Cas beat Fev in the Boxing day friendly 25:12 - For a match report please visit the MATCH REPORTS page :-)
No news as such - Just to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Best Wishes - Mark
I've been busy for the last week - sorry there haven't been any updates :-))
I have updated the quiz though!!!
I've also added more music files to the site - good quality WAVE files this time - Eventually I will put Real Audio files on there along with MP3 files (maybe)
Cas have 4 games which will be shown on SKY in the first half of SL4 - They are as follows :
April
18th v Gateshead Thunder
May 3 v Bradford Bulls
May 9 v London Broncos
May 30 v Leeds Rhinos
TIGERS SIGN ROGERS
Cas have signed Darren Rogers from Salford. He is a utility back who has been the Reds top try scorer for the last 2 seasons.
There is no transfer fee involved due to Rogers being out of contract at Salford
CAS TO MAKE A NEW SIGNING ?
The Tigers are likely to announce a signing before Christmas. Apparently they are in negotiations with a few players and they will have to be home grown.
Chief Executive, Richard Wright, said that the club had been contacted by numerous players who all wanted to come to Cas.
TIGERS RESIGN PLAYERS
Cas have resigned 2nd rower Andy Hill - He played on loan at York all last season but the club think that he will be able to do a good job for them in the coming season.
Last years Academy player of the year, Andy Lynch, has also taken up full time training with the team after giving up his regular employment.
The club expect a major contribution from all their young players (Andy Hill, Jon Wells, Gareth Dobson, Andy Lynch, Paul Smith) next season.
Just emptied the guestbook again and put all the entries into the archives section. Please start to refill it as soon as possible :-) - Cheers for now - Mark
CAS TELL THE FANS THAT A MOVE IS VITAL
Around 600 fans attended a question and answer session on Monday to talk about the proposed move to Whitwood.
Tigers chairman, Philip Hindle, said that if the club didn't move then they would eventually be forced out of the Superleague. He also said "it's got to a stage now where doing nothing is no longer an option, we have to move on"
Ex-Chairman David Poulter said a new stadium was the only way to be able to compete with the big clubs. He said "There are only a few clubs who are not looking at ground development so we have to move forward".
Coach Stuart Raper, Players Danny Orr and Dean Sampson and ex Cas star Lee Crooks backed up this message.
There was also support from the leader of Wakefield Council and also Yvette Cooper, MP of Ponte and Cas.
Tiger Man and Junior Tigerman pose for a photo opportunity While turning on the Castleford Christmas Lights The Tigers are still looking to buy players for next season. At the top of the list is an outside back due to Chapman, Mather and Critchley all leaving us. Cas are still being linked to Salford's winger, Darren Rogers.
Raper would like a squad of 22/23 players with the under 21's as backup.
Danny Orr and Jon Wells posing for some publicity!!! I've recently heard (from Jon) that there is a competition ongoing between the two of them to see who can get the most pictures of themselves in the media.
Sorry to let you both down but it's 1:1 here!!!
Cas Chief Executive has been explaining a bit about the ground move - He says that there will be about 40 acres for the Tigers at whitwood whereas at Wheldon Lane there is only 8 acres for any redevelopment to take place. Also, funding for the Whitwood site should be better due to the location. Thirdly, Cas can sell the Wheldon road ground for some well needed cash and also can sell the name of the new stadium to a company as has been recently done with stadiums such as the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield, Cellnet Stadium in Middlesboro and the Reebok Stadium in Bolton.
Renamed the guestbook to BITEBACK and added an appropriate logo.
Stuart Raper thinks that Cas' fixtures for next season has worked out "reasonably well"
The Fixtures for next season are now 100% accurate :-)) click HERE
French international halfback Fabien Devecchi, currently playing for Villeneuve, is a target for the Tigers. Huddersfield are also interested in acquiring his services.
The 1999 Super League fixture schedule has been released and Cas' fixtures can be found by clicking HERE. It is not 100% accurate at present but is mainly okay :-)
The league season starts on 5th/7th March until 10th/12th September, after which the Finals Series starts., The Grand Final is again at Old Trafford on 9th October.
The fourteen teams play each other home and away and a further four rounds have been added, so that each team plays a total of thirty games in the regular season.
Cas have completed their 'overseas quota' for next season. We have signed Australian centre Michael Eagar from Warrington on a one year contract.
This means that there is no place left for second rower Michael Smith.
