Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:23 pm  

It doesn't take too long on any RL forum to see the disquiet amongst genuine fans about the danger to the league (more pointedly, attendances) from the RFL prioritising the playoffs/GF;

What would people think if the playoffs stayed as they are, with the GF winner being declared 'Champions', but the only other incentive (financial reward!) to winning the GF would be the WCC game?

The RFL could then (please see sense on this RFL) use the money generated by the playoff system to increase prize money for the league, meaning that although finishing higher up the league might not increase your chances of being champions, the incentive to finishing higher would be significantly fuller coffers for next year.

If there had been more money on offer for finishing higher up the league than actually winning the GF, I'm sure many of the top teams, including Wire, would've shown a better attitude towards all the league games throughout the season than they did this year.

Oh, by the way Leeds fans, from recent years, including Saturdays efforts, I'm quite sure even if this system was adopted, you'd still have a good shout of becoming champions, just from a loftier league position!

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:39 pm  

I dont think all players/teams are motivated by money.

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:55 pm  

LeedsDave wrote:

I dont think all players/teams are motivated by money.

If that was the case, we wouldn't be touching our forelocks and shouting "How high?" every time Sky shouted "Jump"' ....

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:29 pm  

Mentioned this several times, so once more won't make any difference.

Reduce SL to 12 teams, and scrap the magic weekend.

12 teams play each other home and away = 22 rounds.

Split the league into top 6 and bottom 6 creating two mini leagues, but all teams keep the points they have already earned.

Every team plays all the other teams in their mini league home and away = 10 more rounds.

The obvious disadvantage is that for the last 10 games half the league have nothing to play of except maybe avoiding 'the spoon'. But is that really that much different from the current system? There is the possiblity that a team could have the league wrapped up with three or four games to go, but that happens in football, it doesn't really turn fans off, either live or on TV.

The advantages are that every club knows before the season starts that they will have 16 home games and can advertise/promote/sell their season tickets accordingly. Sky can start to get excited about round 18 when the battle to make the top six starts getting interesting. The last 10 rounds of the competiton would feature the best 6 teams in the competition playing eachother each week. The team who is top of the league after 32 games are the champions. Nobody can argue whether or not they were lucky or whatever, they are the best team and rightly can be called champions.

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:34 pm  

The one thing that keeps coming out is, something needs to change before it self implodes ......

I've often thought (usually over a few beers with both SL & Championship supporters present) as to whether we'd even be better off going to a split league, based on East/West pennines (with each getting one of the obvious oddballs of London & Catalan)...... 2 leagues; 10 teams; 18 games; almost without exception local derbies of one kind or another, and gives a chance to get teams like Leigh, Halifax, Featherstone, Oldham etc back into the fold without twisting their arm over meeting farcical licence requirements (which count for anything anyway!) ..... Then, top 6 (doesn't really matter if it's 4, 5, or 6 at this point, it's the concept) go forward to PO knockouts, with top 2/3 playing host to bottom 2/3 from other region ..... or if more acceptable to fans (Sky paymasters !!!), a further league format with top 4 going into a 14 game mini-season, then top 2 contest the GF!

Don't actually care right now what it's changed to, but for the first time in years, this season I found myself feeling like a cash-cow being fleeced as clubs put out under strength teams for games I'd already paid for upfront with a season ticket.

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 3:46 pm  

Looking back over this and last season it still sticks in my throat that a team can come from 5th to be crowned champions, not taking it away from Leeds in anyway well done you are masters at it.
Wigan for for me this year was the clear outright team to beat and they demonstrated this week in and week out. Warrington did that last season of course.But 1 match and Wigans season is deemed a failure that cannot be right in anyway both in recognition of their achievement and financial reward.

We did well winning the Challenge cup and coming 2nd in the league, and as discussed previously the hub cap was squandered in 2 stupid matches that we should have won.

I don't have a problem with the the play off system the problem I have is major glory for 3 matches. really a team can pre train through the season and come good at the end. The glory should be around the League winners and the play off system an icing on the cake.

So RFL bods .....change the importance of winning the league and reward clubs for doing so etc etc. The top 6 or 8 can then go onto a champions league final type jobby with a day out at old Trafford and a bit of a cup and spread after job done I say

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:08 pm  

I decided before the season had finished not to renew our season tickets next year. The league is a non entity now, and the best games are on TV. At £600 for the two of us for 13 games of which 2 we usually miss due to holidays etc, and then the half dozen games that have weakened teams, it does not seem worth it.

Instead I will pay for every cup game and any play off game we are in as this offers better value for money compared to the current league format!!!

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Tue Oct 09, 2012 11:59 am  

So Grose but So Good wrote:

I decided before the season had finished not to renew our season tickets next year. The league is a non entity now, and the best games are on TV. At £600 for the two of us for 13 games of which 2 we usually miss due to holidays etc, and then the half dozen games that have weakened teams, it does not seem worth it.

Instead I will pay for every cup game and any play off game we are in as this offers better value for money compared to the current league format!!!

Another one who completely overstates the case. If the league were a 'non entity' then Leeds could have played their under 20s every round and won the GF from 14th! The play-off system does need changing ( in my view the original Top Five worked well ) but if you seriously don't think that teams are trying to finish as high as they can ( within the current rules ) then you're deluded. Personally I like watching rugby league so I'll go to as many matches as I can afford.

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:33 pm  

Asgardian13 wrote:

Another one who completely overstates the case. If the league were a 'non entity' then Leeds could have played their under 20s every round and won the GF from 14th! The play-off system does need changing ( in my view the original Top Five worked well ) but if you seriously don't think that teams are trying to finish as high as they can ( within the current rules ) then you're deluded. Personally I like watching rugby league so I'll go to as many matches as I can afford.

Congratulations on the first post you've ever made which I agree with completely

Re: Simple Change to Bring Sense back to the League : Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:59 pm  

Asgardian13 wrote:

Another one who completely overstates the case. If the league were a 'non entity' then Leeds could have played their under 20s every round and won the GF from 14th! The play-off system does need changing ( in my view the original Top Five worked well ) but if you seriously don't think that teams are trying to finish as high as they can ( within the current rules ) then you're deluded. Personally I like watching rugby league so I'll go to as many matches as I can afford.

There is a difference between trying to finish as high as you can and knowing you will finish fairly high anyway, so you can afford to rotate.

Finishing higher does give certain advantages, such as the week off and home games.

But I do think the all or nothing senario of the playoffs, does negate the season somewhat. I have been in favour of a division set up for some time now, (whether that be by region or some other method). But the finances will not allow it.

No SL club will vote to spread out the money they get from SKY more ways than they already do. Especially with clubs on the brink of going bust and other clubs (mine included) advocating a cut in numbers to boost earnings.

I think the boat on divisional rugby set sale when SL was born and for it to come back would require a huge boost from sky or sky to pull the plug and make the money from attendances all important.