A play-off structure involving the top five teams was used to determine the winners of the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...

competition in

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

from 1998 until 2001. A top six play-off system was then introduced. Apart from the Grand Final all matches are staged at the home ground of the team placed higher in the final league table. The same system was used in the

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

's Sydney Competition 1973–1994, the

in its only season 1997, the VFL, 1972–1990 and

New Zealand's New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country b ...

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

, 1994–1996, and

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeal ...

, 2000–2006. From week two on the Top five play-offs system reflects exactly the

Page playoff system The Page playoff system is a playoff format used primarily in softball and curling at the championship level, the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League cricket tournaments. Teams are seeded using a round-robin tournament and the top ...

Procedure

Week One * Qualification Final: 2nd vs 3rd * Elimination Final: 4th vs 5th * Bye: 1st Week Two * Major Semi-Final: 1st vs Winners of Qualification Final * Minor Semi-Final: Losers of Qualification Final vs Winners of Elimination Final Week Three * Preliminary Final: Losers of Major Semi-Final vs Winners of Minor Semi-Final * Bye: Winners of Major Semi-Final Week Four * Grand Final: Winners of Major Semi-Final vs Winners of Preliminary Final This is considered a good playoff system, as while it allows fifth place to take part, it is incredibly difficult for fourth and them to be crowned champions as they must beat every other team at some point. The only NSWRL team to win the premiership from 5th was Brisbane in 1993. In elite Australian Rules Football, only twice have the premiers won from fifth - Norwood in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and North Adelaide in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. No AFL/VFL team won from fifth under this format (1972–1990), and no WAFL team has won under this format as of 2021. If all matches have the same odds to win, then Seed 1 has 37.5% to be champion; Seed 2 and 3 have 25% to be champion; Seed 4 and 5 have 6.25%; Seed 1 has two chances to reach the final, and only needs to win 1 match to clinch it. It is only eliminated before the final if loses against both finalists, and doesn´t win any match. Seed 2 and 3 need to win 2 out of 3 matches to reach the final (they are like in a best-of-3 semi-final, but with different opponents in any round). Seed 4 and 5 need to win all other 4 opponents without loss to be crowned. Any loss means its elimination.

Example

The 1994 NSWRL finals occurred as follows:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Top Five Play-Offs Rugby league terminology Tournament systems

Procedure

Example

See also

References