Championship final weekend conundrum

[kiggy]

3 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Imagine the whinging if a part-time team was sent to Toulouse for a Sunday afternoon game and players missed a day's work on the Monday.

I agree with the concern by the way; all teams should be playing their final game in synchrony.

That's partly the reason with TO. Saturday games for the part timers means they only miss the Friday work day, flight schedules also play a part as Monday flights back cost an absolute fortune. TO also have to play 2nd fiddle to Stade Toulousaine who play on the Sundays. Although that is a sore point at the moment having been told they can't play at the ground at all during the world cup. 

NB. I'm actually going to the Whitehaven game which means I miss 3 days work. (am i bovvered?..... not in the least!) 

[JonM]

Pretty obvious that we could end up with a team taking a penalty kick at goal, or going for a drop goal armed with the knowledge that losing by say 17 rather than 18 points keeps them up.

Arguably though, the uneven fixture list due to the big bash is more of an unfair factor.

[Ragingbull]

Wait till people on here realise the Eagles v Bulls game kicks of at 6:30pm so BOTH teams will know what they have to do to finish in the play offs/ finish in the top 4!

[Black Country Wire]

League positions are determined over 27 games not one.

If you finish the day before and are then relying on other results then frankly you've not done enough.

IMO doesn't matter if games are played at the same time or not.

Never understood why "knowing what you have to do" is unfair. At the start of the season EVERYONE knows what they have to do - get more points than the other teams. If you haven't necessary secured this when you have played your last game then tough. Not the other team's/teams' problem.

[georgeb1]

1 hour ago, Black Country Wire said:

League positions are determined over 27 games not one.

If you finish the day before and are then relying on other results then frankly you've not done enough.

IMO doesn't matter if games are played at the same time or not.

Never understood why "knowing what you have to do" is unfair. At the start of the season EVERYONE knows what they have to do - get more points than the other teams. If you haven't necessary secured this when you have played your last game then tough. Not the other team's/teams' problem.

Very well put,Sense at last.

[Griff]

9 hours ago, Ragingbull said:

Wait till people on here realise the Eagles v Bulls game kicks of at 6:30pm so BOTH teams will know what they have to do to finish in the play offs/ finish in the top 4!

As opposed to the original plan, where they would've played Friday and finished before everyone else.

[gingerjon]

6 minutes ago, Griff said:

As opposed to the original plan, where they would've played Friday and finished before everyone else.

Almost like they may see an advantage to playing last?

[The Blues Ox]

10 hours ago, Ragingbull said:

Wait till people on here realise the Eagles v Bulls game kicks of at 6:30pm so BOTH teams will know what they have to do to finish in the play offs/ finish in the top 4!

But they both already know what they need to do to make the playoffs. 

Sheffield just need 1/2 to make sure and Bradford need 2/2. 

[crashmon]

53 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

But they both already know what they need to do to make the playoffs. 

Sheffield just need 1/2 to make sure and Bradford need 2/2. 

Or bradford realise they only need a draw to put them and Sheffield through at the expense of Fax, where if either team wins the loser goes out and Fax go through...

OK I'll get my coat, but that is a very possible scenario if both Bradford and Sheffield win next week, and Batley win last 2

Edited September 12, 2023 by crashmon

[Ragingbull]

4 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Almost like they may see an advantage to playing last?

Decision was made by the tv company not the clubs. 

[Gav Wilson]

7 hours ago, Black Country Wire said:

League positions are determined over 27 games not one.

If you finish the day before and are then relying on other results then frankly you've not done enough.

IMO doesn't matter if games are played at the same time or not.

Never understood why "knowing what you have to do" is unfair. At the start of the season EVERYONE knows what they have to do - get more points than the other teams. If you haven't necessary secured this when you have played your last game then tough. Not the other team's/teams' problem.

Exactly. Its not a problem in the NRL, its not a problem here.

Nor is Toulouse playing on Saturdays.

[Griff]

13 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Almost like they may see an advantage to playing last?

TV fellas' choice. Nothing to do with either club.

[Mark]

As a Swinton fan, if Whitehaven beat us Sunday, it wont matter what time we play our last match!

