RUGBY league's National League is in line for a last-minute rule change to scrap the promotion play-offs and grand finals.

Rugby Football League chiefs are considering the possibility of a late U-turn following a meeting of National League clubs in which the 20 Divisions One and Two clubs expressed dissatisfaction with the current promotion system and suggested a return to the traditional first-past-the-post method.

The Evening Press believes the league could now introduce a system whereby the top team in Division Two - that involving York City Knights - gets automatically promoted and the bottom team in Division One relegated, while the second-bottom team in Division One would then be involved in the play-offs with the other top five teams in Division Two.

It is unlikely that Super League would grant a second promotion place to the National League, so the play-offs in Division One could be scrapped entirely, with the top team going straight up into Super League.

However, no decision on the matter is likely until January - less than a month before the new season begins with the group stages of the Arriva Trains Cup.

Knights chief executive Steve Ferres was among those who would prefer to see the top team in each division promoted.

He said: "There's a great belief within the game that it's an injustice if the team that finished top of the league after a whole season's work does not get promoted. Personally I agree with that.

"There's got to be thought into it and I would still like to see the opportunity for another club to be promoted from Division Two to Division One via play-offs but the mechanics to make that work has got to be thought through.

"If it's right and everybody believes it's right my personal opinion is the team that wins the league should get promoted by rights but there should be an opportunity for a play-off situation so another team can get promoted as well."

The RFL has previously come in for criticism for tinkering with the league system too much, and it could come in for more criticism now, especially for changing the rules at such a late stage.

But Ferres said it would be worth it if it made things fairer. "We don't want to be moving the goal-posts every two minutes and doing things willy-nilly but there's a great belief that the top team should get promoted, and I endorse that," he said.

The RFL's executive management committee is now set to review the system and a recommendation will be presented to the clubs in the new year.

Updated: 11:05 Thursday, November 27, 2003