I'll go for a Leigh v Hull KR MPG and think that Leigh will be too good for KR

As an interesting side note regarding the Middle 8's,If any SL clubs get relegated then all of the players contracts are null and void and they can be poached by rival clubs

Wolves must be very worried should they end up in the MPG with players like Ratchford,Hill,Clark,Currie and Westerman potentially up for grabs

Leigh are the first club to be promoted under the middle 8 system, and their only job this year is to stay up. I suspect they will be a different kettle of fish in the middle 8's.

You'd have to think that the more proactive CEO's would have already had discussions with the agents representing the better players at the SL clubs who will be in the middle 8's, just to sound them out. I'm not sure if that includes Leeds or not btw...

Whilst it's unlikely can you imagine the rage of Ian Leneghan should Wigan drop into the middle 8's and end up losing players as a result...

He'd always have the lucrative business as a look-a-like for Tim Wonnacott to fall back on.

He'll be fine.....

The constant flip flopping that the RFL insist on is another nail in the coffin of our sport. If the format is to change again it needs to be definitive. How many other sports change the way their sport functions every three years, it a complete joke?

The current format works and is interesting. If the league expands to 13 or 14 teams then I don't think a one up one down creates enough interest.

It depends on what you class as 'works. Attendances have fallen under this system despite the very reason for its implementation being to raise them. Similarly TV viewership has fallen despite the massive upheaval we went through to introduce this 'made-for-tv' system.

For me this system invented, then solved a problem that didnt really exist and unsurprisingly has had little in the way of success. For instance in the first year 3 of the 4 championship sides who qualified for the middle 8s suffered massive financial problems, last year 2 of the 4 were utterly embarrassed and finished a 7 game league with pts difference of -200+. And what does the middle 8's produce? lower attendances. People found the 8s a turn-off when it is supposed to be an attraction.

Even the million pound game and all the contrived steps we take to get there attracted only 6.5k. Hull KR averaged about 8.1k.

Thats before we even get to the practical considerations which have left League 1 not even a competition, the championship a competition you dont win and could as soon as next year see part-time teams needing to travel to france x2 and Canada in a 7 week period with a week to plan.

I agree scrap the Super/Middle 8's splitting the league farce.

I think if the RFL actually did some research rather than guessing they might just find that both gate receipts and to audiences might be falling because increasing numbers of supporters are having to make the decision to pay bills and buy food rather than pay for ground entry or sky sports subscriptions. Seems to be totally unappreciated by both the RFL and the Tory party.

Maybe clubs should lower ticket prices, German football tickets are much cheaper and I believe you can buy a season ticket for Bayern Munich for less than a Leeds Rhinos season ticket, same goes for most spanish teams

It's cheaper to go to NRL games too. Or at least it was a few years back, before the value of the pound plummeted.

Most rugby league is reasonably priced though, especially season tickets and for kids. For one off games £20 is a fair price IMO, clubs pushing £25 are taking it too far.