The Dolphins are up in arms over the 2024 NRL draw with a nightmare Origin schedule, the Magic Round graveyard shift and potential for a Riverfire fiasco leading their concerns.
Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins have hit out at the NRL season schedule after
being handed a horror 2024 draw marred by a Battle of Brisbane bungle and State of Origin player drain.
Dolphins chief executive Terry Reader has contacted Queensland government authorities in a bid to work around a scheduling clash thrown up by
the release of the NRL’s 2024 premiership draw on Monday.
The Dolphins are up in arms over the NRL draw on several fronts, including:
* Their biggest game of the season – a home derby blockbuster against the Broncos – being locked in on the same night as Brisbane’s annual marquee festival Riverfire, which attracts almost half-a-million locals;
* Being allocated the Sunday night ‘graveyard shift’ for Magic Round – the final game of the gala three-day weekend at Suncorp Stadium, against the Wests Tigers at 6.25pm; and
* Being the only NRL club among the 17 teams to play a premiership match in the lead-up to all three State of Origin games.
The latter scenario means the Dolphins will lose their Maroons stars Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Flegler and Tom Gilbert, who are instantly scratched for club games against Canberra, Melbourne and South Sydney. By comparison, last season’s top-four teams – premiers Penrith, the Storm, Warriors and expansion rivals the Broncos – only have one pre-Origin game each.
The Origin blow will take a significant toll on the Dolphins, who are still in their infancy as a club, entering their second season, and desperately need their big guns on deck to mount a finals challenge.
“Unfortunately, we are the only side in the NRL to play before every Origin game,” Reader said. “We have been given our final bye in round 18, but like all three of our bye weekends, not one of them is before or after any of the Origin games, which is not ideal for our representative players."
“Every draw has its positives and negatives. Our draw is no different, there’s a few challenges for us, but all clubs will have some tough elements to deal with.”
Another headache is the Dolphins penultimate clash of the regular season in round 26 against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
The Battle of Brisbane shapes as Redcliffe’s richest gate of the season, but the 5.30pm kick-off on Saturday, August 31 clashes with the city’s annual gala Riverfire blockbuster – one of Australia’s biggest cultural festivals.
“Our home ‘Battle of Brisbane’ game against the Broncos in Round 26 is on the same night as Riverfire,” Reader said.
“It is something we intend to look at as a positive. We have contacted the Brisbane Festival to investigate what the opportunities might be to integrate the game into the build-up and celebrations around Riverfire.”
The Dolphins were also less than thrilled with being handed the final game of Magic Round against reigning wooden spooners the Tigers.
Reader accepts the NRL has a raft of scheduling demands and says the Dolphins’ draw, while not ideal, is not all doom and gloom.
“For Magic Round we are an away team and have been given the graveyard shift on Sunday night against the Tigers, which is unfortunate for our fans,” Reader said. “It’s a little surprising that we have been drawn in that slot given the Dolphins are a Brisbane team and averaged over 32,000 for our seven home games at Suncorp this year."
“But we do have a fantastic start in round one with a blockbuster Queensland derby against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon at Suncorp, which is the only game in Brisbane to open the new NRL season. I have no doubt our ‘Phin Fam’ will turn up in force again in 2024.”
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