Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:28 pm  

Reinstating relegation is a ridiculous & backwards step.

We'll soon be back to clubs packing their squads with journeymen (often overseas ones) just because they're experienced, cos the chairmen are terrified of the financial consequences of relegaton. The major plus of having no relegation is that SL clubs have been far more happy to play young players, which is a massive boost for the game in the longer term.

As usual, RL is on a short-termist and totally parochial basis.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:30 pm  

gerr'emonside wrote:

I actually think this could work very well if thought through.

Firstly, they need to rethink magic.....why have it in the first round, to have an imbalanced fixture list, and then an imbalanced fixture list in the second round of 7 matches with 3/4 home and 4/3 away? Should be 11 home / 11 away, then magic AFTER the split as a first round. Then 3 home / 3 away which becomes your play off series (we cant have another series on top of that or becomes convoluted. Top 2 then to Grand Final. meanwhile the lower 8 play off in a series without a GF, simply fighting for top 4 for promotion.

So in effect, we have a balanced set of 11 home and away fixtures, followed by a 3 home / 3 away / 1 neutral play off series to determine top two.

I would also go back to a Boxing day start and bring back some tradition. 22 games plus 5 rounds of the cup takes you to the end of June. Challenge cup final should then take place at the end of June, followed by an international break in July for 4-6 weeks (which also gets maximum exposure due to lack of other sporting competition and so we can have a summer world cup in future like other sports.). We then come back for the business end of the season. 7 rounds followed by a grand final for the final two months in August and September. This then helps with ST sales - we have one for the general season, and then one sold for the play off series once fixtures are known, with a 4-6 week interval to sell tickets for the play off series!! Could actually be excellent if thought through IMO!

This also has the benefit of internationals not taking place into october / november etc, and though we start in winter we work up to the pinicale of the season being over summer and not autumn as it is now!

No, have you seen the weather? Should start on the last Thursday of February. Oct/Nov in Aus is spring/summer time. Flip they would be playing for 11 months on the yr if they started in December, their brains/emotions need a rest as much as their bodies. It's not a normal job. Have you seen what their bodies feel like, did you read the article on Sam Burgess about this?

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:30 pm  

Top 8 playoff with only 14 teams is ridiculous.

Top 8 playoff with only 12 teams is a farce. If that's where this is going.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:31 pm  

yossarian wrote:

Are we really 17 or so pages deep and nobody has mentioned the plight of the 4/5 teams who'll be effectively kicked out of the league with the door slammed and locked behind them?

Or have I missed something here?

There are 28 teams currently in the Championship but only 24 (or maybe 23 plus Toulouse) for the new structure. Has there been mention as yet of how the teams dropped and the current Championship 1 sides could gain entry to the new set-up?

Also have they announced how the top 12 will be decided at the end of 2014?

There has been no mention of Championship 1, except a vague reference to them becoming part of another structure entirely, and I think that is shocking. It's like they don't exist (which, to the superleague chairmen they don't appear to). However, there has been no mention of how this daft idea is going to be financed either, the meeting on Tuesday (which IMO was the one discussing the real issues) ending without agreement. How ludicrous! Only in rugby league could we entirely change the structure without giving consideration to one element of it (Championship 1) and without agreeing upon how it is to be financed and governed! Then of course on top of that what is going to happen to Premier Sports who presently screen the championships? And what about a sponsor? A sponsor won't come on board for the championships if they only have a championship league for half a season.

It's all totally ridiculous.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:32 pm  

And I'll add that the splitting of leagues mid-season, with some teams retaining their points whist others don't, is just gimmicky, unnecessarily complex, and totally arsewitted.

This could be the end of me following the game. It's just a joke.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:35 pm  

OzWelsh wrote:

No, have you seen the weather? Should start on the last Thursday of February. Oct/Nov in Aus is spring/summer time. Flip they would be playing for 11 months on the yr if they started in December, their brains/emotions need a rest as much as their bodies. It's not a normal job. Have you seen what their bodies feel like, did you read the article on Sam Burgess about this?

Theres is a shorter season. Aussies could simply start one month earlier in feb (to account for a month break for internationals in July), and still finish the grand final to coinside with the end of our season at the end of september...and not then need to play internationals after that as they have to now!

Simples no problem

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:36 pm  

Viva La Vikings!! wrote:

Todays big decision - chicken or lamb for tea, the RFL would probably love that decision up

Well obviously you start with chicken but we don't want to upset the lamb, so after 23 mouthfuls you split it into three smaller dishes, one chicken, one lamb & one....there's a meeting to decide the third dish later in the month....feels like dice should be involved somewhere

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:37 pm  

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:38 pm  

Also for this to work we will have to introduce a transfer deadline and alter the rules on loan signings to avoid some clubs strengthening their side just for the last few games.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:40 pm  

Binosh wrote:

I completely get what you say,i don't think you do though, 4 teams will play 4 championship teams because they are the worst 4 and deserve it.

4 championship teams will play these bottom 4 because they DESERVE too.

The reason they will have DESERVED it is not down to the lack of effort of the players on the field, but the lack of money to buy the best players by the respective clubs – who do DESERVE it, how’s that?

Binosh wrote:

Well no you couldn't, someone who has played and been on the end of a "good hiding" by a so called "lesser" team would not write something like this.

If you think part time teams are going to get the better of full timers, that’s your prerogative.