Gael Tallec recently broke his wrist whilst playing for France against Ireland.
Wakefield Trinity have had their application for Superleague accepted
Mike Ford has now become the player/coach of Bramley
Mike Ford has NOT joined Whitehaven!!!! His family didn't want to move to Cumbria so he won't take up the post
Mike Ford has become the player/coach of Whitehaven
Cas are reportedly interested in signing Salford winger, Darren Rogers
Wigan are the Superleague champions of 1998 after beating Leeds 10:4 in the gran final at Old Trafford on Sunday
Why not visit Signs-Designs - Official Sign Supplier to the Tigers and tell Shaun Morrison that I sent you
I've put a link to the Featherstone Rovers Official site on my LINKS page - I only found out that it existed yesterday!!!
Nothing much happening at the moment, apart from the First Grand Final tonight between the Wigan Warriors and the Leeds Rhinos - God, I hope that the Warriors really stuff them!!!!!
I've just uploaded some music files for you to download on the Tiger Music page.
Castleford have agreed a new one year deal, for next season, with full back Jason Flowers.
The Tigers have however lost Jason Critchley, who has moved to Newport to play Rugby Union.
Well, this is the new look site - Told you it wasn't much different from the old one although it has taken me over 4 weeks and well over 50 hours to redesign it!!!!
All the old stuff can now be found in the archives.
The only section not functioning at present is the music page (no files to download yet) but it does list all the songs that will be there soon!!!!!
I have hopefully sent all the new files I have created to the server. I fully expect (although hope not) that not all the links will work or all the pictures show - Please let me know of any errors you find.
Cas have now released Jamie Benn, who has signed for Keighley
The Tigers have now also released David Chapman
I'm in the middle of redesigning this website - nothing radical - just a change of colours and slightly different layout. Hopefully within the next week I should have most of these changes completed and will be putting the new site up - Please let me know what you think :-)) Thanks - Mark
The Tigers have also released Andrew Schick, Richie McKell and Mike Ford
Cas have announced that they will not be retaining hooker Richard Russell, after his contract expires at the end of the season.
The Tigers are now keen to retain second rower Michael Smith and are in contract negotiations with the New Zealander.
Rumour has it that we've signed James Pickering.
The giant Fijian prop had a successful spell with Workington from 1992 to 1996, but since playing in Australia, with Canterbury and Sydney City, he has been plagued by injuries.
September 1998 News
The Tigers have agreed a new two year contract with Richard Gay. He is now tied to the Tigers until the end of 2000.
Cas have moved a closer to getting a new home.
Plans for a new 15,000 capacity stadium, in the Whitwood area near to the M62, have gained the support of Wakefield Council.
The club intends to unveil its plans to the Tigers' supporters, next month.
Once again I have to apologise for not updating the site this week - My excuse this time is that I couldn't get on the net again as my phone line was playing up - hopefully this won't happen again in the near future.
Lets hope that Cas can beat the Bronco's on Sunday and secure 6th spot - I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say that whether we finish 6th, 7th or 8th, the team has made massive strides in the last year - hopefully next year we will be able to make a better challenge for top five honours.
During the close season I will continue to update this site and also have a few changes planned re: content, layout etc.
As usual, any comments (good or bad), ideas or anything else are welcomed :-))
Cheers for now
Mark
Cas will play Leeds in a friendly at Headingley on New Years Day.
After saying last week that Barrie-Jon Mather would be staying with Castleford the end of the season, the club have announced today that he has been released.
The move is to ensure that the Tigers are under the salary-cap limit at the end of the season and so avoid any possible sanctions.
BJ will now move to play union, with the Manchester Sale club.
We've agreed a twelve month extension to the contract of Brad Davis. He is now with us until the end of 2000.
Cas have signed Paul Bell and Dale Fritz - they will join the Tigers for the start of next season.
August 1998 News
There won't be any more updates for around the next 2 weeks as I'm off on holiday - Hopefully when I come back we'll have a couple more wins under our belts and I'll have a nice tan!!! :-))
Castleford Tigers have signed Australian World Cup hooker Aaron Raper on a one-year contract.
Raper, 26, the younger brother of Castleford coach Stuart, will join the Tigers in the New Year after finishing his contract with Australian National League club Parramatta Eels.
Raper was a member of Australia's squad for the 1995 Centenary World Cup in England.
He has also played for New South Wales in Australia's State of Origin series.
