As Oldham continue to push for position in the final Betfred League 1 table, with five games left, here is a quick guide to how the play-off structure works.
The team finishing top, which is the ultimate aim of several clubs, including Roughyeds, goes up automatically.
They will eventually be joined in the Betfred Championship in 2020 by the team that wins a five-club play-off involving the teams that finish 2 to 6 inclusive.
- Round 1 (Sunday, September 15): Game A, 5 v 6 (Elimination final); Game B, 3 v 4 (Qualifying final); the team finishing 2 in the regular season gets a free weekend.
- Round two (Sunday, September 22): Game C (first semi-final), loser of qualifying final v winner of Elimination final; game D (second semi-final), 2 v winner of QF.
- Round three (Sunday, September 29): Game E, Preliminary final, loser of SF2 v winner of SF1;
- Final (Sunday, October 6): Game F, League 1 play-off final, winner of SF2 v winner of preliminary final (winner of game D v winner of game E).
Oldham have five games left, of which two are at the Vestacare Stadium and promise to be real crackers — Oldham v Newcastle Thunder on Sunday, August 11 and Oldham v Doncaster, the last home game of the regular season, on Sunday, August 18.
There will be special announcements about both these games shortly. Watch this space.
