Championship to run with top eight play-offs

[Blackpool Hawk]

The newly-expanded 14-team Championship will run with a top eight play-off system, akin to Super League, while two clubs will be relegated to Championship 1 at the end of the season.

Four teams - Doncaster, Barrow, Workington and Whitehaven - were promoted to the Championship following the addition of three new teams - Hemel, Gloucestershire and Oxford - to Championship 1.

In the top division, the top eight will progress to the play-offs, which will follow the same format as Super League, with the winners of the Grand Final claiming a £50,000 prize.

The bottom two teams in the Championship will be relegated, with the team finishing first in Championship 1 gaining automatic promotion.

The next five teams in the table - 2nd to 6th - will then battle it out in a play-off series, with the Grand Final winner earning the second promotion spot.

All clubs were notified of the structure of the 2013 season back in September.