I am not whining or complaining because we have had a fantastic season, but it just doesn't seem right that the two best teams in the competition who finished 1 & 2 don't make the showcase Final.

Should go back to 1 v 2 winner goes into the Final again.

But we all know the system its crap but we have to play it

I understand what your saying but at least its unpredictable! Which is what i want to see

Its noticeable that the intensity, passion and refereeing have been so much better this last 48hrs. Hopefully the RL will learn from this. Oh, and thank you Saints for rescuing the weekend for me.

The league leaders, should be Champions.....I've said this for years
It's ridiculous that Leeds (no offence, Loiners) can finish a distance behind us, but still be classed as 'champions', should they win next week.
Yes, we're quick to take Sky's money, BUT, this play-off business (especially this season), has proved that the 'title' is, well, interestingly named.

When we won the Premiership in 86, against a tired Halifax side, we finished a mile behind them in the League.
Yet, in today's parlance, we were Champions that year, because that's all the Premiership was, an end of season play-off.....not the 'be all and end all' which Sky drum into us, every week.

I thought from the headline this was about Warringtons sallery cap avoidance .

Saints in a 6th grand final on the bounce and playing Leeds is hardly unpredictable

You'd have got awesome odds three weeks ago on saying they'd both be in the final though.

if you would have won you wouldn't be complaining

It's completely right. Neither Wigan nor Warrington had it in them this year. They didn't have that extra bit that makes you a champion.

It's easy to sail when the wind is at your back, you've got no injuries and you put 60 on teams. But if you can't win in the playoffs it's irrelevant.

If it were not for Saints and Leeds' injuries at the start of the season, and the disruption we had internally, I doubt the league would have been a two horse race as it was. But it's a marathon not a sprint. What has happened this season is like two athletes sprinting the marathon, then reaching the last 100m and collapsing.

The playoffs can bring injustices at times, such as 2005(?) when Saints lost half their squad, but this year the two at the top haven't had any excuses.

I have always said that whoever finishes top should be champions & known as such . Sky could still have a top 8 playoff for a seperate trophy if they want to extend the season but one problem i have is that the whole playoffs are hurried through obviously to fit in with Sky winter schedules starting. The RFL should demand changes to this cramped playoff schedule to accommodate the clubs & players better maybe to finish at the end of October.

Partly true, but under the play off system Leeds (again no disrespect to them) who finished 4 places behind us and won 7 games less than us may well finish Champions.

I posted last year when Wigan lost at home to Leeds in their 1st Play Off game that the team that wins the league should be deemed Champions. I am not saying get rid of the 'play Off ' games because last night was thrilling, but change the emphasis so that HKR who have finished a poor 8th would not have been called Champions of Super League 2011 if they had reached and won at O/T.

To put this into perspective try and explain to a friend who watches Soccer but not RL that last season Fulham who finished 8th in the Premiership could at the end of the season play 4 games win them all and be called Champions in front of Manchester United who were top and had 31 points more than Fulham. Go on try it.

So its an injustice when Saints didn't win in 2005 (?) but correct when Warrington / Wigan don't in 2011.
Are you saying it was wrong when Saints won the League Title but not the G/F. But right when Warrington won the League Title but not the G/F.

You have just contradicted yourself.

Why do we have to justify it to football fans? How many sports worldwide actually have first past the post these days?

Of the biggest sports in the world, only football has it. Rugby league, union, basketball, baseball, American Football etc all have playoffs. You don't see people asking that question about the Superbowl do you? Or the NBA finals series?

It is what it is and all the teams knew about it through the season. It is noticable that the two sides in the final are probably the two that have fielded the most players this season. Both Wigan and Warrington declined the opportunity to rest players at key stages of the season and it cost them when it mattered. Wigan in particular hardly ever rested anyone, I'll bet they've fielded very few academy players this season.

It was an injustice because Saints lost a lot of key players for the play offs through injury. Like if Warrington had lost Hodgson, Briers, Morley and Monaghan before the playoffs.

I am not a football fan and don't watch it, but given its success both financially and in terms of attendances I guess they have got things right.

The system isn't right. Its all about money, viewing figures and about SKY

Although as a Saints fan I'm delighted to be at Old Trafford the team that finished top should always be the Champions.

As I have always been an advocate of having the World Club Challenge played at the end of the season and not at the start
it would be possible to have an expanded World Club Challenge if the team that finished top of SL were crowned as Champions and less matches were played.

It would make every round of SL much more important and at the end of the season we could have top four from SL playing the top four in the NRL in a pure knockout sudden death system following drawing teams out of the hat. The tournament could alternate each year from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere.
The NRL would have to change thier play off system as well to accomodate it though and that wouldn't be easy.

If this system was in operation we would have Wigan as Challenge Cup winners, Warrington as SL Champions.

Wouldn't it be great for Warrington, Wigan, St Helens and Huddersfield to be going head to head with Melbourne, Manly, Brisbane and Wests Tigers in a knock out competition.

So you are saying the injustice is the reason why they didn't win and not the system in place.
In which case your loss in 2005 (?) was just a case of hard cheese, I am talking about a system which allows a mediocre team to finish 8th but still be called Champions, would that be for the good of our game?

I agree with Saddo on this one. I like playoffs in sport, NFL, NRL, Super League. I'd be disappointed if it went back to just the league.

I'm still pleased that we won the league though, that's an achievement for me and I'm always going to have happy memories of 2011. But no complaints from me about 1st and 2nd not being in the Grand Final - us and the pies have played 5 playoffs between us and had 2 wins and 3 losses. Saints and Leeds played 5 playoffs between them and had 5 wins and 0 losses.

Now your talking, that really would be for the good of the game.

I must admit I think 8th is too far. There isn't the quality in the league to go past 6th. I've put my theory about the ideal series on here recently, but I do agree with the playoffs as a concept. Imagine the NRL without the Grand Final? Imagine the NFL without the Superbowl?

Your tedness know's no bounds, does it

The 3 point game has to have it, as their games occur whilst Internationals are being played at the same time as their club games, so hardly fair to the clubs that have 5 or so players involved in internationals, is it.

And as for the other sports you've mentioned...well, they're all American (and as boring as @@@@, too) DO WE HAVE TO COPY EVERYTHING THEY DO???????????????

Let's face it, this seasons play-offs are 'tainted'
Poor interest, spectator wise
Two teams that finished a long way behind the leaders, will be contesting the final, to be called 'champions'...but fair play to them, they've done a job when they've had to. BUT, at the end of the day, they've turned a competition for a LEAGUE, into that of a CUP............poor.

THE LEAGUE IS THE LEAGUE....END OF

And between Wigan and us we have had 42 wins this season whilst Leeds and Saints have had 32 wins, which is the greater achievement and should be reconised as such?

And between Wiagn and us we have had 42 wins this season whilst Leeds and Saints have had 32 wins, which is the greater achievement and should be reconised as such?

Sorry double post

The league table recognises it.

In 2009 we had 12 wins in the league and Huddersfield had 18 wins, but we won one more game in the Challenge Cup. Was their achievement greater than ours?