AGAR THE SENSIBLE
Coach’s play- off rethink call
RICHARD AGAR believes that Super League should consider shortening the regular season and extending the play- offs, as Covid- 19 continues to wreak havoc with the sport.
Catalans’ home game with Warrington today is the latest to be cancelled with two more positive cases in the Dragons camp, taking their total number to nine.
The French club are now four matches behind some clubs and still three short of the 15 required to be eligible for the play- offs.
Super League changed its system to win percentage this year when it became clear all games might not be fulfilled.
But Catalans’ fixture backlog, and the fact they have had postponed matches against top- four rivals, has called that system change into question.
Agar – whose Leeds Rhinos side play the second of six matches in 17 days today when they take on Castleford Tigers – believes one solution could be to open the play- offs up to more clubs, rather than have a straight top- four knockout.
He said: “We’ve been having talks internally and think that a good way to look at the competition now would perhaps be looking at starting the playoffs earlier with more teams in it.
“We’re in a position where if we can navigate our way through to the play- offs, it will leave us in a fair old state at the end.
“The whole win percentage stuff is getting called into question.
“If we play 21 or 22 games and Catalans finish with 15 and have dodged all the top five or six on the way in – and that’s not their fault by the way – then what about the fairness and integrity?
“But if that’s the way it ends up, then we all knew that. We’ll just do our best to win our next game – it’s not for us to decide.”
Agar insists his Wembley- winning squad are relishing the significant challenge they have now been presented with. He added: “The lads are on the back of a Challenge Cup win, so at the moment they’re full of beans and saying, ‘ Bring it on, let’s get through it’.
“They understand we will have a little bit less preview and review and less training time.
“We’ll have to move our squad around a bit and loading minutes to get our freshest bodies out there.
“But our boys are up for it. There’s no doubt it’s a tough situation but we’re not looking at it like that.
“We’re looking at it as a massive challenge, and a potentially massive achievement, to make another final.”