Toulouse will play play off semi-final in Toulouse

[Harry Stottle]

23 hours ago, The Future is League said:

Past history suggests yes

Only the last Championship final was at the ground of one of the participants in 2019 when Toronto hosted Fev, previously they have been on a neutral ground which is the only right and proper way, the league leaders have an advantage in the play-offs it should not extend to the final.

[The Future is League]

39 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Only the last Championship final was at the ground of one of the participants in 2019 when Toronto hosted Fev, previously they have been on a neutral ground which is the only right and proper way, the league leaders have an advantage in the play-offs it should not extend to the final.

Where did London play Toronto when they beat Toronto to win the Championship Grand Final?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 27/08/2021 at 19:36, audois said:

On the TO website

 

Bloquez votre date 

Le Toulouse Olympique XIII accueillera la demi-finale du Championship (2e division) dans son stade Ernest-Wallon, le samedi 2 octobre prochain (horaire à déterminer).

C’est officiel, la fédération anglaise de rugby à XIII (RFL) a confirmé que les phases finales du championnat 2021 se joueraient sur le terrain du mieux classé. Assuré de terminer à l’une des deux premières places du classement, directement qualificatives pour le dernier carré, le TO disputera donc ce match couperet à domicile.

Mieux, en cas de qualification et si le club Olympien est toujours leader à la fin de la saison régulière, la finale d’accession à la Super League aura également lieu aux Sept Deniers, le 10 octobre.

Près de 20 ans après avoir lancé le projet Super League, le Toulouse Olympique n’a jamais été dans de meilleures conditions pour atteindre son objectif ultime. Pour aller au bout, il aura besoin du soutien de tous !

Toutes les informations sur cet événement seront communiquées prochainement.

Mangetout Rodney Mangetout

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

32 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Where did London play Toronto when they beat Toronto to win the Championship Grand Final?

Lamport

[The Future is League]

6 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Lamport

So Toronto's home ground then

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

29 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

So Toronto's home ground then

That's the one

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, The Future is League said:

Where did London play Toronto when they beat Toronto to win the Championship Grand Final?

Yes that was so, but do you not consider that it gives the League leaders an unfair advantage, it doesn't happen in SL

[Harry Stottle]

11 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

. 

 

[Tommygilf]

11 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Yes that was so, but do you not consider that it gives the League leaders an unfair advantage, it doesn't happen in SL

I'd think the massive funding disparities would give a far greater unfair advantage in the Championship than where any pitch is...

A finals day would be nice, but for a club who've faced unique challenges and overcome them this season to still finish top I don't see this as unfair.

[cookey]

Toulouse deserve everything they get,hopefully they will replace Leigh.

It seems they have played every game away from home. Surely on the percentage basis,you should earn a greater percentage for an away victory,than a home win. It must have cost them a lot of money travelling,without any home income/revenue.

[Dave T]

12 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Yes that was so, but do you not consider that it gives the League leaders an unfair advantage, it doesn't happen in SL

I think there is an argument both ways Harry. 

I used to like the old Grand Finals in a neutral ground, but I also think the advantage is fair enough, and rewards the team who finish top. 

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

I'd think the massive funding disparities would give a far greater unfair advantage in the Championship than where any pitch is...

A finals day would be nice, but for a club who've faced unique challenges and overcome them this season to still finish top I don't see this as unfair.

And Toronto in 2 Championship Grand Finals? 

What a lot of people overlook is that the "off-shore" clubs applied to join our competition and were allowed to do so on contingencies that were aligned to them only, that was the offer on the table which they obviously readily accepted hence they are partaking in the completions of the RFL/SL, but some people are not happy that should be the case they want the goalposts changing to suit them.

I would say without fear of constructive criticism that if Toronto and Toulouse never existed the Championship GF would still be played at a neutral venue, there would have been no reason whatsoever to change the structure.

[Harry Stottle]

13 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I think there is an argument both ways Harry. 

