My big bug bear with this years draw is that ours was way out of balance. We started with 5 away games in the first 7 rounds, we finish with 3 away games in the last 4, plus a transplanted HOME game in Bundaberg, and of course the compulsory HOME game in the Magic Round. Year after year teams like Brisbane get favourable draw treatment, a plethora of home games on Prime Time TV, and an away game in Magic Round on their home ground at Suncorp.
I am well aware a computer does the draw based on requests from clubs as to who they don’t want to play at home, but someone at the club should be agitating to the NRL to have our home games more evenly spaced out.
We haven’t had a home game in round 1 since 2017.
As a retired systems analyst I know how computers work. Garbage in garbage out. GIGO.
The draw can easily be fixed the way the NRL want it. A perfect example of this is Good Friday which is not always during the same round every year, yet we always seem to play on that day. Same for Saints and Roosters on Anzac Day, which could be at the start of a round some years, and the end in others Depending on what day of the week April 25 falls on.
Conclusion the draw can be rigged which ever way the NRL want it to be.
The only good thing they have done in recent years is reduce the number of 5 day turnarounds.
Channel 9 undoubtedly have far too much say in what happens. Think back to round 3 as an obvious example when Latrell Mitchell was due to make his return in a game against the Roosters, was that a co-incidence. Then his suspension was shortened by a week.
