By MARK CASHMAN

The Shute Shield season is far from dead in the water with plans being hatched to move straight into a finals series in order to make most use of any window that Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown gives over the next couple of months.

One of the radical ideas being explored to give finality to the 2021 season is an eight-team finals series based on the standings when the competition hit the pause button.

The eight-team playoffs series is the one used by the National Rugby League and the Australian Football League and would need four weekends to get a grand final played and Shute Shield champion decided.