I used to like the old Grand Finals in a neutral ground, but I also think the advantage is fair enough, and rewards the team who finish top. 

So if Old Trafford became for whatever reason unavailable this season and Wire got to the GF but finished lower than the opposition in the league ladder you would happily give up a neutral venue and play it at the ground of your opponents? Not a cat in hells chance that would happen there would be cries of "Favouritism" and "Foul Play" being shouted from all directions.

Everybody is assuming that Toulouse make the final, supposing they don't should the final be played at the ground of the team that beats Toulouse or the highest finishing team on the Championship ladder? Can you not see how daft this is, it is a final with what I would say most probably has more meaning and far bigger financial rewards to the victors of the Championship play-offs than the SL GF which to all intense and purpose is just another inscription on the honours board.

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

So if Old Trafford became for whatever reason unavailable this season and Wire got to the GF but finished lower than the opposition in the league ladder you would happily give up a neutral venue and play it at the ground of your opponents? Not a cat in hells chance that would happen there would be cries of "Favouritism" and "Foul Play" being shouted from all directions.

Everybody is assuming that Toulouse make the final, supposing they don't should the final be played at the ground of the team that beats Toulouse or the highest finishing team on the Championship ladder? Can you not see how daft this is, it is a final with what I would say most probably has more meaning and far bigger financial rewards to the victors of the Championship play-offs than the SL GF which to all intense and purpose is just another inscription on the honours board.

No, I don't think the SL Grand Final should be at a home ground. It is a marquee game. 

My preference is that the Championship game is also that. But I can understand the approach of giving home advantage to 1st.

[Davo5]

15 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Yes that was so, but do you not consider that it gives the League leaders an unfair advantage, it doesn't happen in SL

Doesn’t playing the final in the north  of England give Toulouse an unfair disadvantage?

[Harry Stottle]

24 minutes ago, Dave T said:

No, I don't think the SL Grand Final should be at a home ground. It is a marquee game. 

My preference is that the Championship game is also that. But I can understand the approach of giving home advantage to 1st.

Why explain that to me, I can not see one bit of logic in doing so, the top team as in SL get rewarded for finishing top, the final then as in SL should be at a neutral venue.

Nice to see you have relegated the Championship GF, as not being a marquee game, it is exactly that attitude that allows these kind of decisions to be made.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

Championship, Women's,League 1, wheel chair and Super League Grand final should all be played on the same day and stadium like they do in NRL...   make it more of a all day carnival event as apposed as a evening event... plus different teams means more crowd numbers.

 

[Harry Stottle]

4 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

Doesn’t playing the final in the north  of England give Toulouse an unfair disadvantage?

Switch that Dav to a bigger disadvantage playing at the home of a finalist, if it is deemed that the game is at a neutral venue over seas then fair enough, but do it proportionately when there are French, Canadian or whoever is in the comp, if there is only one French club in it you can't expect the final to held in France every other year, Toulouse thus season are 1/12th of the comp,I suppose if they lost out this year and it was held in Toulouse, and next season they were in the mix again all the same people would want next years final in Toulouse once more.

[Davo5]

8 minutes ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Championship, Women's,League 1, wheel chair and Super League Grand final should all be played on the same day and stadium like they do in NRL...   make it more of a all day carnival event as apposed as a evening event... plus different teams means more crowd numbers.

 

Yeah good luck getting football clubs permission to have numerous games on their pitches on in October.

I think the wheelchair players might struggle with the size of Old Trafford’s pitch to be honest.

[UTK]

 

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

So if Old Trafford became for whatever reason unavailable this season and Wire got to the GF but finished lower than the opposition in the league ladder you would happily give up a neutral venue and play it at the ground of your opponents? Not a cat in hells chance that would happen there would be cries of "Favouritism" and "Foul Play" being shouted from all directions.

Everybody is assuming that Toulouse make the final, supposing they don't should the final be played at the ground of the team that beats Toulouse or the highest finishing team on the Championship ladder? Can you not see how daft this is, it is a final with what I would say most probably has more meaning and far bigger financial rewards to the victors of the Championship play-offs than the SL GF which to all intense and purpose is just another inscription on the honours board.