Castleford spokesman Michael McDonald said; "He is a good acquisition for us and we are looking forward to him coming over."
Castleford will have Richard Gay back after recovering from a virus, for Sunday's game against Halifax. He resumes at full back, with Jason Flowers moving to the wing in place of Jason Critchley, who drops to the bench.
Hooker Richard Russell will start his first game for the Tigers, since breaking his leg back in April.
Damian Gibson will be missing from the Halifax team with a rib injury and he is likely to be replaced by Oliver Marns.
Hi everybody, I've just done a large update of the site, getting it up to date (more or less) and adding some new photo's/player pictures.
You can access everything as usual through the updated links on the left. Things such as the standings have now got their own page.
Please let me know what you think (all comments and ideas welcome) and also PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know if any of the links/photos/pages etc. don't work or show up incorrectly.
Cheers for now
Mark
P.S. As the advert says, "Let's hang those Blue Sox out to dry on Sunday"
I've now archived a lot more of the current guestbook entries so it's easier and faster to read them .
Cas beat the Rhino's 22:16 in a very entertaining game in front a a large crowd.
From my own personal point of view, it was a very satisfying win because I was stood in the middle of the Leeds fans and there were one or two who thought that everything and everybody was against them.
They didn't shout so much in the 2nd half when we were outplaying them in most departments.
I'm back (at last!!!)
My computer has been broken for the last 3 weeks and I only got it working again yesterday.
Over the next couple of weeks I hope to get the site back up to date and with a bit of luck, in the next couple of days I should have some pictures of this afternoons game on the site!!!
Cheers for now
Mark
June/July1998 News
Stuart Raper has signed a new contract to stay with the club.
Cas lose 22:16 to the Eagles at the Don Valley.
As all regular visitors here will have noticed, over the last few weeks I haven't been updating the site very often.
As stated on a few previous occasions, this is due to me having a severe lack of time to maintain the site and keep it in it's current state.
I don't want to close this site down and the guestbook will always be available for people to make comments and read other fans views.
I will continue to update the site whenever I get the opportunity but it's even a bit difficult for me to comment on the team at the moment as I've only been to one Superleague game all season!!!
If any of you feel like providing match reports/latest news updates/Quiz Questions or anything at all then I would be happy to put it up on the appropriate pages and give you full credit for everything that is published here.
Here's hoping for a few more regular contributors to the site :-))
Cheers
Mark
Cas lose to Wigan 34:4
Cas beat London Bronco's to improve their superleague standing. We still have a realistic place of finishing 5th if we can find some consistency
Cas lose to Huddersfield Giants 10:16 in their round 10 Superleague game
Cas lose to St Helens 34:12 in their round 9 Superleague game.
We have released Martin Hall after his loan spell ran out.
Once again, sorry for the lack of news and updates - at the moment I'm finding it difficult to get the time to update the site.
With regards to the OFFICIAL site tag, I have written to the club telling them that I'm no longer interested in doing the site for them - mainly due to a lack of time on my part
. I have asked them to get in contact with Stuart Lake, the person running the only other Cas Tigers site on the internet (Castleford Tigers Site - CyberTiger) as he may be interested in setting something up for them. Please take a visit to his site and let him know what you think.
Cas beat Salford 18:8 away from home in a hard fought and well deserved victory.
I've archived the news file for MAY
Cas lose 52:10 to the Bulls
May 1998 News
Cas lose 52:10 to the Bulls
The guestbook is now back up and working (honest!!!)
Cas lose 33:18 to Warrington in Superleague (more details to follow)
The guestbook is still not working - hopefully I'll sort it out tonight :-))
The guestbook should now be back in use (hopefully). It appears that someone decided to send out false e-mails stating that charging would be taking place thus causing a lot of people to be put out!!!
I've got a new guestbook now and in the next week or so i should have fully restored it to it's former state :-)
Cheers for now
Mark
The guestbook has temporarily been taken out of action as the company who hosted it has decided to start charging.
Hopefully I will be able to find another company to use in the near future.
Cas beat Hull Sharks 31:18 for their 2nd superleague victory of the season (further details to follow)
The Tigers have lost their fight to keep Barrie-Jon Mather. He has accepted a three and a half year contract with Sale Rugby Union club which will commence at the end of this season.
Cas have been linked with former Australian international Greg Florimo.
