ComeOnYouUll wrote:Not a fan of that at all. What if every team in a group wins one and loses one? You shouldn't be able to win the Challenge Cup if you've lost one game in five. I know this can happen in the World Cup or football's Champions League etc. but the Challenge Cup should just be a straight knock out with the luck of the draw.
Just bring the Super League clubs in at the round of 32. More games for Championship and League One clubs against Super League clubs.
Main advantage of this format is its guarantees a home game so teams can sell an extra game on season tickets and it increases crowds which have dropped a lot for the early CC rounds.
You could also seed the draw so the groups contain an SL, Championship and League1 side meaning some different matchups, though unfortunately likely to be some one sided scores.