[kiggy]

On 13/09/2023 at 13:27, Mark said:

As a Swinton fan, if Whitehaven beat us Sunday, it wont matter what time we play our last match!

With Barrow losing yesterday, If Swinton do win then Whitehaven will have to beat TO next week, which is the last thing TO need considering how many players they don't have available and really don't want a hard battle last game before the playoffs.

[Buzzer90]

Well, it’s happening.

[Cheadle Leyther]

Yes my prediction has occurred!!

Whitehaven 16 points.p.d. minus 318

Keighley       16 points p.d. minus 323

Swinton.       16 points p.d. minus 323

Could it be the team that gets beaten the most goes down?

[Bulls2487]

On 12/09/2023 at 07:58, The Blues Ox said:

But they both already know what they need to do to make the playoffs. 

Sheffield just need 1/2 to make sure and Bradford need 2/2. 

If York beat Batley tomorrow the Bulls will be safe in playoffs so we might not need 2 wins.

[Colin James]

Whitehaven will beat Toulouse. Good fixture to have last up for them. Toulouse have nothing to play for and probably feel it's a trip they could do without. 

 

 

[kiggy]

1 hour ago, Colin James said:

Whitehaven will beat Toulouse. Good fixture to have last up for them. Toulouse have nothing to play for and probably feel it's a trip they could do without. 

 

 

They might be trying a new halves combination so might be making a few changes. 

[Derwent]

Basically Whitehaven have a 5 points better points difference than both Swinton & Keighley (who both have the exact same difference).

So if Whitehaven lose by 5 points or less than the other 2 do then they’ll stay up (assuming all 3 get beat next week). 

eg If Haven lost by 30 against Toulouse on Saturday then Swinton & Keighley could lose by 24 on Sunday and stay up. This is where them playing on different days is a bit of a farce.

[sam4731]

32 minutes ago, Derwent said:

Basically Whitehaven have a 5 points better points difference than both Swinton & Keighley (who both have the exact same difference).

So if Whitehaven lose by 5 points or less than the other 2 do then they’ll stay up (assuming all 3 get beat next week). 

eg If Haven lost by 30 against Toulouse on Saturday then Swinton & Keighley could lose by 24 on Sunday and stay up. This is where them playing on different days is a bit of a farce.

The thing is, like someone else pointed out on another thread, you can't really park the bus in RL in the same way you can in football, to keep the score down. If you play defensively in RL, you are just going to get tired.

I fully agree that all last day of the season matches should play at the same time but for the opposite reason.

If a team knows they need to score a lot of points, they can just sling the ball around loads, knowing that the risks are worth it.

[Griff]

On 11/09/2023 at 21:52, Ragingbull said:

Wait till people on here realise the Eagles v Bulls game kicks of at 6:30pm so BOTH teams will know what they have to do to finish in the play offs/ finish in the top 4!

Turns out it's pretty much a head to head for third place 

[The Blues Ox]

11 hours ago, Griff said:

Turns out it's pretty much a head to head for third place 

The difference been that if Batley pull off a shock tonight then a loss for Bradford is likely going to see them finish 7th. 

[Cheadle Leyther]

12 hours ago, Griff said:

Turns out it's pretty much a head to head for third place 

Not really, if Batley win their last 2 matches and Fax beat Swinton, the Bulls will kick off the game at Sheffield in 7th place!

[Just Browny]

14 hours ago, sam4731 said:

The thing is, like someone else pointed out on another thread, you can't really park the bus in RL in the same way you can in football, to keep the score down. If you play defensively in RL, you are just going to get tired.

I fully agree that all last day of the season matches should play at the same time but for the opposite reason.

If a team knows they need to score a lot of points, they can just sling the ball around loads, knowing that the risks are worth it.

I don't think anyone is saying you can park the bus. But if you are 6 points down in the last minute and know that a 4 point defeat is good enough to stay up, your decision on whether or not to take a kick at goal will be influenced by your situation - an advantage not everyone will have due to different KO times.

These are micro-advantages/disadvantages which won't make a difference 98% of the time, but could end up being decisive.