So for clarification, how do the playoffs work this year?

[size=150Par Richards maintained his standing as Super League's points scorer to help Wigan go four points clear at the top[/size


lol BBC!

Same as last year



A - 1st v 4th (winner to week 3)
B - 2nd v 3rd (winner to week 3)
C - 5th v 8th (loser out)
D - 6th v 7th

E - Highest Loser from A & B v Lowest Winner from C & D
F - Lowest loser from A & B v Highest Winner from C & D

G - Highest Winner from A & B v chosen winner from E & F
H - Lowest Winner from A & B v remaining team from E & F

I - Winner G v Winner H

It keeps changing so its not my fault I can't keep up.


Still preferred the original top 5 playoff

Silverwood was poor but on BBC Manc they said the pen count was 13-11 in Wigan's favour.
Hudds kicked out on the full twice so that's two pens.
I'd no problem with his pens it was his sin binnings that bugged me.
I thought both teams were as bad as one another and couldn't understand why Hudds weren't warned for persistent offending as Wigan were. The pen count says they were as guilty.
Hudds scored tries from sets following a pen as did Wigan.
I just thought Hudds should have had a man sin binned if that was the way Silverwood was thinking.

I think it was the struggle for consistency from the ref that was the main issue

What? I'm glad we won, just didn't think it was that great a game.

I don't think we'll see too many seasons where the winners of games A+B aren't the finalists.

Think he was consistent, poor all game, It was obvious Mason was going to try it on, ( not on someone his own size ) and Silverwood bottled it.
Tommy was fuming.
We were talking to Hudds fans in the car park after, and they were fuming at the ref, good job they did not have 2 sin binnings.
The standard of Refs is a worry, if they haven't got the video ref they are clueless.
We would not have won that game last season, we are going well, great support today, roll on Wrexham.

Some one his own size, Loklin 6ft 2,Robinson 5ft 4,tinted specs me thinks.

Who the hell is Loklin?

And not only that he had to flaten Lulu,because from where i was sitting your enforcers

looked too scared to go near him.

Sorry kid i ment side show bob my mistake.

No, that's quite clearly Matt King.

Huddersfield scored 30 points but the only players mentioned as being weak in defence is Marsh and Goulding, very interesting !

Our lads were probably focusing on playing rugby instead of boxing, so you got to flatten Leuluai, meanwhile we go 4 points clear at the top of the league. Wasn't that your third loss in a row? Warrington will make it four losses in a row next week putting you in 7th place, happy days.

Did your enforcers do a job on us, then?

Sorry, I must have been at a different game.

He was battered with the ball all game

why reply to his childish antics . if you dont answer he might go away

Consistency gives you the best chance of getting to finals because it means you are a good side. Once you get there it's knock out footy and things like Joynt surrendering in the tackle and not being penalised come into it i.e. a lot more luck comes into play. It's much more of a lottery who wins the GF for that reason.

At some point a side who has played poorly all season will scrape into the playoffs and win the GF. All that will do is undermine the GF as the true indicator of the best side in the competition. I remember when Bradford won it from third. Both Leeds and Saints had been better than them all season. Come the last few games of the season both sides picked up more than one serious injury to key players. It was the season Newton broke Longs jaw and without him and a couple of other key players (including Sculthorpe I think) the wheels came off. I have posted many times on here how I fancied Bradford for the win and kicked myself for not putting a bet on because they had key players coming back from injury such as Hape. IMO they became instant favourites given the injuries to both Leeds and Saints players.

Such is sport and I think people in the UK still have not got the right mindset for what playoff RL means for the rest of the season. The playoffs are basically a knock-out competition and as with any such competition things like injuries or bad refs decisions do not get the chance to even themselves out as they do over a season. As such there is more luck involved than finishing top of the league. This is why I think people in the UK in most sports see the league championship as the pinnacle but given we have decided as a sport that it isn't, you can view a season in two ways.

You can either say it's been a failure if you don't win the GF and ignore all the good stuff that went on during the season or you can look back having enjoyed the season. Over the last three seasons many people posting on here have not enjoyed the seasons despite getting to the semi-finals with a play off run that defied the teams in-season form. Yes it would the tough finishing top and then doing poorly in the play-offs but getting knocked out in the semis was no consolation for the the rest of the last three seasons league form either. Unless you want to pull the wool over your eyes and claim the semi final appearances mean we were actually a really good side in those years.

We were not a good side but I think this year we are. It's just that the play offs don't mean its guaranteed the good sides always win the GF nor do they prevent a poorer side having a bit of luck so going all the way.

There is IMO no argument though that you don't want to be top of the league regardless of whether or not "this years" play off format gives you an advantage. If we ever get to a stage where finishing top doesn't matter
then that is the day the competition format has been ruined.

Dave

You must of been kid because because they were scared to death of him.

Well I disagree with it too. If it matters to the club and it matters to the fans, [uthen it matters[/u. No matter what some internet geek thinks!

I reckon the top 4 will be Wigan, Sts, Leeds and Wire. Any one of those could win it as its knock out rugby as Dave O has said, with luck and injuries potentially playing a part.

You're right...honestly.....no, really......

Awesome post !