Keighley have got the services of Tigers forward Ian Tonks in a short term loan deal.
For all you regular readers and contributors to the guestbook, you will find that it is fairly empty at the moment. I have just archived all the comments and they can now be found in the guestbook archive section of this site.
Please refill the guestbook with all your comments/observations etc!!! :-))
Once again, I must apologise for the lack of updates recently. Having been busy at work (who isn't?) I haven't been able to find the time to update the site as often as I would like.
So, on to the latest news - Apparently BJ Mather could be leaving the club to join Sale at the end of the season when his contract runs out. In my opinion, Cas should do all they can to keep hold of him.
Also, it has been reported that Cas are having talks with Coach Stuart Raper to try and extend his contract with the club. Raper has recently been linked with a possible return to his old club, the Cronulla Sharks.
The latest news on this site becoming "official" is as follows : NOTHING
I'm still waiting for a few internet companies to get back to me in relation to finding out what it will cost Cas to host a site. I should have the info within the next week and be able to let the club have all the details.
Hopefully, I should start getting the clubs own match reports in the near future and maybe even a few photos to include on this site. Even so, contributions by anyone to this site are still welcome.
It looks like I'm going to miss yet another match this weekend (I've still only seen 1 league game!!!) Because of this, it would be appreciated if anyone who attends the game can send in some sort of match report or summary that I can put up on the site just in case I don't get anything from the club.
Finally, last months news has now been archived and can be view by clicking on the archive link.
Cheers for now
Mark
April 1998 News
Good news from the club about this website. I've been contacted by Mike MacDonald (media and marketing manager) and he wants to discuss the idea of this becoming the official website. Hopefully, I'll meet with him this week and get something in the pipeline.
He is interested in getting all the latest official news on the site and also match photos etc.
He informed me that he help set up the Cronulla Sharks website before he came over here and would like something similar. Take a look at the site by clicking HERE
The Tigers have signed former Wigan hooker Martin Hall on a 1 month trial. He played against the BlueSox at the weekend. Coach Stuart Raper was forced to move for a hooker after Richard Russell broke his leg and Danny Orr injured his back in training. Orr is expected to be abesent for around three weeks.
Cas lose 29:16 to Halifax - sorry for the lack of information about the game and the lack of updates recently, I've been too busy to find the time
Richard Russell broke his leg (tibia) during Friday nights game and will miss around 3 months of the season. Stuart Raper is considering a deal for Phil Cantillon of Leeds to provide some cover whilst Russell is out injured..
In slightly better news, David Chapman could be playing first team football in less than 3 weeks time
David Chapman is back in training with the club after his injury and could soon be playing again.
Team News - Sampson could start the game tomorrow and Critchley will probably not play due to injury.
Cas take on Wigan this Sunday in their opening Superleague fixture. The match is being shown on SKY and should be a cracker (although Wigan did look good against the Broncos at the weekend!!!)
BJ Mather doesn't have a fractured jaw as first suspected - It is just bruised. He also has a bad ankle which is causing him some problems.
Cas beat Oldham 27:26 in the friendly game. Please see Wayne Edginton's match report in the guestbook for more details.
March 1998 News
It's getting closer and closer so get you tickets now!!!
A Dean Sampson Testimonial Fund Event
On Friday 3rd April in the Tigers Bar, great rock band BARFLY will be in action.
Barfly play cover versions from such groups as Oasis, Terrorvision, Greenday, Pulp etc. and have recently released their first Album.
There will be raffles & prizes etc. on the night and other players besides Dean are bound to be in attendance.
Tickets cost just £2.00 each and can be obtained from the Club or Dean himself.
BJ Mather doesn't have a fractured jaw as first suspected - It is just bruised. He also has a bad ankle which is causing him some problems.
Cas beat Oldham 27:26 in the friendly game. Please see Wayne Edginton's match report in the guestbook for more details.
Cas play Oldham in a friendly on Wednesday evening at Cas.
Another site to come
to my attention this week is run by Mick Hollingworth. He does
caricatures and from what I've seen, he's pretty good at it.
Check out the whole Cas team from last year plus other stuff by
clicking on the caricature below
Keith Senior has got a 4 match ban for the punch that he landed on BJ Mather in the Challenge Cup Quarter final. He will miss their semi-final game and also their opening superleague match.
Stuart Raper has been summoned to appear before the RFL for comments he made about the ref in the quarter final.
