UNDER Super League’s play-off system there are now only a couple advantages to finishing top of the pile instead of second, aside from being able to celebrate the lifting of the League Leaders Shield.

It is bad enough that the table, after 27 rounds of blood, sweat and broken bones, is a mere starting grid for the real business.

There is much less respect for the final placings under the top six system than there was under the original top 5 with only a few perks.

Those advantages are playing what is theoretically the weakest team on the table in the semi (not always the case in practice) and the choice of home kit should you reach the final.

But the biggest of those rewards is the customary tradition of the highest placed team earning the earliest semi-final.

And that latter point appears to have become a bone of contention this year.

We asked Super League to confirm the running order, after it became clear that both Huddersfield Giants and Wigan Warriors would have difficulties on the semi-final weekend of 16/17 September given both town’s football teams have home Championship fixtures.

The current confirmed TV schedule has semi final 1 slated for Sky on Friday, 16 September with Channel 4 broadcasting the second one at 12.30pm the following day.

All they could tell us at this point was: “St Helens have now guaranteed a top two finish in the Betfred Super League table and consequently secured a home semi-final.

“Discussions on scheduling with all concerned stakeholders, including both of Super League’s broadcast partners, Sky Sports and Channel 4, are ongoing.

“We anticipate that these discussions will be concluded in the next few days to allow stakeholders the maximum amount of planning time.”

That tells you that there is currently no guarantee that Saints, should they wrap up the two wins they need to secure top, will be allowed to reap the reward of the Friday semi.

Some may ask, what does it matter when on the face of it, the kick offs are only 16 and a half hours apart?

But it does matter.

The team playing on Friday will be able to get their team recovery done on Saturday and then an extra day on the training pitch in the build-up.

That extra day could make all the difference in recovering from a bang, bruise, niggle or sprain in time to train and play properly.

It may seem a marginal benefit, but we have seen how Grand Finals have often decided by the finest of margins.

St Helens Star:

On principle the team finishing top – and Saints are not there yet – should get what they deserve. That is the nature of competitive sport.

And there is another principle that should come into play.

If Saints have done the right thing in building their own stadium at some considerable cost, then it would be a perverse sort of upside down logic that they should be punished for their forward planning and investment.

Worse still that the club who sold off their own historic Central Park home to Tesco to become tenants of the town’s football club should then be the beneficiaries.

If that is what is going on – simply looking at the response from Saints fans on social media – then those supporters will want the club to dig their heels in and hold firm.

There are also dangers of the decision being dragged out – and it certainly should not embroil Channel 4 who have been nothing but positive for rugby league this year.

This issue cannot be allowed to distract the club; the team cannot get psychologically involved by what is going on either way – not that Kristian Woolf would allow that.

Some may say that it would be more damaging for the game as a whole if Channel 4 presenters had to explain to the national TV why Wigan now play second fiddle to the football club, but that is not Saints’ problem to solve.

In fact, the only role Saints can play in resolving this is to make their TWS home available if needed for the other semi-final.

It happens when events have a prior booking. Some older readers may recall that the during the 1966 World Cup, the group game involving Uruguay and France had to be played at White City as Wembley’s owner refused to re-schedule a pre-booked Greyhound meeting.

Going to the dogs may be an expression dripping off a few lips if the wrong call is made on this one.