I think it will be interesting to see it in practice and it might make a lot more sense when the teams are out there. Branding is the key here;
The RFL talked about the Super League brand in the policy document (which I doubt many people on here have read)
At every Policy Review consultation meeting, the issue of the branding of the playing leagues has been debated at length. On one hand “Super League” is considered a respected and established brand, attractive to casual watchers of Rugby League and signifying an elite, exciting and valuable competition. Some would further argue for this Super League brand to be expanded to cover Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the sport. However to others it is symptomatic of a disjointed and fragmented sport, only one of
a number of “Super Leagues” in UK sport, poorer for lacking “Rugby” in the title and in need of change. What is unarguable is the sport has spent significant time, money and energy building the Super League brand. Any move to new branding must be carefully considered, and come with a commitment of time, energy, finance and stakeholder support to build this new brand. Losing the “Super League” brand without this commitment would likely be a reduction in the visibility and profile of the sport as a whole.
This is interesting and poses the question of how the RFL are going to integrate a new league into the SL brand. Will there be a new brand, Super League Two? Or will they retain the Championship as something football fans will recognise?
What's also interesting is how clubs react to the new structure on the pitch. That's where it often is the case, because players know how to get the new system to work to their advantage. With a simpler Top 4 play off, I think accumulating points will become much more important in the Super League Play Offs, but not so much towards Rd 23 for a club in, say, 11th and certain to be in the Qualifiers. I'll be interested to see also how clubs like London react to the changes.
What cannot be argued is that the jeopardy of the new system is favourable to RL. I think it will be simpler in practice and the idea of a Top 4, straight knockout Final 4, to use an American term, will be epic. It's what the game has definitely been missing over the past 5-6 years, sudden death, elimination games in the playoffs. For the top clubs, it certainly benefits. It also creates bigger games at that end of the season. We've been bored senseless with Widnes vs Wigan on the TV at Round 26 simply because they have to play as it has an effect on them finishing 4th or 5th (which doesn't really matter anyway).
(Widnes vs Wigan was actually super this year)I think fans of the Top Clubs, undoubtedly want to see the best teams face up at the end of the season. We'll have another Hull Derby or another Huddersfield vs Leeds and it'll add excitement for the fan. For the Qualifiers, it'll mean more competitive fixtures, at the end of the season. Maybe not initially, as Championship clubs reacclimatise to playing professional outfits. But lets not forget, two of SL clubs will be part of the new Championship. Castleford, during their Championship title campaign had an average of over 5,000. If we can get clubs having something to play for in the Championship, it could do wonders for Second Tier RL.
Some issues are raised, however;
1. How are we going to pay for this? We currently have no more money coming in and are we relying on hypothetical increased interest from the World Cup? If we can negotiate a proper television deal then we can fund this. Currently I fear their isn't enough money for this. Funnily enough, the RFL said;
The Tier 2 Salary Cap for 2015 would be increased to a maximum of £900k.... Clubs 1 and 2 in Tier 2 will receive 50% (or very near) of a full Super League share (in addition to any one off specific transitional arrangements that may apply in 2015/2015)
So will it be a situation of trickle down competitiveness? Starting with one or two teams being competitive and hoping through increased gate money, bigger games and more income flowing through the sport generally, they can garner more competitive clubs? First we'll start with Featherstone and Sheffield being more competitive, then Halifax and so on.
2. What will happen to the Magic Weekend? The extra fixture replaced the weird "sometimes we play you twice, sometimes it's three times" fixture method we used to use to get the games up to 27. Now we have more games, 29 if my maths is correct and we have no need for the filler. Nevertheless, does this mean we should give up on a popular and entertaining weekend? Here are some options for the Magic Event;
a) Play it at Round 23 and have everyone play each other with First Stage places up for grabs. Seed it so 1st plays 2nd, 3rd plays 4th, and so on. Hopefully, this would have excellent games with a lot to play for, and all the games would be competitive.
b) Play it with the Quarter Finals of the Cup and potentially, have 4 superb games in one day.
c) Play it late on after the split. Have it as 8 games over 2 days.
Lots of questions, but these will be answered over the next two years.
