'The play offs should be top 4' - Convenient how the play offs should stop at the team ABOVE where we finished. Leeds were not as bad as people were making out in the season, either. We finished one loss behind third place - just 2 points. What would be said if we finished 4th and won - something which could easily have been possible with just one more try/goal in a game this season? We should have a Top 3 play off system? Or should we just not have a Grand Final at all? Simply crown the league leaders champions and leave it at that? I DO agree that more should be done to make a big deal out of the League Leaders shield, but the 2 are not opposites, we can make a fuss over the league leaders as well as being proud that our game has so much depth that the league leaders aren't automatically Champions - that there is that amount of competition.



Wire were a more consistent team than us over the course of a season - and Wigan more consistant than them. If you'd won yesterday, would you agree that you weren't Champions, either? Pressure is a much bigger part of finals than many people realise, it's not their fault that they handle it better than others. I'm 100% sure that no one at Leeds tells them to finish fifth then go to the Grand Final - we'd all love more wins during the season. For people saying we purposely play worse/rest players during the weeks before play-offs and finals, I ask what Wire did the week before Wembley?



It's a shame that, despite how good we are in the play-offs and final, it's boiling down to 'Well they finished fifth, they don't deserve this'.

Spot on last night’s result was a body blow to rugby league. If the powers that be don’t change it Leeds will play out the next season in the same manner and aim for fifth again making a mockery of the weekly rounds. Now it’s worked for them twice my fear is that other half decent sides will try the same strategy.

Why would they 'aim' for fifth? If what you're saying was correct, why do we bother going to fifth? 8th would do the same job for us. And if it were as easy as people are making out, why are we the only team to win outside of the Top 2? Some of this stuff is just ridiculous. It's not our fault that the teams who finished above us don't have the depth/stamina or experience to win in the big matches.

Oh you have taken last week hard

I know it must be tough for you - seeing Wigan fail so spectacularly to achieve what a champion team should achieve in at least getting to the Grand Final (or any final for that matter). Warrington overcame their demons in getting there and were to a degree unlucky last night. Wigan though fell flat when it mattered and, as such, were completely unworthy of the title champions.

Yes because i would have preferred us to play both Catalan and Wigan away, give your head a wobble pies r us.



The thing is we have 5 decent sides in SL, they also happened to finish in the top 5, on their day they all beat each other.



If i was in their shoes i'd probably be more proud of the heart they've put in to those games and to show so much character than some of their previous wins when they topped the table.

Great determination and mental strength they show each year. I actually think they have found a flaw in the system.



Wakefield, Catalans, Wigan



is a much easier route than



St Helens, Hull, St Helens



I know people will bring up the week off but that isn't always a big help. I'm not sure how they got there last year but think it was Hull KR, Hull and Wigan.

You say that but in theory it could have been just Saints, Saints final

and they would have been home games.

Still two massive games and I'm not sure the week off actually helps.They still do amazingly well to beat the teams they do in the final and show the grit to win it. The playoff system is flawed slightly though.

If the players at Wigan and other teams obssess as much as their fans about finding "easy" ways to get through the play offs that might explain why they aren't champions. This isn't meant to be easy.

A tad dramatic body blow for rugby league.



In its history RL has predominantly used a play off system. Leeds beat 1/2/4/8 to get to and win the final, hardly an easily route

So going to the hubcap winners home ground is an easier route?

........And fail? They finish 5th, leeds finish above them and knock them (them as in wigan) out at headingly on the way to the title as they 04, 07 and 08?