News NRL proposes top-10 finals series in 'wildcard weekend' revamp

Dogzof95

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SMH

By Christian NicolussiMarch 4, 2019 — 6.30pm

NRL head of elite football operations Graham Annesley was involved in a phone hook-up on Monday about how the idea would potentially work from the 2020 season. In a nutshell, teams that finish in ninth and 10th place will still get the chance to play in the finals. The top six teams at the end of the season would enjoy a weekend off as seventh hosts 10th and eighth hosts ninth in elimination matches.

The matches would be played at home grounds, not regional venues, with the winners to nail the remaining two finals spots. A similar concept has been used in the NFL and NHL, and the NRL hopes it will help maintain the interest of supporters whose clubs are no longer in the hunt for the top eight as the regular season draws to a close. In 2018 the NRL featured 36 "dead" or "half-dead" games in which one or both clubs competing were out of the finals race. Under the proposed system, only eight games would have fallen into that category last year. Over the past decade television audiences have dropped about eight per cent for games with no bearing on the finals and crowds have dipped by an average of 3300. Canberra and Wests Tigers supporters will be buoyed by the news given the Raiders have finished 10th on three occasions in the last four years and the Tigers have wound up ninth in two of the past three seasons. Raiders CEO Don Furner told the Herald: "It's a good idea, but we're certainly keen to explore it more."

Annesley, who found out first-hand at the Gold Coast Titans how long August becomes when a club is not a chance to qualify for the finals, said at League Central on Monday: "The number of dead games is increasing and I don't think that's in anyone's interest. "If this is a way of trying to arrest that, that's a good outcome. "The question for people to determine is, 'Is this the right way to do that?' and 'is the trade-off worth it?' Everyone will have a different view on it. "At the Titans last year we were probably done and dusted early. There was still some hope but it gets to the point you have to string a lot of wins together. "If you're a team who has won less than 50 per cent of your games in the first half of the season, expecting you can suddenly turn that around and win 75 per cent of your games or even higher in the second half of the season to qualify for the top eight is not a realistic outcome.

"That does impact on your crowds, the players, the coaching staff, revenue and the fans. "If this is a way of keeping that engagement and involvement from everyone associated with the game, it's at least worth considering." Annesley was first briefed on the concept when he returned to the NRL in October. He was given the ARL Commission's blessing to go through the consultation process with clubs and expects to know the view of clubs by next week. If there was an appetite for change, the concept could be given final approval by the ARLC in a matter of months. If an extra round of finals was added to the schedule, the season would be moved forward by a week and while the players involved in the wildcard weekend would be required to play an extra game, those at the clubs in the top six would have an additional week's rest.

The AFL now has a week off between its regular season and finals. "In terms of player welfare and workload, teams getting a week off before the finals is beneficial to them," Annesley said. "The four teams who play the extra game ... you wouldn't think under normal circumstances they would go as deep into the finals as other teams." Parramatta and North Queensland have come from eighth to make the grand final but no team has ever won the NRL title from outside the top four.
 

Dogzof95

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Only one team will benefit from this, DOGS OF WAR!
 

Sword

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What if the bottom 8 play their own final series comp. That way, everyone is in with a chance for some respect from their fan base.
Can be run parallel to the top 8 as curtain raisers.
 

berries1935

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Don’t love the idea but don’t hate the idea of this....... could be worth considering more.
 

berries1935

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I think with our promotion and relegation this could add more interest to the competition.. but means 10 teams make it out of 16 which is rewarding most teams
 

Dogzof95

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The last team to win the comp from outside the 4 was the dogs, we also made the 98 grand final from 9th if I remember correctly! I say bring it on!
 

jof

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Quick cash grab and perhaps someone looking to justify his position, but ultimately stupid. It's bad enough that you can just about lose more games than you win and still make the finals.
 

Bob dog

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If a team played shit all year how does it deserve a shot at the eight?
Its bad enough having twenty five rounds of show pony to find the top eight then wanna mix it up possibly costing a top 8 team its chance.
Fuck right off.
 

Alan79

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I think 8 finals teams is pushing for mediocre teams to be there. I'd be pissed off if my team perfomed well all year only to be knocked out by a team ranked 10th especially if they got a legup from the refs. And it would come as no surprise to see the refs heavily influence an outcome.
 

Kempsey Dog

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Absolutely shit idea that rewards mediocrity. How in the world can this be fair when;
1. Each team doesn't play each other twice,
2. Origin can severely hamper a sides form through, missing players, burnout and or injuries.
(perfect example Dogs 2014 could have missed the 8 and Dragons limping in last season)

Now why would the NRL think it's fair to introduce another variable that has the potential to be simply unfair to a team that was better for 26 rounds...
Heads gotta roll at NRL HQ lunatics running the asylum.
 

south of heaven

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Yay you all winners
Give me s fucking break to top 8 sucks honestly it may be good for us this year if we limp in but fuck the comps a joke already.
This game should be so far advanced we should have a 12 team comp with a 12 team second teir comp for promotions a demotions with a top 5 system, we should have after over 100 years at least 20000 people minimum to every game.
The powers that be constantly try to get a audience thats non existent, ban the shoulder charge so people dont get offended while mma is kicking the **** out of people's heads to screaming crowds, ban a 10 second fight for people who will never attend a game wont get offended.
THE STUPID FUCKING ***** cant get a cap and refing right and bigger shame on me for being a stupid dickhead that will still watch the odd game in hope that its remotely fucking enjoyable
 

Freakzilla

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Might as well make it 30 rounds and all 16 teams make the finals.
 

Freakzilla

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Yay you all winners
Give me s fucking break to top 8 sucks honestly it may be good for us this year if we limp in but fuck the comps a joke already.
This game should be so far advanced we should have a 12 team comp with a 12 team second teir comp for promotions a demotions with a top 5 system, we should have after over 100 years at least 20000 people minimum to every game.
The powers that be constantly try to get a audience thats non existent, ban the shoulder charge so people dont get offended while mma is kicking the **** out of people's heads to screaming crowds, ban a 10 second fight for people who will never attend a game wont get offended.
THE STUPID FUCKING ***** cant get a cap and refing right and bigger shame on me for being a stupid dickhead that will still watch the odd game in hope that its remotely fucking enjoyable
Only way you can have a proper promotion and relegation system in Australia is if you got rid of the salary cap.
 

south of heaven

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Only way you can have a proper promotion and relegation system in Australia is if you got rid of the salary cap.
We have had a bigger enough population now to of started this well over 25 years ago would be pretty cool to slowly grow it
 

jof

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The powers that be constantly try to get a audience thats non existent, ban the shoulder charge so people dont get offended while mma is kicking the **** out of people's heads to screaming crowds, ban a 10 second fight for people who will never attend a game wont get offended.
So spot on mate. They fucking pander to all these modern social justice groups that don't even follow footy and try and get the game to a point where no player can possibly get injured and they never get a call wrong spending ridiculous money on bunkers, extra refs while completely missing the big picture of why people watch in the first place. Muppets
 

K E

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Get the fuck out of here. Top 8 is bullshit enough as it is. Win as many games as you lose and you're in the finals.

It's supposed to be survival of the fittest (and in roosters and broncos case survival of the unlimited salary cap).

This reeks of money making all over it. "come watch your loser team get its ass handed to it in the finals".

Top six, IMO.
 

Howard Moon

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I was actually hoping they would reduce it to the top 6... half the competition featuring in the finals series has always been a strange concept in my eyes
 
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