I don't mind the top 8, with the league expanded to 14, but it just seems a little premature. Also, a team can finish in the bottom half of the table and still have a playoff spot??!! What's that rewarding? 'Well done in being one of the poorer teams, here have a playoff spot!' Talk about mixed messages.

Is that where Bradford totally thrashed them? Is so a great attacking display by the Bulls.. (even though they cheated that year)

Who ?


PS - It wasn't me

Excluding the GF and FE which have their own excitement built in and using a 24 point minimum spread between the sides leaves you with these nail-biters in the play-offs:

17-Sep-99..... SL 4 - QPO..... St Helens 38..... Leeds 14
26-Sep-99..... SL 4 - QSF..... Bradford 40..... St Helens 4
29-Sep-00..... SL 5 - QSF..... Wigan 16..... St Helens 54
30-Sep-00..... SL 5 - ESF..... Bradford 46..... Leeds 12
24-Sep-05..... SL 10 - EPO..... Warrington 6..... Hull 40
01-Oct-05..... SL 10 - ESF..... Bradford 71..... Hull 0
23-Sep-06..... SL 11 - EPO..... Bradford 52..... Salford 6
13-Sep-08..... SL 13 - EPO..... Catalans 46..... Warrington 8
19-Sep-08..... SL 13 - QSF..... St Helens 38..... Leeds 10
20-Sep-08..... SL 13 - ESF..... Catalans 26..... Wigan 50

Must have been an entity that comes and visits this site now and again then



Well so far I think we’ve only had one final contested by two teams that did not hold first spot. Surely you can put up the stats from the first grand final (Leeds v Wigan) and up to the modern day of where the grand finalist came from to get to the final. I recon most where reached by first and second.

Either way I’ve really enjoyed the play offs - I must be an easy to please rugby league supporter if I enjoy scores like what you’ve put above. I can see where your coming from now.



What a sad end to what an excellent season Salford had that year.

I bet Bradford haven't rattled up those kind of scores in games, for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if those were the last times they rattled up 50-70 point specials.

Maybe it was a sign of things to come. Salford are a questionable example of a play-off spot, I mean (just from memory) they lost more games than they won and still had a play-off spot. So should they be in the running for a Grand Final apperance, or even the Super League title? I suppose some may argue it highlights a closer competition and the fact that I'm a 'tard.

That's my point really.

The entire play-off system has produced 1 V 2 in 9 of 11 GF's to date.

The others were 1 V 3 in 2003 and 2 V 3 in 2005.

What part have 4 through to 8 played so far and if the answer is not a lot, why will this season be any different?

I'm sure Stevo has said this will be the closest season yet...