So, if we finish third [big ask, I know] we avoid the play off..and Wakey get an easier game...

Salford, Hull, Wakefield, Hull KR or maybe Widnes may be playing in the 8 next year with us, London, Leigh and Fev or Fax, Donny or Sheffield IMO.

Looking at the way squads are shaping up in SL I’d say Salford should be safe given their squad and backing. Hull should be safe but I think they’ll be in the middle 8. Hull KR have lost a lot of players and not announced replacements yet so a lot depends on that. Widnes got in the top 8 so you’d think they’d be safe. Wakefield got some good results and have a decent first 17 if Smith signs. If they get a few injuries it looks less sure.

I think our best chances versus SL opposition based on current squads are versus Wakey and maybe the Hull clubs. Despite that both Hull clubs were clearly better than us this year so we’d need to show quite a bit of improvement. Beating Wakey is a more foreseeable prospect.

I either never knew, or have forgotten, where this 4th against 5th game is played - I guess at the ground of the 4th placed club, or is this too logical given that I'm still gobsmacked that Big Nige didn't wait to announce the points format until around next may?

If the two clubs competing for the 4th versus 5th place are known within 14 days of the final fixtures being played within the middle 8, then the team finishing second will ballot the 1st team (at the time) to ascertain whether they will choose the 7th and 8th placed club to hold a raffle on the side to be placed at 'home'. The side losing that vote, thereby deemed 'away' gets to chose whether they play home or away, unless the team finishing 3rd in the middle 8 could in theory finish top or 2nd, in which case they must decide if the 6th placed club can go forward to an elimination decider whereby 4th and 5th placed clubs play alternately home and away for successive weeks at a neutral venue.

Imagine if a team from the champ (not necessarily us) did well enough in the round robin to find themselves in 4th place in the middle eight after the weekly rounds were over, but then lost this farcical 'million pound game' and were denied promotion as a result.
It just seems like a complete gimmick to me, almost as if the RFL wanted this new system but were afraid to lose the equivalent of a championship grand final, so they just came up with this rubbish to try and have the best of both scenarios.

I hate the concept, and what annoys me further is that if we are ever to get back into SL, we will probably have to make it through this 'million pound match' to get there.

Sky and the RFL will get their drama, but spare a though for the losing side. How on earth are you meant to budget for the future when your best laid plans can be dashed by the outcome of 80 minutes of rugby. Ridiculous.

It's a good thing to have hope.

That's actually not as bad my worst thoughts - lets just hope nothing finishes up going to court..

I haven't quite got my head around it, but am I right in thinking that it could be four up, four down?

I've long felt it was a system worked out with the basic intention of retaining the status quo. As I've said before, the advantage given to the better sides in RL is much greater than in soccer, for instance; RL is very unforgiving game. Much as it very rarely happens in RL, it's still much easier for a lower division team to win a one off cup game than in a league format. I retain hope only because we are remaining in full time training and still have, at east half a super league team. But this minor advantage disappears if we don't go up this time round as we become accustomed to championship football. Let's hope for the best.

In theory. In theory if I trained really really hard I could jump over the moon, I guess. It would be a bit like you and your 3 best mates all winning the lottery with separate tickets, on consecutive weekends.