I've changed the colours on this site due to a few people having trouble reading the site. Hopefully the new colour scheme will be easier fo everyone to read.
Please let me know what you think.
Added an ARCHIVE link on the left hand navigation bar (at the bottom) and put all old news/old quiz questions/old guestbook entries in the archives section.
This should make it easier for you to view (if you really want to!!!) and also make it easy for me to maintain.
I will eventually get round to adding other bits and pieces to this section such as all time results/previous season's league table etc.
It appears that BJ Mather could be out for upto 8 weeks with a suspected fractured jaw due to the punch that Keith Senior planted on his chin at the weekend.
Apparently, the fracture cannot be confirmed yet as his face is too swollen to do a proper examination.
It's now becoming the norm, so here's my plug for another good rugby site. This time it's the CASTLEFORD PANTHERS AMATEUR RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB. Please pay the site a visit as it contains all sorts of good info for a local team.
Other news I just found out about.
Lee Crooks took over as coach of the Keighley Cougars in midweek. No doubt, you will all wish him well in his new job. "Crooksy" was a credit to the team whilst as Cas and always gave 100 percent in every game. He was a top player until he started to suffer with injuries.
Some of his off field antics will also remain in my memory for a long time. His painting of the stands during the off season a couple of years back will long remain in my memory as there was more paint on the terraces than on the walls!!!
Good Luck Lee - you'll always be welcomed back by the supporters at Cas
This will be the last update until next weekend. I'll be away for most of next week so unless someone in my family learns how to use a computer while I'm gone (highly unlikely), then nothing else will be added!!
Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to the quarter final match as I'm due back around Saturday lunchtime.
A final message to the team : COME ON LADS - STUFF THE EAGLES AND GET ANOTHER STEP CLOSER TO WEMBLEY.
See you all next weekend - Cheers for now - Mark
David Chapman looks like he will miss the start of the Superleague season due to a back injury.
Simon Middleton wants to leave Castleford. He believes that his time with Cas has come to an end. He is currently playing Rugby Union for Leeds.
Cas have drawn Sheffield Eagles down the lane in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup
Wigan are to play St Helens
London will play Hull KR and Salford play Hull
The draw seems to have been kinder to us this round than in the previous 2
The draw for the next round of the cup takes place tonight at 6:55 on BBC Look North and also Radio 5 Live.
I'v just listened to a Radio Leeds interview of Stuart Raper, Mike MacDonald and Richard Wright and they all said that they want a home tie in the next round against Wigan or any other top team!!!
Personally, I'd prefer Hull KR.
Anyone elso notice how the 2nd Bull mascot that Bradford had looked as though he was the runt of the litter!!! I personally thought that Paul Anderson had been stealing his dinner!!!!!!!! :-)) His stomach was 3 yards offside at every play the ball!!!!!!!! :-)))
Cas beat Bradford 26:21 in the 5th round of the Challenge Cup (see report below)
February 1998 News
I've just been down to the ground (2pm) to get my ticket for tomorrow's game (I've got the day off work today) and was quite surprised at how busy it was. There were plenty of people around buying tickets and I haven't seen the town this excited about a game of rugby for a few years. Lets hope the players can do the business tomorrow.
My ticket number is somewhere around 6500 so you can see how well the tickets are selling. No doubt there will also be a lot of fans who will just turn up on the day to watch as well.
Team news : Richard Russell has recovered from injury and will be playing at hooker.
Grant Anderson has been given a free transfer by the club and has joined Hunslet Hawks.
Not much news in the last few days coming out of the club. Perhaps they're too busy training for the 5th round of the cup.
The game is on Saturday with the BBC covering it live. The club are advising fans to buy their tickets before the match as they are expecting a crowd of 10000 plus. Should be a great game.
We've drawn Bradford Bulls in the 5th round of the Challenge Cup. At least the tie is at home. If we're going to win the competition then it appears that we will have to do so the hard way!!!. How about St.Helens in the next round followed by a tie at Wigan!!!! No one would be able to say we did it the easy way :-))
I've now incorporated the "My View" page onto this one. It means thats it's easier for me to handle.
Cas beat Leeds 15:12 with a last minute try. See the game report below for more details
Cas take on the Leeds Rhinos today at Headingley in the Challenge Cup. I have every confidence that we can beat them and we look to have a good team out. The game is on "Grandstand" but I'd advise anyone who can, to actually go to the game - it should be a cracker.
