HuddsTigers wrote:DerbyTiger wrote:I have read the Super 8 rules and placings - still none the wiser !
Grand Final, Million Pound Game, blimey makes football look very simple.
So in very simple terms the game I am going to on the 22nd isn't a League game it's a game to decide final placings for something else ?
Apologies for my ignorance. I will get there in the end but as you say I will just go and enjoy it.
See it like this - I've broken this up to make it easier to explain rather than talking through each Super 8s stage together, as it would just make it more confusing than breaking it up on a divisional basis.
*Regular season - 23 games (11 home, 11 away and Magic Weekend)
After 23 games the league splits into 3 divisions of 8 (see this as the Play-offs).
* Super 8s - play each other once ( 7 games) with the top 4 making the play-off semi finals (top 2 have home advantage) - team finishing top win League Leaders Shield
Then Play off Semi Finals
1 v 4
2 v 3
Then Grand Final (to determine overall champions)
Best way to look at this is to look at this years tables on the BBC and to explain it with Cas.
Cas finished top after 23 rounds of the regular season. By doing this they finished in the Super 8's. As a result, they get 4 home games and 3 away games for finishing within the top 4.
We are now in the Super 8s stage of the competition (or the play-offs) to determine which teams make the elimination semi-finals. Points from regular season are retained to reward those sides most consistent all year.
We have already secured the League Leaders Shield by virtue of finishing top and as a result we will have a home semi final on Thursday 28th September against the team who finishes 4th at the end of this stage.
Winners of this game go to the Grand Final at Old Trafford which is the final to determine who is champions this season (a bit like the SuperBowl in NFL).
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Super 8s Qualifiers
Those teams finishing at the bottom 4 of SL play in the Super 8's qualifiers along with the top 4 Championship sides after 23 rounds. The aim of this is to provide a way for the top Championship sides to get promoted after having a period of licensing and a closed shop.
Points are automatically reset. Each side plays each other once for a total of 7 games.
The top 3 sides are automatically promoted/retain places in SL. So if you look at the current table, Warrington have retained their place in Super League and Hull KR have been promoted from the Championship by winning 5/5 of their games so far.
4 v 5 at end of the 7 rounds play in the Million Pound Game for the final place in Super League next season. This season it is looking likely that 1 or 2 current SL sides could be relegated with Catalans, Widnes and Leigh all fighting to avoid finishing 4th and 5th. London have an outside chance of making it to try and get promoted.
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* Championship Shield - Bottom 8 of Championship after 23 rounds - points carried over. 7 games as per other divisions. Bottom two teams relegated to League 1, top wins Championship Shield. Top automatically promoted from League 1 and 2-5th play for second promotion place.
As such, Bradford and Oldham have been relegated to League 1 and Toronto have already been promoted from League 1.
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From a Cas perspective in general every year:
* Every season we want to avoid finishing in the bottom 4 (don't want to risk fighting for our place in SL)
* Our ambition is to be a top 4 club at the end of a regular season (good foundation towards getting a shot at getting a Grand Final and advantage of 4 home games in Super 8s)
* By end of Super 8s we want a minimum of finish of finishing in top 4 to make the play-off semi-finals but ideally to finish in top 2 to have H advantage
*Win play-off semi-final
* Win Grand Final
The game you're attending is the final fixture of the Super 8s stage. So yes, it's a game that could determine our opposition in the Semi Final the following week. From our perspective, it doesn't affect us having finished top and won the league but obviously we want to keep form.
