Well a lot of people keep talking about making the top four, but what is really in store for the teams that do?
Round 5 of the Challenge Cup should tell you if you haven't already worked it out.

Leigh 22, Salford 18
Wakefield 44, Halifax 16
Sheffield 12, Hull FC 34
Bradford 30, Hull KR 50

The current top 4 Championship sides played SL opposition. One just managed to win (and well done to Leigh for doing so), the other three lost by more than 20 points.
Let's face it, there will be no more promotion and relegation under this system than there was under the last one.

I wasn't surprised by this - though some people felt that Leigh would go the same way too. My take on it is that Leigh might well finish in the top 3 of the middle 8.

I hope the current system is maintained because it will take time for the gap to narrow but the RFL have back-tracked on what they promised for the Championship and I wouldn't be surprised if this experiment doesn't last long.

I've highlighted the flaw in your argument...the RFL never stick with anything for any length of time.
Leigh away to Wakefield will be a cracking game. If ever Wakefield needed to lay down a marker, then this is the game because I see these 2 sides meeting in the Million pound game at the end of the year.....

Yes but the promise of the opportunity for promotion HAS improved things.Look at last years 4th round results. The Pies beat Dewsbury by over 50 points, Cas' beat Batley by over 30 points, Bradford Oldham was admitedly SL vs 3rd tier and then Widnes beat 'Fax by 24 points.

Leigh have grasped their opportunity, the others need to take note, though would Hull or Wakey beat Bradford at the momment?

Ah well that's it then let's all pack up and go home, at least now we know it's all for nothing we can stop worrying.

So what would people prefer 1 up 1 down?
2 up 2 down? Problem with that is like we saw last year you can have such a bad season last 6 7 8 games not worth playing because the outcome of season already decided.
What they could do is lock the top flight into a cycle, maybe a 3 year system, but make limits on who can be in maybe use a points system to gain entry on stadium, that way you can make sure the financially stable clubs are there. Oh hold on tried that didn't really work.
Tell youwhat why not try summat new and see what happens.
maybe then a club can build over the seasons and compete with the worst of the top flight teams.
I stand by what I think, there will be a change, 1 champ team will go up and 1 sl down possibly with a second sl team sweating it out and taking it to the wire
At least it's making every game count

Do all (any) of Wakeys games count between now and the middle 8 bash?

Nope.
They just need to concentrate on beating Leigh at least once (second game). I think Leigh are in with a shout, but only in regards to Wakefield, with Hull and the other candidates for the bottom 4 of SL being just too strong.
There will be 7 rounds of 4 games in the 8, with a final match at the end. I can see some real pastings being handed down, especially to the Champ clubs who qualify 3rd and 4th

Is that really what I said? No, but this is the internet so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you've extrapolated until you hit the most extreme position.

Let me flesh it out a bit. The licensing system had nothing to do with the good of the game and everything to do with a clique of club owners who wanted to make sure that a 'big club' like Wigan never had to fight relegation again. When the system singularly failed to deliver any of it's promised gains and it became obvious to all what a sham it was, the RFL could no longer resist calls from the lower leagues for the reintroduction of promotion and relegation.

But they came up with the wizard wheeze of a system that looks like it offers the chance of promotion, but is structured in such a way as to almost guarantee it won't happen. The 'big club' owners can sleep easy.

I have to agree with Colly2, the experiment won't last long.
I also have to agree with gutterfax/enigmatic/Jim Pooley, there will be some real pastings handed down.

Yep, that'll do me just fine.

Why 1 up 1 down why not 2

Are you being argumentative purely for the sake of it?

Leigh are head and shoulders above everything else in the champs and are still only an outside bet to go up....Bradford, Sheffield and London (should we make it) will be lucky to get 3 wins Between them from the 18 games they will feature in, in the middle 8...and that will be in the games they play each other!

Because there's only 12 teams in each division. Swapping 2 teams from 12 is too much.

