Top 7 system could work. A straight knockout but the LL get week 1 off rather than play 8th. 7 teams would still give poor teams the chance of grabbing a spot in the PO and the chances are you will have probably won more than you lost as well and eliminates the smallest chance of 8th place winning the GF I know 7th isnt much better but at least its the top half!! It also rewards top spot with a week off and there are no repeat games.

Wigan week off
Wire v Hudds
Saints v Hull
Catalan v Leeds

I don't feel that's quite enough to the higher placed teams, hence my prior suggestion of a top 6 format. There's a balance to be had here: give an advantage to higher placed teams, a chance to all qualifiers, and a format that provides enough fixtures to bring enough revenue into the sport.

How about Keeping it to the top eight but making the games in favour of the higher placed team so

1v8
2v7
3v6
4v5

BUT having like a Magic weekend format so fans can turn up and watch all 4 games in a large venue. I guess that it would get 40+ thousand and potential make more revenue for all the clubs involved rather than have just 8,000 turn up and watch Wigan - Catalan.

Possible or just a crazy idea, advantage of playing a weaker team but at a neutral venue... then the next round is the semi finals at respective home grounds....final at Old Trafford

People will just have to realise that a playoff system that has the potential of teams playing up to 4 times will struggle with attendence the earlier games, take for example Hull's potential route this year,
- home fixture against Hudds (price of ticket)
- away to Wire (price of ticket, plus long drive over the M62)
- away to Wigan or Saints (price of ticket, plus long drive over the M62)
- GF at Old Trafford (price of ticket, plus another long drive over the M62)

To do that 4 weeks in a row is a big financial ask and people will more than likely hold back to the semi finals and final, so you can't really look at playoffs attendence as a weekly thing but as 4 week collective thing. People are simply saving themselves for the last 2 matches because financially 4 games in 4 weeks (around £100 in tickets alone depending on how expensive a GF seat you get, plus more if you're paying for children too) will be too much and you would usually expect 2 sets of fans of top 8 teams to have just forked out for Wembley a few weeks before.

You've hit the nail squarely on the head.

Agreed