The FARCICAL final round situations which could arise due to Super League’s shambolic scheduling

It’s the final weekend of the Super League regular season – and there are plenty of things on the line.

The League Leader’s Shield will go right to the wire, Warrington could force into the top two and there are a number of teams still vying to secure a place in the play-offs.

In fact there are only two teams – Huddersfield and Castleford – who can be certain of their final position. And they play each other. Which means five of the six games are consequential.

So in true rugby league fashion.. all the games kick off at different points over the weekend. And that means it creates an incredibly uneven playing field or, at the very least, the prospect of it. Here’s just some of the utterly ridiculous scenarios we could see this weekend as the result of the staggered schedule.

Wigan lift the League Leader’s Shield on Thursday night

Would they even lift it? It remains to be seen and in truth, it’s the unlikeliest of these situations given how Salford are sending their reserve team to the Brick Community Stadium on Thursday evening.

But picture the scene. Wigan slip up on Thursday, handing Hull KR an opportunity. They then lose themselves, meaning the Warriors finish top and win the League Leader’s Shield.. and there’s no cameras to film it.

Only in rugby league.

READ NEXT: Jon Wilkin defends Salford squad decision and says Paul Rowley ‘should be celebrated’ for decision

Hull FC kick a drop goal while losing to come off the bottom

The battle to avoid finishing bottom is somewhat inconsequential this year but it’s still a talking point, given the two teams in the mix to be last come the end of the final round.

The fact there is just a solitary point in points difference between them means it’s going to be tight. But, if London lose at Warrington on Friday, Hull will know exactly what they can’t afford to lose by 24 hours later.

Imagine London losing by 20 and with Hull 20 points behind against Catalans, they kick a drop goal to bring it down to 19. Their superior points for total would then take them off the bottom, and you’d have remarkably weird scenes.

Catalans may know how much they need to win by

The whole point of the final round of fixtures kicking off at the same time is to ensure fairness across the board.

And on Saturday, we may have a situation where Catalans know exactly what they need to do. Should St Helens beat Leigh and Leeds beat Hull KR, the Dragons would know they would be within range of the Rhinos on points difference.

Meaning that essentially, Catalans would know their exact margin of victory required, with theirs the last game of the regular season.

Hull KR can change their side based off the Wigan result

It would be a monumental gamble given the fact Warrington are just behind them, but if Willie Peters decided some of his fringe players had enough in them to get the job done against Leeds, he could do so knowing Wigan had already secured top spot.

Of course, if Wigan slip up, it means Rovers would know that and be able to go all guns blazing.

Simply put, it’s a situation that just shouldn’t happen. Super League should finish on the same night, with all 12 teams having no clear advantage over another: irrespective of what they’re playing for.

READ NEXT: Newcastle Knights forward linked with Super League switch with potential club revealed