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The nrl really needs to rethink this first round of the playoffs home ground eligibility.
When they made their decision on that years ago they were getting some poor crowds in the first week of the finals in these bigger stadiums. The game has outgrown having small suburban grounds holding playoff games.
Time for the nrl to let the game reach its full potential.
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Yeah interesting point. I think when they made that decision years ago we were basically left with clashes with Sydney teams vs out of town teams (Manly Vs Cowboys, Cronulla Vs Cowboys, Penrith Vs Warriors). Some crowds were ok but I remember one year they forced a double header semi final which was completely ridiculous.
Prior to that, the suburban grounds rule was when they had the drama of fans missing out because one semi had Dragons Vs Eels, potentially more couldve been at SFS back then which prompted the decision to play at bigger venues.
You go back to the 1990s and semi finals were all played at SFS and fans would flock to the game even if it didnt involve your team. I mean clashes like Penrith Vs Norths, Brisbane Vs Illawarra got big crowds of 40,000 or close to it.
I think we may go back to those days where the finals would attract not just fans from both sides but neutral fans, so playing at bigger venues rather than suburban venues would be a better option.