Could 'Cup Draw' Style Make Super League Feast More Magical?

Super League is never afraid to be innovative; try something new, appeal to everyone everywhere. It’s a concept that has served the competition well over the years, whether it is one off charity kits worn by teams or continuation of the extra fixture at ‘Magic’ weekend.

Last week’s ‘Magic’ round saw over 62,000 spectators pass through the turnstiles at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium over the course of two days to see seven regulation league fixtures.

There is a sense that the Magic weekend belongs in Manchester. It is accessible to the folk of the ‘rugby league heartland’ and keeps costs down in these economic climes when previously it has been staged further afield in Cardiff and Edinburgh.

There had been speculation that the date of ‘Magic’ may change to be the season curtain raiser. 

However, it has been announced today that Super League have decided that the ever growing showpiece will stick to it's mid-May dates for next year to avoid what would have frankly, been a step in the wrong direction.

An acceptance has grown among the rugby league fraternity that teams will have to play one other team up to three times in the league in one season.

There was a bit of a shake up which saw some traditional derbies or rivalries such as Wigan v St Helens and Leeds v Bradford ditched in an attempt to harvest a more competitive / even contest.

It worked, almost. 

Three of the games produced scores where there was only, at most, a six point margin between the teams. The other four games were, however, disproportionately uneven. Bradford, Wakefield, St Helens and London were all on the end of hammerings by a margin of 25 points or more.

In a very unscientific way, The Sporting Hack may have come up with a solution: draw the teams at random, and as late as possible.

Of course, there is a slight twist as top of the table against bottom isn’t going to solve anything. Thus the proposal of draws for the top eight and bottom six respectively after the completion of the previous round.

A lot of media coverage could be channelled on to what is turning out to be a crucial time of the year for sides.

At TSH Headquarters, we conducted our own ‘mini-draw’ as a test. Here is the resultant draw based on the standings after Round 15, prior to magic weekend:

Catalan Dragons v Leeds Rhinos (5^th v 4^th)

Wigan Warriors v Hull FC (1^st v 6^th)

Warrington Wolves v St Helens (3^rd v 8^th)

Huddersfield Giants v Bradford Bulls (2^nd v 7^th)

Salford City Reds v Widnes Vikings (14^th v 11^th)

London Broncos v Hull KR (13^th v 9^th)

Wakefield Wildcats v Castleford Tigers (10^th v 12^th)

The dummy run of a test actually threw out a staggering four of the exact same fixtures which took place the week before (in italics).

Either the guys at Super League who decided the fixtures are fairly accurate, or TSH may have just given them an opportunity or avenue to spice the build up to Magic Weekend up a little more?

What do you think of the idea? Get in touch on Twitter @thesportinghack to have your say.