Why do Leeds fans alway go on the attack how many other major sports competitions also use a a playoff structure when the discussion is about the ease of the top 8 system in a 14 team league, meaning teams can coast for the majority of the year (or just be a terrible team)and still win.

So, according to you a play-off and GF is needed to declare a champion only when clubs dont play each other the same amount of times. For the past 15 years Super League has not had a league season where clubs play each other the same number of times.

Though of course many competitions do play each other the same amount of times and have play-offs and a grand final to declare the champions.

In fact whether they play each other the same amount of times or not, it is very difficult to find a club rugby competition anywhere which doesnt decide its champions by a grand final.

What we can see from this is quite obviously, that whether you play each other the same amount of times like the Currie Cup, Aviva Premiership, Pro-12, top 14, Elite One, or you dont like the NRL, Super Rugby, NZ National Competition, and Super League, club rugby competitions throughout the world, invariably, decide their champions by a play off/Grand Final.

We'll agree to disagree Smokey!

I believe a league with everything balanced is the fairest way to decide a champion and you don't.

The irony is my OP wasn't to scrap the playoffs but merely reduce the competing teams that qualify to increase the standard of the regular season that I am finding increasingly meaningless.

and as i say, you are fine to believe that. Its a personal preference. Im just saying that what we are doing right now is the most common way of doing things in rugby.
And to re-iterate my response to this. I can understand why it can feel meaningless, but that is down to the disparity between top and bottom, not the number of teams in the play-offs.

If right now there was say 6 points between Wigan in 1st and Widnes in 11th, rather than 14 points, I don’t think this argument would be happening.

I think it should be less than half no matter what. I think less playoff games would mean the playoffs we do have would be better attended

I’ve said before my ideal structure would be 18 split in to two conferences play your own conference twice home and away giving you 16 games and 4 home, 4 away and 3 neutral games against the other 9 teams, giving a 27 round season. top 4 in each conference go to play-offs, straight knock-out 1st in conference A v 4th in conference. B 2nd conference A v 3rd Conference B etc.