The NRL finals schedule shake-up that has divided rugby league ignores an issue that could rob the grand final of one of the genuine superstars of the game, prompting a radical proposal from 9News Queensland journalist Adam Jackson.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER about the preliminary final tweak confirmed by the NRL this week – a change that will result in a lopsided grand final preparation that has been heavily criticised in some corners – Jackson pointed out that even a nine-day break before the big dance would be insufficient to clear a player sidelined by the protocols following a category one concussion.
Next weekend’s preliminary final schedule will give either the Storm or the winner of the Raiders v Sharks semi-final a nine-day preparation for the grand final, while the Broncos or the winner of the Bulldogs v Panthers semi-final will have just seven days between games.
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“To me what it opens it up for, which I’ve been advocating for a while, follow the NFL and have a two-week lead-up period to the grand final,” Jackson said.
Broncos star Payne Haas celebrates with Reece Walsh during their qualifying final win over the Raiders. Getty
Jackson said adding the extra week between games would take away the sense of unfairness that has surfaced this week after the schedule change was revealed, but would also prevent another injustice from occurring.
“There’s going to be a day where a player, a star player, is gonna cop an HIA and have a mandatory 11-day stand-down period,” Jackson said.
“If that’s a Reece Walsh, if that’s a Nathan Cleary, they’re out of the grand final. And then it also eradicates this ‘you get a seven day off and I get a nine day off period’.”
Jackson’s proposal led to a cheeky response from QLDER panellist and Broncos director Darren Lockyer.
“You should be on the Commission,” Lockyer said with a grin.
A situation where one of the game’s biggest name players was forced to sit out the grand final would be a disaster for the NRL and that scenario will also likely invite scepticism any time a player cops a head knock in a preliminary final but is cleared of a category one concussion.
While Jackson’s proposal would solve that specific problem it would create another, given it would leave the NRL without a game for a fortnight after the finals series has built to its climax.
Jackson suggested this could be solved by giving the NRLW a standalone grand final and by shoehorning the men’s annual All-Stars game into the vacant weekend, adding that clubs would be more likely to support the All-Star concept if it was played after their season was finished, rather than risking injury to their gun players just before the season was about to kick off.
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“I like the idea,” Lockyer said, adding that the NRL could also host the Dally M awards night on the weekend that would sit between the preliminary finals and the grand final.
“And we talk about a draft,” Lockyer continued. “But if we got a window focused on the rugby league but away from the playing field, that’s probably the best outcome in my opinion.”
While Jackson’s proposal is not currently under serious consideration at NRL HQ, the floating finals fixture that has been unveiled this year shows the game’s bosses are open to experimenting in an effort to grow audience and revenue.
Broncos great Corey Parker has been among the fiercest critics of this year’s change to the preliminary final schedule, describing the disadvantage for the winner of next Sunday’s game between the Broncos and either the Bulldogs or Panthers as “ridiculous” and “stupid”.
Lockyer was more tempered with his response, saying there would only be a disadvantage if that narrative was allowed to infect the mentality of the players.
“Seven or nine (days), there’s no real big difference. The only way I think it becomes an issue is if the mental … if you use it as a negative as a player, then that is a disadvantage,” Lockyer said.
“But if you say ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s seven days or nine days,’ well, play on.”