Saddened, that's so simple, but absolutely brilliant.

Personally I'd get rid of any game where the loser remains in the competition.

Reducing the number of dead rubbers in the play-offs may seem a good idea. However, it reality it just moves the problem to dead rubbers from the playoffs to the regular season. Many Hull/Cas/KR games would have been dead rubbers for the previous month and Salford/Bradford for the previous 4 months.

OK, so what would you do then?

C'est la vie. With the franchise system, the bottom of the table clashes are dead rubbers. Should they be included in the play offs as well?

The play-offs and the Grand Final are pretty much the only way the RFL have of rasing revenue. There is no way that they are going to reduce the number of play-off matches.

Behind The Stick posted an interesting post on this very subject the other day that everybody ignored possibly because it was too difficult to argue with the contents.

Its alright talking about making games knock-out fixtures but that didn't do much ofr the semi-final attendance between Wigan and Saints this year. Wasn't there more at their first round play-off game than at the semi? If not there was little difference.

I dont have a plan and agree that its been boring for last 2 weeks with exception of Pies versus Saints. Huddersfield have been garbage in both games and finished 4th. The playoffs system didnt make them crap

The whole reason for having playoffs is to extend the season and generate more revenue, its not to create good attendances for a couple of games.

Sorry cant agree with the 40% discount to season ticket holders,why should they get preference over those without.For some a season ticket is impractible in my case some games ive got to work so would be pointless,also season ticket holders who dont have these problems already get a discount on games + other incentives,anyways already had my bleat on recent post over season ticket holders simple if you going to whine about having to pay DONT GO.

It really does defy belief that people cannot appreciate that season tickets holders are deserving of preferential treatment by the club.

I agree, but.
It's not the clubs call unfortunately, the pricing is decided by the RFL.

WHY

Drop Millenium Tragic. It could be played in the Cardiff City Stadium and there'd still be empty seats. The extra game is pointless too.

Don't have the Challenge Cup semi final and final so bloody close to each other. Paying for two extra games you'd never miss in one month one being an extremely expensive trip down to that London is stupid and leaves fans skint for ages afterwards. Have the quarters in May, the semis in June and the final in July. Give a full month in between so everyone has a chance to be paid in between. This also gives a bigger gap between the extra games of the CC and the extra games of the play-offs.

Have no second chances in the play-offs.

Reduce from 8 back to 6 teams in the PO's.
1 v 6; 2 v 5; 3 v 4... highest ranked winners straight to the Granf Final... other two teams play an elminator to get to the GF.

Reduce prices in the first week of the PO's.

Seriously you don't understand why a season ticket holder who pays up front a couple of hundred quid minimum a number of months in advance of a game that they have no certainty what day its going to be on or even if they will have other commitments on the day or may be unable to attend through ill-health, whether the team is playing any good, whether the match has any relevance to league positions or not, etc should receive any benefits?

No honestly you have no idea why season ticket holders are treated favourably by the club?

Have it like some football clubs do and make it so season ticket holders automatically pay for tickets to play offs (and cup games).

OR

Some sort of play off season ticket? Price depends on how many games the team ends up playing with savings incentives?

Because they continually make large investments in the club?

NO because its yours/their choice to buy it,not forced by the club to do so,and dont kid your self that a lot of ppl are buying them cos so many games free plus the discount vouchers inside for other stuff,but seem this si not enough for some people tythey want more its just plain greed,

and an additional benefit such as discounted play-off tickets would lead to more season ticket sales which again benefits the club.

If it was within the gift of the club to provide discounts for play-off games to season ticket holders then it would, just as they do for Challenge Cup games. However the play-offs are "run" by the RFL and provide them one of the few opportunities to generate revenue.

I agree with Dan. Reduce the number to 6 teams in the play-offs. 1st v 6th, 2nd v 5th and 3rd v 4th. Highest ranked winner through to the GF and the other two battle it out for the second place.

