Fears have been allayed that the radical decision to scrap automatic promotion and relegation would create a series of meaningless matches towards the end of the season.

It has taken until the 26th round of matches to produce games with nothing tangible at stake but there will still be interest in the fixtures at Hull and Catalans Dragons.

Hull look certain to finish in 11th place but go into Friday's game against Harlequins desperate to find some winning form ahead of the Challenge Cup final while Catalans, although assured of third place, need to sharpen their performances for the play-offs.

Elsewhere in the penultimate round of fixtures, St Helens go to Huddersfield still seeking to secure the League Leaders Shield, Wigan host second-placed Leeds needing a win to keep alive their hopes of a home tie in the play-offs and Bradford hope to clinch the final play-off spot at the expense of opponents Hull KR.

Castleford look resigned to collecting the wooden spoon but could finish on a high by having a say in the make-up of the Grand Final series in home games against Warrington and Bradford.

The Tigers' game against the Wolves on Sunday night would have been the relegation decider but their 12th-place finish has been effectively sealed for some time and attendances have held up remarkably well, with crowds at the Jungle only twice dipping below 7,000.

Huddersfield's average attendance was boosted by the bumper turnout of 12,127 for the visit of Catalans last Saturday, when chairman Ken Davy threw open the gates for his announcement on cut-price season tickets.

The eagerly-awaited announcement may have come as an anti-climax to those anticipating more earth-shattering news but it went down well with supporters and the club today reported good business when the 2009 tickets went on sale.

The Giants were naturally delighted with the response to free admission and feel they could have attracted a crowd of 18,000 had the game been on a Sunday afternoon.

Catalans had only a handful of supporters at the Galpharm Stadium but they are expecting another big turn-out for their first-ever play-off tie on September 13, despite more subversive action by their rugby union neighbours.

As soon as they became aware of the Dragons' likely involvement in the Grand Final Series, the Perpignan rugby union club arranged a home match for the same day, not only to tie up the council-owned Aime Giral Stadium but draw attention away from their league rivals.

Unperturbed, the Catalans have provisionally booked the larger Aime Giral for September 20 in case they win through to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, there are signs of a more harmonious relationship between the two codes in the North-East of England.

Gateshead Thunder are playing Thursday's final match of the season at Kingston Park, home of Newcastle Falcons, in a move that could pave the way for a permanent ground-sharing arrangement with the Premiership outfit.

Dave Woods' 'new Thunder' have enjoyed a remarkable season and will be presented with the National League Two title after the televised game with Ellery Hanley's Doncaster.

Despite their impressive progress on the field, Thunder's crowds at the Gateshead International Stadium have rarely broken through the 400 barrier and so the club are looking at some radical proposals to help them make the big breakthrough.

Gateshead are considering adopting a new name - Northern Falcons has been mentioned - as the outpost club rekindle hopes of a return to Super League a decade on from the demise of the old Thunder.