What it means is next year The Championship would be 14 teams. This years 1-11, League 1 winner, League 1 Playoff winner and the final place taken by the winner of yet another playoff - League 1 playoff loser vs team that finishes bottom of the Championship

Has that actually been confirmed? There was some talk that it would be a Top 5 play off just like in the Super League. A play off series leading to a 'Grand Final' (which would replace the MPG)

That's right Paul it is a a top five play off with a Grand Final to be played on a neutral venue exactly the same as Super League will do it from next season onwards.This has definitely been confirmed.

FFS what a crock that is.

A GF does nothing but encourage a boom or bust mentality. At least with a traditional route into the top flight there could be an element of prior planning.

They need to enforce an anti tampering deadline after the final week of the season to allow promoted sides to compete on a level playing field when making signings.

It's difficult enough for promoted clubs to step up in intensity as if is, without scurrrying around the market for cast offs and loan players after every club in SL has signed whoever they want in August.

Other than saying 'it's the same for everyone', there is little to recommend it, imo.

As said above, the current SL clubs will have sewn up all the better players long before the championship play-off final, leaving the winners to scrabble about looking for the best of the cast-offs to keep them promoted. We'll see what happens but it looks very much like back to the old yo-yo clubs again.


To be honest, I can't see this remaining for very long before the SL clubs re-introduce some form of licensing.