https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport...eason-25065933
confirmed no double games next season, 27 rounds with looped fixtures returning.
Whatever, it’s just more of the same but us fans are expected to be thankful we don’t have an Easter weekend double round, again.
Is it any wonder why the last third of the year is an absolute car crash in the weekly rounds when we’re pushing blokes through 27 meaningless weeks?
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
The only other way you could get 2 weeks from the play offs and make it fairer would be Top 4.
W1
1 v 2, winner to GF
3 v 4, loser eliminated
W2
Loser of 1 v 2 v winner of 3 v 4
That for me would tick the boxes, make the 27 rounds better as the bar is set higher and places more emphasis on consistency, would give the teams finishing 1st and 2nd two lives befitting their league position, etc.
But we know it's still going to be Top 6. The clubs support it, we continue to shape our game around the 'excitement' of who will make 6th as opposed to who will finish 1st, and I think if anything it'll get larger and more diluted if we move back to 14. As I've done this season I will pick and choose the games I go to as most of them are now the equivalent of watching F1 qualifying, where the cars in 5th or 6th have several punctures and barely deserve a second look, then suddenly one of them finds itself in the lead on Grand Prix day despite having loads of mechanical faults.
Seen hurrell in town yesterday and he looked in a bad way…. He could hardly walk I just hope that’s just muscle tiredness from the weekend, he didn’t come off with any sort of injury and Woolf didn’t say nothing when asked how players was after the game but when I did see him my first thought was he’s not walking like he’s gonna be involved in much training this week, if I wasn’t just passing on the bus I’d of asked will he be ok for Saturday
Liam Moore best ref out of the lot imo. Can see Thaler screwing us on any 50/50 calls that go upstairs though.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
I think Im the only person who doesn’t like the top 5 system. If you finish top and win in week 2 of the play offs you go into the final having played only one game over past 4 weeks coming up against a more battle hardened team. Ive never been keen on that.
I like the top 6 format just think it’s better suited to a 14 team division though.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
That way at least you’d have two weeks out to arrange the friendlies to get our bans over with and an extra week recovery for HIA and muscle injury whilst the other finalists risks losing players to suspensions and concussions for 11 days plus any minor niggle injuries ruling them out.
Lottery either way.
Can't stop the spirits when they need you.
This life is more than just a read through.
I always liked that there was a second go at it for first and second, which was more of a reward than getting a home game, as we get now. I don’t like that we’re lauding Leeds and Salford as having had superb seasons by winning barely half of their games when all you really need to do to scrape the play-offs is put a run together in the last ten games of the season. That’s why I’d go for four teams.
Week One
1 v 2 (winner through to the final)
3 v 4 (loser goes out)
Week Two
Loser of 1v2 v winner of 3v4
Week Three
Winner of 1v2 in Week One v Winner of Week Two’s game
St Helens Rugby League Football Club