told them.

IF the other option was all about the big clubs getting a larger slice of the pie it points to a bleak future for the elite game as it stands and only highlights why sound governance of the game is so important and why these greedy so and so's arent left to loot the game for themselves!!!
Sadly the bafoonery at red hall are so short sighted and hell bent on covering their own booty's that their overall incompitency will let them in the back door, because who really trusts them to run the game properly anyway!!
One day these lot will be hoisted by their own petards and the likes of lenagan et al will be in as quick as a flash to pocket the family silver!!
You get to choose from incompitant or self interest, either way our face doesnt currently fit, so its turkey's voting for christmas.

We are talking about this on two threads now so I picked this one but when you start looking at the details (as I understand it) There are many positives and negatives.

One particular area I don't think has been discussed so far is number of games played by each team.
Assuming 2015 finishes how 2013 did, the middle eight would be Bradford, Widnes, Wakefield, Castleford from the 12 man superleague with London and Salford top of Championship with Featherstone and Sheffield as the next two.

The top eight would play 26 games + 1 Magic
They would then play in playoffs so that assuming the top teams always win,
7 & 8 get one extra game, 6 & 5 get two extra games
1,2,3 & 4 get 3 extra games including the final.

4 of the middle eight will play same number of league games at 26 + 1 with next 4 playing 26 (No magic for them?)
They will then all play each other in the middle eight play off, all playing once (?) I assume 7 games with home advantage to higher finishes (will the gate money go back to those teams?)
If everybody plays each other once there will be 28 games in total across 7/8 weekends?
maybe they are doing the same play off system which will be heavily weighted against the lower clubs but not sure how they will do this as there isn't a trophy to win as top 4 "win/keep" promotion. That isn't resolved in a two team final. That is resolved by a table format which takes us back to at least 7 extra weekends (with gate receipts).

If my understanding is correct 9th position is pretty good.
You get home advantage in your playoff, you get home gate receipts for extra games which if competitive could be well supported. You still stay in Super league assuming you win your games.
Money wise that could be a good deal.
8th gets one extra game if they lose and is a pretty poor share.
Depends whether the finishing position gives you more money in top 8 and whether the home game receipts in middle eight go back to the club.
Even if they are shared out evenly there will be a decent wedge (assuming people attend)

Quite a few questions for the RFL to resolve there.

I thought there was something said somewhere that the Championship team gets home advantage? I can see the logic in that, in they get the reward for finishing higher.

I'm still undecided. It sounds complicated, but what's the alternative? Let the top clubs go off and form a top 10 league? The galling thing is that it would include Huddersfield, who are a good side at the moment on the field, but are only a top side because of Davy's wallet. The rest are bona fide big clubs. Huddersfield a club on a par with Halifax with a backer.

The plus, I guess, is that every game in every season should mean something. It might revitalise the Championship, and we have to remember that we might be part of that set-up if our end of season goes badly. I know the Championship teams perhaps stand a lesser chance, but is that any different to when we made the play-offs? We were never going to win the Grand Final, but you never know!

The main concern is how it impacts on player recruitment, and the impact of either promotion or relegation on a club. Let's say Featherstone come up. They will have to spend to have a chance of avoiding the dogfight the following year, and so what might happen is that a large number of clubs struggle to recruit, or avoid big wage bills for the greater fear of relegation, and so the bottom four or so super league clubs end up getting battered for 23 rounds by the big eight, and it all comes down to the dogfight at the end.

For example, take two money-strapped clubs like Bradford and Hull KR. How do they budget? Spend, spend, spend to avoid a probable dogfight and a potentially disastrous relegation? Or do they accept their fate and just hope to scrape eighth spot, but knowing they can survive should they go down?

The league will fracture by default into three leagues of eight. I can see the higher excitement level and the benefits for the championship, but will it create a more even league? Not a chance. There will be:
Wigan
Wire
Leeds
Saints
Hull FC
Huddersfield
Salford

Us, Cas, Bulls, Hull KR, Catalan and London will scrap for the eighth spot, but will need to budget for failure.

The thing is, the playoffs sounded complicated at first but i think it is a great innovation and Grand Final is always a great game and a great advert for the game. (i'd have less than 8 but that's another thing)

This could be the same. Nobody needs to worry until the end of the season about the details apart from are you above or below 8th. Or above or below 4th in the 2nd league.
From then on you need to win games to get/keep promotion.