Completely agree that in reality there are likely far bigger implications for the winner of the championship than SL, but don't you think that actually justifies the final being awarded to the highest finishing side of the regular season that makes it?

Surely whichever team has performed the best over the course of the entire regular season should be rewarded for that performance whenever possible. Hypothetically, the dominant side of the season could lose half their team to injury the week before the final while a side could scrape into 5th on F/A and go on a month-long run that lands them in the final against a depleted opponent. In the current format of a finals system they are more than entitled to be there, but surely the team that has consistently displayed excellence over the course of the entire season should be afforded an advantage when the big day comes. Otherwise what is the point of the rest of the season other than to finish 1-5? 

I would think a system that rewards teams performances consistently across the season would result in a better chance of the best team in the championship being promoted and therefore most likely to make a decent fist of the uphill battle that is staying in SL. I'm not against the idea of a neutral venue but I really do think rewarding higher-placed teams has merit. It would certainly function to promote the idea that every game of the season counts, irrespective of where the two teams participating may sit on the ladder. 

 

 

 

 

[Dave T]

29 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Why explain that to me, I can not see one bit of logic in doing so, the top team as in SL get rewarded for finishing top, the final then as in SL should be at a neutral venue.

Nice to see you have relegated the Championship GF, as not being a marquee game, it is exactly that attitude that allows these kind of decisions to be made.

I'm afraid you are looking for an argument where there is none. My preference is the same as yours. In reality the game attracts a modest crowd though so it isn't a marquee event. 

On the basis that there aren't the game-wide benefits like a 70k crowd, there is clear rationale in giving home advantage and boosting the reward for 1stvplace.

You may not like it but the rationale is there. 

If the SL Grand Final only got 15k I suspect they'd use a similar approach. 

[lucky 7]

17 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Yes that was so, but do you not consider that it gives the League leaders an unfair advantage, it doesn't happen in SL

It does give the league leaders an advantage, but finishing top at the end of the regular season should be rewarded

[The Daddy]

2 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Switch that Dav to a bigger disadvantage playing at the home of a finalist, if it is deemed that the game is at a neutral venue over seas then fair enough, but do it proportionately when there are French, Canadian or whoever is in the comp, if there is only one French club in it you can't expect the final to held in France every other year, Toulouse thus season are 1/12th of the comp,I suppose if they lost out this year and it was held in Toulouse, and next season they were in the mix again all the same people would want next years final in Toulouse once more.

Tripe, what's the point of a long competitive season where a SL place is at stake only to give teams that finish below that haven't performed as well more chances to level the playing field. Doesn't finishing first count for anything? Seems like it did when Cas won the league leaders shield and many fans were saying that it meant more than winning the grand final. Now that Cas have no hope of finishing top and Catalan could win the league leaders shield all that talk has gone quiet. Too many RL fans have a massive chip on their shoulders 

[Blind side johnny]

9 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

I would say without fear of constructive criticism that if Toronto and Toulouse never existed the Championship GF would still be played at a neutral venue, there would have been no reason whatsoever to change the structure.

The decision was made on two bases: that the team winning the league leadership should indeed have a real advantage in the final, and that there is a clear financial advantage for the competing teams. in playing at one of the competing teams' grounds rather than having to hire one from a third party.

[Tommygilf]

10 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

And Toronto in 2 Championship Grand Finals? 

What a lot of people overlook is that the "off-shore" clubs applied to join our competition and were allowed to do so on contingencies that were aligned to them only, that was the offer on the table which they obviously readily accepted hence they are partaking in the completions of the RFL/SL, but some people are not happy that should be the case they want the goalposts changing to suit them.

I would say without fear of constructive criticism that if Toronto and Toulouse never existed the Championship GF would still be played at a neutral venue, there would have been no reason whatsoever to change the structure.

Are we going to totally ignore the middle 8s?