NRL CEO Andrew Abdo says the league is “really comfortable” with the fixturing of the preliminary finals despite uproar from Brisbane Broncos legends Gorden Tallis and Corey Parker. The Broncos greats have questioned the NRL‘s scheduling of the prelims, which will see one team handed a huge advantage heading into the grand final.
The NRL revealed the schedule of the prelims on Monday, announcing the Melbourne Storm will host the first grand final qualifier on the Friday night before the Broncos host the second on the Sunday afternoon. It’s a change to the usual Friday night-Saturday night schedule, with the Sunday afternoon game replacing the Saturday night fixture this year. It’s believed the NRL is keen to avoid playing on the same day as the AFL grand final (Saturday September 27), but it’s set to give one grand final team a two-day advantage over the other.
Craig Bellamy’s (L) Melbourne Storm will host the first preliminary final two days before the Broncos (R) host the second. Image: AAP
The winner of the first prelim between the Storm and the Sharks/Raiders will get nine days of rest before the grand final, while the winner of the Broncos and Panthers/Bulldogs will only get seven. It’s the first Sunday preliminary final since 2007, and the first time since before the NRL went to a top-eight finals system in 1995 that prelim finals haven’t been played on successive days.
NRL CEO responds amid backlash to prelim schedule
Responding to backlash on Tuesday, Abdo said the NRL had spoken to clubs before making the call, insisting that a minimum of seven days for both clubs is sufficient. “Once you get to that level of rest and recovery, we were really cognisant of the fact that seven days is key,” Abdo said.
“If you look at the regular season, obviously we have byes, so you have some teams playing teams that have effectively had two weeks’ recovery. We’re talking about the best professional athletes on the planet, and the clubs do an unbelievable job in terms of high-performance management.
“We’re really confident that it’s not an issue. Obviously we’ll see, it’s the first time we’re doing it. We consulted with the clubs through the course of making this decision. We’re really comfortable with what we have in place.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Speaking on NRL 360 on Monday night, Tallis questioned why one of the prelims isn’t being played on Saturday night. Tallis pointed out the Storm’s home game would start hours after the finish of the AFL grand final, while the Broncos could also play on Saturday night in Brisbane.
“Why don’t they move Storm to Saturday? I know it’s the AFL grand final,” Tallis said. “But it’s going to be finished for two hours, and they’re playing in the same precinct. [The AFL] shouldn’t stop our game.”
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Journalist Brent Read said the NRL is keen on the Sunday prelim because it’s been a TV ratings winner. “Yesterday’s game (between the Raiders and the Broncos) went through the roof,” he said. “So I can sort of understand why they’ve done it, but it does give whoever wins that game on (the) Friday night a bit of an edge going into the grand final.”
Phil Rothfield agreed with Tallis’ sentiments, saying: “I think Ready makes a fair point that one team gets nine days to prepare, and the other gets seven. The NRL have fallen in love with Sunday afternoon football. They love it.”
The winner of the Melbourne Storm’s preliminary final will get two extra days before the grand final. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Corey Parker and Broncos CEO respond to prelim schedule
The Storm will be red-hot favourites to beat the winner of the Raiders and Sharks semi-final, and the victor would then get nine days before the grand final. It puts the winner of the Broncos and Panthers or Bulldogs at a serious disadvantage.
“The reality is the decision has been made by the NRL and the Commission and it’s outside of our control,” Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy told The Courier Mail. “There’s no point worrying about it.
“It is what it is and I have no doubt the football guys will use the extra time to prepare for the game as best they can. There’s no point worrying about the grand final, we just have to focus on our next game, which is the prelim.”
But Broncos legend Parker wasn’t as forgiving. Speaking on SEN radio on Tuesday he said: “I think this is so lop-sided and it gets worse and worse the more you look at it. It’s poorly done and somewhat selfish from the NRL.
“If you are the Melbourne Storm (potentially) you have nine days to prepare. The Broncos will finish their game on Sunday night and have to race down to Sydney for the grand final. It’s two days extra, it’s so stupid.” Co-host Ian Healy labelled the schedule “ridiculous” and “horrible”.
Another layer to the decision is the fact the Raiders only have a six-day turnaround before facing the Sharks this week, and would then have another six-day gap if they had to play the Friday night prelim. A Saturday prelim would give them seven days off, but the Sunday fixture means they potentially get eight.
It comes after Raiders coach Ricky Stuart demanded a Sunday game in the first week of the finals so his side could get seven days off after the end of the regular season. But it played into the Broncos’ hands as their attacking footy was at the fore in the warmer conditions of the day game, as opposed to the typically frosty Saturday night slot.
NRL fans in disbelief over huge advantage for grand final team
On social media, fans couldn’t believe the NRL has given such an advantage to one of the grand final teams. “Why wouldn’t it be a 7.30 Saturday night game?” one person wrote. “AFL is done by then. That’s a ridiculously large advantage for Storm.”
Another wrote: “How is this fair? Giving teams two extra days preparation is a massive advantage. Can’t believe it’s not Friday/Saturday.” While a third added: “Horrible planning from the NRL. If they don’t change it it’s a joke.”