NEW Super League Play Off format announced.

The RFL have announced the format which will decide the two Grand Finalists for 2009 and beyond. To say it is innovative is an understatement.

To summarise this top eight system quickly, the first two weeks of the four week format is basically a carbon copy of the AFL Aussie Rules finals system currently in place. The top four face each other while the bottom four also play off against one another like so, using the Super League XIII final standings as examples of how this might work ;

St Helens V Wigan
Leeds V Catalan
Bradford V Wakefield
Warrington V Hull KR

The losers of the teams that finished in the bottom four of the play offs are eliminated. The winners progress to week two, where they will face the losers of the top four contested matches. The winners of these matches advance straight to week three where they will have a week off.

In the second week, the top two losers will play at home to the bottom two winners, a bit like this if results went the way they are expected to.

Wigan V Bradford
Catalan V Warrington

The losers will be eliminated while the winners would wait for the highest ranked team that won their top four play off match to decide who to play at their home ground. Thats right, the highest ranked team gets to decide which of the two Preliminary Semi Finalists winners they will play for a chance to appear at Old Trafford. The scenario may look a bit like this;

St Helens V Bradford
Leeds V Catalan

Or you may see this;

St Helens V Catalan
Leeds V Bradford

Either way, the losers of both games are eliminated and Saints will still lose to Leeds at Old Trafford.

So what are the thoughts on the new system? Like I said, its certainly innovative. No other sport will use it in a rush that's for certain. Going off the previous system, it seemed it disadvantaged the team who won the Qualifying Semi Final. St Helens won both in 2007 and 2008 but lost the Grand Final to the same opponents Leeds two weeks later on each occasion. The new method will see both Grand Finalists play a crucial game a week before the final, giving top four team one week rest maximum. And this format certainly plays advantage to the top four within the first week. The winners take the week off, while the losers get the second bite of the cherry. It also give the highest ranked winning team in week one a huge advantage in the Qualifying Semi Finals as they choose who their opponents are. While they can't select the other winner of the top four week one match, they can decide who to face from the two Preliminary Semi Finals, which adds spice to that particular match. Basically what the team who chooses is saying, we think you are an easy passage to the Grand Final. Any decent team will see that as motivation, and to go on someone else's patch and win such a game will be more than rewarding.

So finally we have a system that is defiantly more rewarding to the higher ranking sides. There is no doubt about that. Whether the system is feasible, supported and seen in the public domain as interesting is the big question. This is as opposed to unworkable, disliked and a case of lunatics running the asylum at Red Hall.

On a personal level, I am willing to sit on the fence until I see the format played out. I cannot wait to see it played out as I believe it will liven up the the matches in the penultimate weekend of the competition. I also want your views and opinions. Please tell me if you like or dislike the new system put into place before the new season starts in February.

The Premier League tried to copy Millennium Magic with its matches abroad idea, the RFU stole the professionalism idea from us after criticising us for it after 100 years, so you can probably bet your soul another sport will steal this idea from us as well eventually.

Can't you?