There has been a lot of talk lately about the NRL playoff system (known as the McIntyre System), and whether or not it is the best system to use.

It can be quite confusing to those who have never seen it before, but once you know about it - it does make sense.

So, we thought we'd explain how it works.

After the 26 rounds of the regular season are finished, we're left with the top eight sides in the competition - who then move on to the finals.

The team with the most points from the regular season are the minor premiers, and therefore head into the finals in first place. For winning the minor premiership, they get to play the lowest placed of the eight sides - which meant this year the Storm had to play the Warriors.

From there, 2nd place plays 7th, 3rd plays 6th, and 4th plays 5th. Very simple.

The top four sides also get the advantage of playing at home.

After all of the the first round of the finals is complete, the two lowest placed losers are gone. In this years finals, the Raiders (6th) and the Dragons (7th) drop out, because the Warriors (8th) beat the first placed Storm.

Are you still with us?

The two highest placed WINNING sides after round one get the second week off, and move straight into the semi-finals. The Sea Eagles (2nd) and the Sharks (3rd) were the highest placed winners after the first round, and so are automatically into the semi-finals. The Storm miss out on the week off because they lost to the Warriors.

So, after the first round we have six teams left, with two of those sides getting the week off (in this case the Sea Eagles and the Sharks) - while the remaining four sides now enter do-or-die playoffs.

Of the four sides PLAYING in round two, the two sides that WON from round one get the advantage of playing at home. So the Broncos (who beat the Roosters in round one) will host the Storm (who lost to the Warriors), while the Warriors (who beat the Storm) will play the Roosters (who lost to the Sea Eagles).

It couldn't be simpler, really.

The Sea Eagles and the Sharks will face the winners from the second round in a traditional semi-final system, where the winners will go onto the Grand Final.

One of the complaints we've heard about the system is that it's unfair that the Storm have to play away from home in the second week, because they're the minor premiers. But there's nothing unfair about it. They lost their playoff game, which means they lose the advantage of playing at home in round two. Why should the Broncos have to travel to Melbourne when they won their game?

The second round should be a classic, with the Storm and the Broncos going head to head at Suncorp, while the Roosters will have to travel to Auckland to take on the Warriors, who were brilliant on Sunday night in their upset win over the Storm.

We're one week closer to the Grand Final - you just gotta love September footy!