The round of play-offs should be played at a neutral venue all on the same day. Preferably somewhere close to the heartland areas, as to take a play-off fixture out of the heartlands would be pointless. I think Manchester City's ground would be a good venue. Great facilities, in a good location and I think people would have the incentive to go to event. The RFL should implement reduced prices. £10/15 for adults and £5/£10 for children, depending on the seats.

The second round, the game should be played at the home ground of the club left in the competition who finished the highest in the regular season.

Attendances have been poor in the play-offs and the RFL need to take a serious look at it. I think season ticket holders has a lot to do with it, but also the fact that a lot of supporters from all teams go to the Grand Final, could also be a reason. The games haven't been great so far and the play-offs have been a real let down.

Simple answer to this problem for me.....ditch the pointless offers that come with the season ticket package, like a free away trip to a game, or a £10 voucher to spend in the club shop (both of which are being offered by Leeds Rhinos for 2012 incidentally!), and simply make home play-off games part of the season ticket package instead. I fail to see the point of folk paying for a season pass to 27 games which count for nothing except a Hub Cap (no disrespect to Wire fans!), then dont bother to attend any games which actually count when the title gets decided. At least if they knew their season pass got them into any home play-off fixtures their team was involved in, they may bother to attend and the crowds would hopefully improve.
And then you wouldnt get situations like our game at Huddersfield last Friday night when I'm pretty sure we travelling Rhinos fans were outnumbering the home support, which is a pretty poor state of affairs two weeks before the Grand Final.

It's the sponsors and shareholders that get me, they get to sit in fancy boxes eating their prawn sandwiches while the rest of us plebs have to slum it in the South Stand. I wonder how many of them were with us in that freezing downpour in Barrow away in the cup in 2002....not many I expect....one rule for the greedy rich and another for the oppressed masses...

There seems to be a general apathy for any game which isn't a regular round of SL, genuine semi final (ie when the winner goes to the final) or a final. I don't think it's as simple as the cost as wigan, Saints and ourselves have known for several weeks now that we would have at least two playoff games (plenty of time to 'save up').

Rather than season ticket holders having priority when it comes to the scramble for final tickets perhaps priority should go to those with ticket stubs from the playoff games.

On a related topic, I still can't get my head around why a competitive game, on our doorstep, between the two best sides in the world[i (NO, not wigan v wigan U20's if any crusties read this)[/i hasn't sold out despite tickets being available now for weeks. If the chance to see Billy Slater, Darren Lockyer, Benji Marshall etc up close doesn't get RL fans off their backsides then perhaps there is no hope!

It really is very, very simple. Season tickets are hugely beneficial to the club. They provide vital cash flow and security of income and help generate bigger crowd figures. Therefore, it makes huge sense to make them attractive to buy. So therefore anything that makes them more attractive - i.e. more benefits - can only be good things.

Surely you can understand that?

As for the playoffs format - I started coming up with alternatives based on a top 6 format. But then I remembered the answer I have had in mind for lots of debates that have cropped up lately. Such as: should SL be reduced from 14 clubs to 12 or even 10; why are there so many high scoring games; why are attendances poor etc. The answers suggested by many usually involving getting rid of clubs, changing the overseas quota rules, changing the rules of the game itself.

But the simple answer is the one in my mind - the clubs need to get more competitive. Look at the NRL - blowout scores are much less common and games are more unpredictable. Warrington's average score this year - great for us as a novelty, but would get boring after a while - was 40-15. NRL top team Melbourne's average score was 22-13. And after their playoffs - played in front of huge crowds - the NRL Grand Final will be between 2nd placed Manly and 6th placed NZ Warriors. Obviously a much more competitive, even league.

So what I am saying is instead of constantly tweaking the sport and the rules, the clubs need to work harder from bottom up to get stronger. If you only have a few top teams excelling, then regardless of the rules, no. of clubs or format of playoffs, you will have problems.

bring in the NFL draft system, teams from the bottom of the table get to pick players from the academy of the top clubs, that'd shake things up