The Super League table will be determined by win percentage as the competition comes to terms with the fact it will be unable to fulfil its full fixture list.
Effective immediately, the Super League table has been altered to show league positions are determined on a team’s win percentage rather than the total number of league points they have accumulated.
It is a drastic move by the competition as games continue to be called off due to positive Covid-19 cases across clubs, which has already resulted in numerous postponements and rearrangements.
Recent postponements have already seen a backlog of fixtures and with an already hectic schedule in place, it is becoming increasingly unlikely the season will be finished in time for the Grand Final on November 28th.
However, it has instantly given a different look to the table, and brings the integrity of the competition into serious question. Catalans now top of Super League having won five of their opening seven games, a win ratio of 71.43%.
St Helens, Warrington and Wigan make up the top four with a 70% average.
In a further twist, Super League say a team must have played at least 15 games to qualify for the play-offs, but in another twist, will still make the top four if they’ve accumulated enough points having not met that threshold.
Games will now also be called off if seven or more of a club’s top 25 players are unavailable for selection due to Covid-19 related reasons.
Changes have also been made to the salary cap.
The RFL said: “To recognise the possible strains on clubs’ playing squads through the combination of positive Covid-19 tests, Test and Trace, and the number of fixtures to be played, two adjustments have been made to the Salary Cap regulations for the 2020 season only:
“1 – Clubs can play any player on their register (including players recalled from loan to other clubs) without impacting their Salary Cap, provided the player has a Salary Cap value of £30,000 or less;
“2 – If a player who has tested positive for Covid-19 is unable to return after the minimum isolation / return to play periods, their Salary Cap value will be temporarily removed from a club’s Aggregate Liability – allowing the club to sign a replacement.”
