The National League Grand Finals at Warrington on Sunday could be rather a low-key occasion. It isn't that games like Salford-Celtics and Doncaster-Oldham will be poor. On the contrary, they could be hugely entertaining.
The problem has been convincing people that they mean something. The RFL has been trying its best, but Salford and the Crusaders already know they are going up, so the main raison d'etre has gone.
Sure, it would be nice to go up as champs, but does it matter that much? Not to Salford fans, it would seem, judging by the 1800 crowd that watched them beat Whitehaven last week.
That's why the league will be delighted with 6-7000 at the Halliwell Jones, not quite the block-busting end to the season we would all like, but inevitable once you remove the carrot of promotion. Oldham and Doncaster at least still have that, but that won't be enough to fill the place.
Interesting chat with the Celtics' John Dixon in the week, during which he made no apologies for bringing in even more Australians next year. The long-term plan is for more Welshmen, of course, but precious few are ready for Super League at the moment.
As for bringing in Englishmen, he doesn't see much point, although he is making exceptions for Matty Smith and Stephen Tyrer - on the grounds of their potential - and Peter Lupton, surprisingly released by Castleford.
My hope is that, whatever their personnel, they maintain the exciting style of rugby they have played this season. I'd rather they played great rugby league with Welshmen, but at least they play it.
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