Cas announce a new one year sponsorship deal with Clear Sport, who manufacture nasal breathing strips. The deal is for one year and is worth a six figure sum.
Cas win 26:22 against Hull.
Cas play Hull in a friendly on Sunday at The Boulevard.
Cas lose 16:22 to Sheffield in the Testomonial for Sampson. I didn't go as I was at the cinema watching the Titanic - another sinking ship!!!! :-))
From what I've heard, we were not up for it and used it as a practice game. The crowd didn't know who was on the field at any particular moment in time - we were subbing people every couple of minutes.
One player who didn't play was Michael Smith - He injured himself in the warm up.
January 1998 News
The Tigers have a friendly on Friday night against Sheffield Eagles in a testomonial game for Dean Sampson.
We have signed 2 players from Wigan. Winger Danny Ellison has cost between 30 and 40 thousand and French international Gael Tallec joins us on a free transfer. We signed these players just before the challenge cup deadline so both players are elligible to play in this seasons competition.
Dean Sampson has signed a new 2 year contract with the club
Ian Smales has signed for Hunslet Hawks
Cas receive £60,000 for Chris Smith and Saints must pay another £15,000 when he has played in 20 first team games. If he goes on to play for GB then we also get another £5,000
Jason Flowers and Richard Russell have both signed new one year contracts.
Quite a lot happening "down the lane" this week.
All of the Overseas players and Stuart Raper arrived in the Country this week and are now in training with the rest of the squad. Apparently Raper thinks that Michael Smith will take Superleague by storm and compares him to Les Boyd, the former Australian International.
Raper is also still on the lookout for a couple of new players, probably backs following Chris Smith's departure but he would also love to sign Michael Jackson (Halifax Blue-Sox)
Cas have also got a new shirt sponsor although the new company won't be announced for a couple of weeks.
The Tigers have also added a couple of new people to their marketing team. They are both from Australia and will hopefully do a good job.
Finally for this week, Why not visit the OFFICIAL CANTERBURY BULLDOGS SITE and tell them I've sent you. Apart from being a great site, the club appears to be run in a very professional manner.
Cas draw 22:22 with Leeds Rhinos at Headingley. After taking a 16-0 lead the Tigers escaped after finding themselves 22:16 down with 2 minutes to go. A Richard Gay try and the conversion by Jamie Benn left both side reasonably happy with the result. Both teams were reduced to 12 men when Dean Sampson and Dean Lawford were dismissed for fighting.
Cas today take on the Leeds Rhinos in a friendly at Headingley. Cas don't have any of their overseas players in the team as they are all abroad at the moment. This include Stuart Raper so Graham Steadman is in charge for the game. Barrie-Jon Mather, Francis Maloney and Jon Wells all make their debuts for the Tigers.
This page is updated on a regular basis so check back soon.
January 1998 "My View"
Not a lot to add to what is in the "Latest News" section this week. The club appear to on the right tracks with the appointment of 2 new marketing staff and the team would appear to be much better than this time last year. At last, a season we can look forward to!!!!!!
Last months news added to the Previous Months Archive
Cas got 1998 off to a good start by drawing with the Rhino's in Leeds. The performance was excellent considering the caliber of players who were missing and it looks like it will be a much better season for us this year than it was last.
Thats all for now, Come back soon to get some more of my opinion!!!
Cheers - Mark
December 1997 News
Chris Smith has signed for St Helens. The 22 year old was out of contract at Cas. Last season he socred 6 tries in 22 appearances. A fee for him has not yet been agreed.
Not a lot else has been happening recently
Brendan Tuuta signs for Warrington Wolves
The Rugby League has announced that as from next season there will be an Australian style end of season playoffs with the top 5 teams at the end of the season taking part. The league winners will still get a trophy but they won't be classed as champions. The winner of the playoffs will get this honour.
December 1997 My View
There's not a lot happening at the moment apart from the decision by the Rugby League to crown the champions by the way of end of season playoffs instead of the actual league winners.
Personally speaking, I think this is a great idea and something that is long overdue. It works in many other sports such as Ice Hockey, American Football and Basketball and there is nothing that should stop it from working in Rugby League.
One of the drawbacks that I can envisage is the initial reluctance to the change from the general public. In Britain it is not the norm for the league winner not to be declared champions. It may help if you think of the league being the first part (qualifying section if you like) of the competition and the playoffs being the finale.