Unless a team takes a long term strategy to either this system or back to 1 up/1 down or 2up/2 down then they will be in the position of replacing all their squad to compete in SL the following year. Which might just be the usual suspects circulating from demoted to promoted. We and Bradford are rebuilding, us not so well, Bradford slightly better. If we get there we might have a few pastings, however we need to get there. What is better focussing on fifth and hoping your the big fish in the little pond, or middle eight and testing where you actually are against better teams.

Leigh have been building for this for a while and have the best chance of competing. They might have a schalacking somewhere along the line and they are quite capable of handing out one or two themselves. There is still an outside chance that the 4 v 5 game could well be two SL teams competing for next years SL. If it's not then it will be Leigh at home to someone.

Who knows the Million quid game could even be two championship sides!

Yeah, and that might be a squadron of pigs in formation going past my window.

Perry, Swapping 2 teams up and down in a 12 team comp is too much, what do you base that on? It's your opinion others may think otherwise.
Same as others may think the million pound game will have the squadron of pigs flying past and the new system may become the best thing that has happened to the game.
As a matter of interest what were/are your thoughts on the grand final and way that is decided

We should start looking at how bestto avoid relegation as the top 4 is a dream at this stage

Drone

Simple maths. One team represents a twelfth of the division, two teams a sixth.

Yes it is, and this is a forum where people discuss and offer their opinions.

I stand by my opinion that the system is designed to ensure that relegation remains a remote risk for SL clubs.

I suspect this is just a trolling exercise by yourself, but for what it's worth I think the play offs should be the top six sides, i.e. the top half of the table. They expanded it to the top 8 to try and maintain interest at the foot of the table in the absence of P&R.
I'd like top 6 in the playoffs, straight relegation, 1 up/down. And yes this is my opinion, if you don't like other people expressing their opinion, a forum might not be for you.

And yet the Premiership in football is almost a sixth (3 from 20) and they don't see it as a big deal.

The issue in RL, which has been the case since SL started, is that the funding has not been equiatable. at least the new structure addresses this a little. Though as has been stated it is designed to keep the status quo.

And having said that I amd expecting Leigh to go up by rights and the million pound game to be contested between 2 of the SL sides with maybe Bradford in the mix. just to disapoint the RFL.

Very true, but then again there are only two seasons of the Premiership where at least one promoted club didn't go straight back down, which suggests that three is too many.

The results suggest (and I think you concede this in your post) that Leigh are the only team with a realistic chance of promotion, and of cutting it in SL when they get there. If we did have 2 up/2 down, I suspect that the second promoted side would be whipping boys most years.

Not trolling in the slightest just interested what thoughts are, when it was first introduced it was seen as blatant money making exercise by the rfl, personally I don't like the way they made it top 8, in fact from the super 8 s at least that's one thing that has been simplified.
The RFL go round the buoy trying to find ways to make the game better, the play offs some hate but you only have to go to old Trafford to see its one change that worked despite those that hated it at the start.
Possibly and I do say possibly, the 8s might not be as bad as some think, but it is a way of making the season worthwhile all season.
Maybe bottom team in sl playing top league in champ could be an option for sl place, but let's not assume it's gonna be rubbish till its proven to be.
No doubt there will be a spanking or two, but then there already has been.
I already put enough into it anyhow but I will put £50 to rl cares if there is not at least one change to next year's sl line up

You're clearly more optimistic than I am. I think Leigh are the only club with a realistic shout, and even then it's a slim chance.
One thing I've been told about the middle 8 is that the SL club will always get home advantage, if true I wonder if that means the Championship clubs won't get any revenue?

Well if you went and looked instead of listening to what someone has told you, top 2 in champ get 4 home games, top gets to face one sl team at home, team that finishes second gets 3 sl teams at home 3rd gets one sl team at home 4th get 2 sl teams at home so why would they not get the revenue?

It's pretty simple sl 9 10th place champ 1 2 placed get 4 home 3 away games sl 11 12th camp 3 4th get 3 home 4 away, higher you finish more revenue

Not that we get any revenue from the games before gutters chips in