Looks like the RFL have finally got all the SL Clubs to vote in favour of a 12 team SL from 2015 but also the added "innovation" of 2 x 12 teams splitting into 3x 8's for play offs/promotion & relegation!
Personally i prefer 12 SL teams top 6 play off with P&R the rest imo is a load of bollox gimmick.

Couldn't agree more my friend

i actually believe that there is an incentive here under this new proposal to win the majority of your regular seasons games and finish as high up the top 4 as you can, as opposed to your proposed top 6 play off's from a 12 team competition

i also believe that regular season ticket holders would see a far more competitive league and thus get a better value for money product with not having 27 rounds of meaningless fixtures

if i am correct would this not eliminate sides from tossing it off in the regular seasons games to finish 6th rather than make sure you win enough games for a guaranteed tip 4 finish and thus treat the regular rounds more seriously?

A look at the results of SL vs Championship Challenge Cup games would suggest that the four who finish in the bottom of SL are going to be the top four in the middle tier playoffs.

Playing to a different salary cap, different overseas player rules, it's hardly a fair fight.

Change is good. You should seek it constantly until what you have is perfect. So I'm all for innovation.

However, making change for change's sake, without being reasonably confident it's the right change isn't for me.

Personally, I don't get this. But maybe those in power see something I don't. To me this is changing the league structure, but (as far as I can see) without addressing the shortage of talent production and revenue.

I maintain that for P&R to work, there needs to be enough strength in the 2nd tier to produce sustainable, viable top tier sides. I want to see that happen. I'm not convinced we're there, nor am I convinced this moves us closer to it.

I may, of course, be wrong. Most of the people in that room know better than me how to run a sports club. I worry a little that most of them know how to run a business, not a market sector or a regulator.

GH gets his way again.

GH by plenty.

Let the fun begin!

It only works if the clubs in the championship can compete with the SL teams financially. They may but have much cash but at least they are spending within their means.
It should give the top end championship teams some exclusive of playing at a higher level and you'd expect them to pick up a few wins.

Long term this could work.

Are there any details of how P and R work? Or how the play offs work

I smell a rat.

I wont be attending until I get to the bottom of this charade.

Me by plenty.

My RL glass hasn't been as half full as this since 1995



I don't often agree with GH but I do on this significant occasion.

I shall overlook his former canvassing and critical support for the doomed-to-fail franchising experiment which almost killed the game at every level apart from the top 4 or 5 SL clubs , the joke 14 team SL, the even bigger joke of an 8 team play-off system.

The regular season for all clubs has it's meaningfulness restored.

No more joke teams tossing it off during the regular season, deliberately finishing 5th (Leeds) or 4th (Wigan) for the easier run and then turning up for just a couple of play-off games and being crowned champions.

Now scrap England and bring back GB.

Scrap the Tragic Weekend.

Scrap the Exiles... perhaps they have already done so?

Things are finally looking up...

What happens is the top 2 leagues will be obviously 12 teams each. The 3rd league is how many are left (13 or 14 depending on if Toulouse are involved)

The top 2 leagues will play a regular season 22 home & away games plus a magic weekend. Then split into 3 groups of 8.

The top 8 will play 1 game against each other (so 7 games, the top 4 get 1 more home game than the bottom 4). Then it's semis of 1st v 4th & 2nd v 3rd. Then obviously Grand Final. Points from the regular season will be carried over into the next (7 game stage).

The middle 8 will comprise the bottom 4 SL teams and the top 4 Championship teams. Like the top 8 they will play each other once so 7 games. But points aren't carried over from the regular season and the Championship teams get the extra home game instead. No semis or GF. At the end of the 7 games the top 3 are in SL the following year. The final place is to be decided by a game between 4th and 5th placed within the 8.

The lower 8 will be effectively the same as the top 8. With 7 games, top 4 with extra home game, semis and Championship Shield Grand Final.
Except the teams in 7th and 8th place will be relegated to Championship 1.

The 1st placed club in Championship 1 (who will just have a normal season, not part of the 2x12 3x8 ) will be promoted automatically to the Championship. A playoff of clubs 2nd to 5th will decide the second promoted club.

Simple really...

Very simple structure and very nicely summarised.

Not complicated at all unless there's an agenda in play and/or someone is just patently too stupid to understand.

Lovely jubbly, exciting times ahead