{"id":883408,"date":"2026-09-07T15:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883408\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T15:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:59:00","slug":"they-did-a-good-job-peter-vlandys-finally-paid-the-afl-a-compliment-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883408\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They did a good job\u2019: Peter V\u2019landys finally paid the AFL a compliment. Here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tom<\/p>\n

September 7, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm<\/p>\n

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AAA<\/p>\n

Another year, another NRL finals series launch in the Harbour City. And another gentle jab at the AFL from NRL supremo Peter V\u2019landys.<\/p>\n

With the Swans basking in the afterglow of their stunning win over Brisbane in Saturday\u2019s qualifying final at the SCG on Saturday, their week off to prepare for the preliminary final \u2013 which looms as the hottest ticket in town \u2013 has given the NRL clear air for its opening week of finals action.<\/p>\n

Three games in Sydney take centre stage, beginning with South Sydney\u2019s clash against Newcastle at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Overlooking the Opera House from the Museum of Contemporary Art on a sun-soaked Monday morning, the ARLC chairman and interim NRL chief executive does not blink when asked about rugby league\u2019s turn in the spotlight this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are the Swans? Is that a team?\u201d V\u2019landys jokes. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t bother us. We\u2019ve got the best entertainment sport in Australia, so we just rely on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for all the predictable bluff and bluster, V\u2019landys actually had something complimentary to say about the AFL. We checked, it wasn\u2019t April Fools\u2019 Day.<\/p>\n

\"RepresentativesRepresentatives from all eight NRL teams playing finals and ARL Commission chair Peter V\u2019landys in Sydney on Monday.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

V\u2019landys is warming to the idea of a wildcard round, where the top six teams would have the week off while the teams finishing between seventh and 10th spot on the ladder play off for the two remaining finals spots.<\/p>\n

The concept, which has been adopted successfully by the AFL, has been discussed by V\u2019landys and NRL club officials. For a fleeting moment, V\u2019landys\u2019 mask slips.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL did a good job,\u201d V\u2019landys says. \u201cThey\u2019ve proven that by big attendances and big ratings. Maybe the [rewarding] mediocrity thing isn\u2019t a factor. Maybe we should be looking at it more for the fan. We\u2019ll certainly sit down and have a close analysis of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe floated this idea four or five years ago, and the first thing that came to my mind is, you\u2019re rewarding mediocrity. I think the AFL have shown you\u2019re not. I think they kept all the fans engaged for a longer period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AaronAaron Naughton was instrumental to the Bulldogs\u2019 win in the wildcard final against Collingwood.Getty Images<\/p>\n

One-sided mismatches and dead rubbers have increased in the NRL over the past month, but the slate has been wiped clean with eight teams now vying for supremacy.<\/p>\n

As far as a geographical spread goes, this is about as good as it gets for the NRL.<\/p>\n

Four Sydney clubs \u2013 Penrith, the Roosters, Cronulla and South Sydney \u2013 is ideal in the game\u2019s biggest market, while the Dolphins and Cowboys ensure interest remains high north of the border.<\/p>\n

Throw in the New Zealand Warriors across the ditch and a rusted-on rugby league city in Newcastle, and V\u2019landys is delighted with how things are shaping up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ideal,\u201d V\u2019landys says. \u201cYou want to diversify it as much as you can. It\u2019s reached our expectation because last year we were the most viewed sport in Australia and we still are.\u201d<\/p>\n

V\u2019landys is supposed to be impartial, but admits he has a soft spot for two teams this year: the Warriors and Dolphins.<\/p>\n

Both sides are yet to win an NRL premiership, and a breakthrough triumph for either would be a compelling story.<\/p>\n

That is particularly true of the Warriors, whose relocation to Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 kept the competition going \u2013 for which V\u2019landys will remain eternally grateful.<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung rugby league fans at the NRL finals launch on Monday in Sydney. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see the Wahs do well, especially what they did for us during COVID when they sacrificed their family lives to stay in Australia,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is probably a little bit of karma back for them. I think the Wahs have become everyone\u2019s second team, as have the Dolphins. They\u2019re the two teams I think will be most interesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the teams are more even than they normally are. Naturally, Penrith are going to be hard to beat. They\u2019re such a well-coached team with a lot of superstars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six of the eight captains are in attendance, working their way through a series of photoshoots, live crosses, interviews and other commitments after an unusually early 7am start.<\/p>\n

Junior players from local teams are running around everywhere and Sharks skipper Blake Bailey is signing autographs. There is no sign, however, of Panthers co-captains Nathan Cleary or Isaah Yeo \u2013 something the NRL are not thrilled about.<\/p>\n

There are also four teams notable by their absence \u2013 Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canterbury, who filled the top four positions last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those four big guns to miss out, it shows you the equitability of the salary cap,\u201d V\u2019landys says.<\/p>\n

Expansion franchise Perth Bears have drawn criticism in some quarters over the perceived weakness of their inaugural squad, but could they be represented here next year in their debut season? What about the PNG Chiefs the year after that?<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Harry<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people have got the Bears wrong,\u201d V\u2019landys says. \u201cI think the roster is very good. I think they\u2019re going to shock a few people. They may not make the top eight, but it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if they did similar to what the Dolphins did in the first year and remain competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think PNG definitely. Michael Chammas, that former Sydney Morning Herald reporter \u2013 although he\u2019s thrown the toys out of the cot about [Hudson Young\u2019s] market value<\/a> \u2013 he\u2019s done a great job and he\u2019s got a very good team so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that they\u2019ll be competitive, and they\u2019ll probably make the finals in the very first year.\u201d<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"TomTom Decent<\/a> is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 7, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-883408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}