat those equally consistant in an all or nothing gorefest.
......traditional too!

Or in the case of this season's Top 8, mediocre - which I think adds merit to original poster's message.

Weird thread

No problem with the play-offs, big problem with the format.

If you finish in the bottom half of the league, you have no right to be anywhere near the play-offs. Such a format is not far away from "everybody gets a trophy".

The playoffs may need looking at. But 12 games? Don't be ridiculous.