I'm not sure you've got that right. My understanding is: (I am going to call the leagues SL1 and SL2 followed by Split1, Split2, Split3 to make it easier)

SL1 and SL2 all play 23 games - H&A plus a Magic fixture (although the SL1 and SL2 Magic weekends will be played at separate stages of the season to give both leagues a chance to attract supporters).

Split1 then retain their points form the previous 23 rounds and play each of the other teams in Split1, with the top 4 after 23 rounds getting the extra home fixture. After 30 rounds the top 4 play off with a 1v4, 2v3 scenario for the right to appear in the Grand Final.
So 30 games for everyone plus 1 extra for 2 sides and 2 extra for 2 sides.

Split2 have their points wiped and play a mini league of 7 games (with the top 4 from SL2 getting the extra home fixture). Top 3 of this mini-league go back into SL1 for the following year, 4th and 5th play for the other place.
So 30 games for all with 2 teams getting an extra playoff final for the last place in SL1.

Split3 retain their points from rounds 1-23, play each other once more (with presumably 5th-8th in SL2 getting the advantage of the extra home fixture). Bottom 2 after 30 rounds get relegated to (what is currently) Championship 1.
So 30 games for all teams.


I may have that wrong but that is how I interpret it at the moment.

What is the point of playing regular rounds if the points are going to be wiped?

I'm not wholly against the idea. There are some oddities: for example, 8th and 9th could be separated by points difference, and one could win the Grand Final and the other get relegated. My main concern is the effect on clubs. Like franchising. Sounded good, except the likely ejected club can't recruit, and the criteria meant clubs had to do uneconomic things to get a tick (like silly season ticket deals to get crowd percentage and membership up).

I just can't help thinking it will lead to a greater divide between rich and poor clubs, although I welcome the fact that there will be a point to the season. I lost interest this year once our play-off chances went.

Because the points have been accrued in separate divisions (SL1 and SL2).

That's pretty much as I understand it.

It's the same now, isn't it? The regular rounds just determine your play-off position.

I made the mistake of saying 26 games which of course is now 22 + magic. My mistake.
The other details I didn't know.
However I can't see it only being 7 games.....I assume you mean 7 games each. Which is clearly a lot more.

EDIT: actually I see what you mean now. top 8 play everybody home and away, then play each other one more time before play offs?

Having read through postings on here does anyone really know what is happening.

Page 6 of the clowns thread details the main part of the split.

Your season /s just got a lot more interesting

That's very TRUE, they've pinched our comfort blanket.

Exactly, sport shouldnt be ' comfortable ' , if it is, whats the point?

Personally think its a brilliant and unique structure, now I have read through and fully undertstand

If you finish in the middle 8 we are going to to have a minimum of 30 games compared to 27 now

15 home games guarenteed

Means the whole season is worth playing for, I think once the fans get on board and have a better understanding of it they will how clever it is. I understand it isnt everyones cup of tea but this way make the whole relegation promotion side of it exciting.

It does mean though that potentially we could have 4 teams relegated every season

If they are not good enough to beat the teams in the lower league then that is the correct thing to do.

Yeah, the staggered magic weekend I dont understand, does this mean it will be over more than one weekend?

14 home games - 11 plus 3 as the Championship sides get the 4 home games. Then the 31st game could be the most important for those in 4th and 5th of the middle league with a re-invention of our 'million pound game' to take place - winner takes all!

Aside from the 5 or 6 games that the bottom two teams play knowing they will be in the middle tier therefore the necessity to complete in those games is absent.

No systems is perfect I suppose.

I wonder if the clubs in places 9-12 should have a points carry over - 4 points for 9th and 1 for 12th, or even 3 for 9th and 1 for 11th, with the bottom club starting level with the Championship clubs - or some such? They wouldn't want to fold in those games then?!

I think how I’d amend the structure slightly is to have 9th and 10th competing in the middle tier however they will not be subject to relegation, the bottom two teams would be in danger of relegation should they finish outside the middle tier top four.

I note there is no play off proposed for the middle tier, I would change this to suit the above. I suppose this would make the second tier worth the 9th and 10th places teams while to challenge for some honours.

I thought the super league clubs get the 4th home game as the advantage? so 15 home games?