I have been calling for the reintroduction of the league cup for a long time. 2 trophies isn't really enough to play for. The old northern rail cup formula for groups of four then a knock out competition. Given a choice between loop fixtures and pre season game.
Sorry
Regarding the the league being rigged for the top 4, OK there have been some near misses.
Castleford had a great season but they are the exception that proves the rule. They had to take risks, an injury prone Luke Gale and a troubled Zak Hardacker. Their big season was ruined by Hardacker exploding when it mattered and then the next two by Gale being unreliable.
Huddersfield had a good season but it was unsustainable with some of there top players moving on elsewhere or being over the hill. They took a risk in Danny Brough, who is again a player that is talented but also a big risk that backfires as well as it works.
The point I am trying to make is any none top 4 success stories have been unsustainable and achieved by taking risks on toxic/unreliable players.
The play-offs are supposed to the the RFLs attempt to random things up, in an attempt to make the sport more exciting. In the end it has just given the big clubs a second chance to make up for earlier mistakes and the smaller club wilt under the pressure.
Achieving organic sustainable success is near impossible. To break it down most clubs go through the same stages.
1. Pay the full salary cap to get on equal terms with the rest of the league.
2. Realise you have to overpay top 4 quality players to come to a lower club. You therefore still have an inferior side.
3. You work out the big 4 teams have academies and they produce more high quality youth players than you do. Gaining an even bigger advantage over you.
4. You setup your own academy but you are either outside the heartlands and don't have access to quality juniors or you are getting the ones the big 4 don't want. You have inferior juniors.
5. You hire Brian Noble and everything goes to sh*t
The only exception is if you are a Hull FC type team that still has a big team feel about them and can attract players senior and junior otherwise organic growth is very slow and hard work. This leaves start up teams with the prospect of losing more games than winning which is a difficult. It has got to the point that Toronto are struggling to even compete in Super League while spending up the cap and being as creative as possible.
In the end Chelsea and Man City bridged the gap between them and the top teams in the Premier League by spending more rather than the same amount.