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New format agreed

roughyedspud

Coach
Messages
12,181
Championship & league one

The Betfred Championship structure expands to a 14 team competition in 2019 with all teams playing each other once home and away, plus Summer Bash, ending with a play-off series for the top five teams with the winner promoted to Super League, and relegation for the bottom two clubs.

To get to a 14 team Betfred Championship at the end of this current season two teams from Betfred League 1 will be promoted. As has always been planned this season, the team finishing top of League 1 will be automatically promoted.

Teams 2 to 5 will then play semi-finals with the winners of the Promotional Final being promoted. The final place in the Betfred Championship for 2019 will be decided by a Play-off Final between the team that finishes bottom of the Championship Shield and the loser of the Promotional Final.

Betfred League 1 will consist of 12 teams playing each other home and away with the top team automatically promoted. Teams 2-6 will play-off to decide the second team to be promoted.

The revisions follow substantial discussions within all levels of the professional game, led by the Rugby Football League.

I'm happy with that...we have to put on a show now to prove we are worth continued funding...

Super league on the other hand have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to stick with 12 teams,11 home,11 away games and play 6 extra games to created the desired 14 home games...

They should have moved to 14 teams and make 13 home games work...idiots
 

Inkers75

Juniors
Messages
310
Glad the Super8's have been scrapped, my issue is with the 6 loop fixtures. Can't see many fans turning up for them towards the end of the season.

I would have gone for 14 club expansion. 2 up, 2 down, keep everyone on their toes!
 

CC_Roosters

First Grade
Messages
5,221
Championship & league one



I'm happy with that...we have to put on a show now to prove we are worth continued funding...

Super league on the other hand have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to stick with 12 teams,11 home,11 away games and play 6 extra games to created the desired 14 home games...

They should have moved to 14 teams and make 13 home games work...idiots

What's the point in a home.and away season if your not going to reward the league leaders with promotion as champions at the end of it. Don't like what I see with it all tbh. I thought they should have went the other direction and reduced the championship to 10 teams and try to up the quality and down depth at that level. Hows funding going to work for the 14 teams will it be evenly distributed?

I'll also add in 3 or 4 years time I expect we will be having the same conversation with another change afoot
 

CC_Roosters

First Grade
Messages
5,221
They need to "hide" the 6 extra fixtures in during the season...if they play everyone home & away then play 6 more games it'll just be a "super 6"..which no one has the patience to watch

One thought I had in the past was scrap the prolonged aussie style finals and cut the league in two for a final set of single round robin fixtures based on position. I.e. 1-6 play each other once and culminate in the top 2 meeting at old Trafford. That way it gives the end of season games real meaning and clubs know they would be guaranteed 13 home games and 14 every other year. Could be marketed properly as the race to OT and the bottom six becomes a battle to avoid bottom and what I beleive should be a relegation playoff spot in 2nd bottom spot.
 

roughyedspud

Coach
Messages
12,181
I'll be honest...I stopped reading when you said cut the league in two..

RL need to stop with the gimmicks and convoluted bullshit....20-25 years ago it was innovative..now it just f**ks the sport up
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
One thought I had in the past was scrap the prolonged aussie style finals and cut the league in two for a final set of single round robin fixtures based on position. I.e. 1-6 play each other once and culminate in the top 2 meeting at old Trafford. That way it gives the end of season games real meaning and clubs know they would be guaranteed 13 home games and 14 every other year. Could be marketed properly as the race to OT and the bottom six becomes a battle to avoid bottom and what I beleive should be a relegation playoff spot in 2nd bottom spot.

No cutting the league in two. They tried this is Scottish football and it was awful.
 

jim_57

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,622
Why do they need the loop fixtures?

Because the season NEEDS to go for 29 rounds + Challenge Cup + Finals.. because who doesn't love monotony?

Spud has it right, 14 in Super League with 12 in Championship would have made more sense. 27 round Super League with no "loop" crap.
 

CC_Roosters

First Grade
Messages
5,221
I'll be honest...I stopped reading when you said cut the league in two..

RL need to stop with the gimmicks and convoluted bullshit....20-25 years ago it was innovative..now it just f**ks the sport up

I think what I wrote is less of a gimmick than other efforts, it makes the focus the league and only the league and gives the clubs the around 27 games plus magic which seems to be thr number they want. Difference being it all has meaning and thr final 5 fixtures becomes your De facto finals series
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
I thought the TV deal merely required a set number, 75 I believe is the number, of games to be broadcast each season.

Yeah I meant that’s what the games are for not that the loop was actually required.
You could start giving teams a lot of byes to pad the season out I guess but I can see why they wouldn’t want to do that.
 
Messages
14,816
They need to "hide" the 6 extra fixtures in during the season...if they play everyone home & away then play 6 more games it'll just be a "super 6"..which no one has the patience to watch
Perhaps play them outside heartland areas to try and promote the game.
London, Wales, Ireland and Scotland spring to mind, but i wont hold my breath
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,866
Sounds sensible option. Would like to see SL go up to 14 clubs and have a 27 week regular season though. Everyone home and away and magic weekend. Then 8 team play offs in nrl format.
 

deluded pom?

Coach
Messages
10,897
Yeah I meant that’s what the games are for not that the loop was actually required.
You could start giving teams a lot of byes to pad the season out I guess but I can see why they wouldn’t want to do that.
The loop games aren’t for the benefit of TV. They are for the benefit of lazy clubs whose only marketing ploy is to stage more and more games. They really do believe that quantity is better than quality.
 

deluded pom?

Coach
Messages
10,897
Sounds sensible option. Would like to see SL go up to 14 clubs and have a 27 week regular season though. Everyone home and away and magic weekend. Then 8 team play offs in nrl format.
And still reward clubs who may well lose more games than they win?
 
Last edited:

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,866
And still reward clubs who may well lose more games than they win?

The alternative is half the comp knows it’s season is over with couple of months to go. Hopefully one day we will see L gap between the haves and have nots closed and that gap between top 4 clubs and rest narrowed so clubs are much closer to each other on the table at season end.
 

deluded pom?

Coach
Messages
10,897
The alternative is half the comp knows it’s season is over with couple of months to go. Hopefully one day we will see L gap between the haves and have nots closed and that gap between top 4 clubs and rest narrowed so clubs are much closer to each other on the table at season end.
They were saying this twenty years ago. Remind me again how many teams have won the GF? If a club’s season is over with a couple of months to spare then that’s their own fault for being poor. Is RL the only sport where every single game has to have something riding on it every week of the season or it’s not a proper sport?
 
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