Super League: Points percentage to be used to determine final standings for 2021
- Published
Wigan finished top of the Super League regular season table on win percentage and points in 2020
The 2021 Super League table will be determined using points percentage for the second successive season.
The decision has been taken to allow for the possibility of postponements as a result of Covid-19.
To qualify for the top six play-offs, clubs will be required to have fulfilled 18 of their scheduled 25 fixtures or have won enough games despite not playing 18 times.
The new season gets under way on Friday, 26 March.
The league first introduced the points percentage system towards the back end of last season's coronavirus-hit campaign.
The nationwide lockdown came into effect in March after the opening few rounds of the season had been played and Super League did not resume playing until August.
Once the season did continue a number of games were postponed because of Covid-19, with teams rearranging and taking games at very short notice.
Wigan finished top of the 2020 Super League table last season on both win percentage and number of points having played 17 matches, the same number as second-placed St Helens and third-placed Warrington.
Points percentage will be calculated by taking the number of points a team has won and dividing it by the number of matches they have played, and then multiplying by 50.
If four or more clubs have not been able to fulfil 70% of their games by the end of the season the Rugby Football League will have discretion to determine an alternate minimum figure.
The regulations on having a game postponed are similar to last season, with a club permitted to withdraw from a fixture if seven of their 25 top players are unavailable as a result of testing positive for Covid-19 or following test and trace analysis or if government restrictions prohibit them from traveling.
A fixture will only be rearranged if both the teams involved have the same available match slot and a club may elect to play a game even if seven of their 25 players are not available.
In addition, the RFL has announced that players will not be able to go out on dual registration but the minimum loan period has been reduced from four weeks to two.