Finals schedule

[Timbo]

If capacity is their issue (Bruce tops out at 26,000) it is possible with a weeks notice to bring in temporary stands at either end to increase the capacity. The Brumbies did it serveral years ago when they hosted the Super Rugby final.

That would give us a higher theoretical capacity than Townsville and an on-par one with Melbourne.

It's a stupid decision, but we've been getting butt f**ked by the NRL for years so why stop now?

 

[carcharias]

Wouldn't really class Allianz as Tigers home ground though.

Hypothetically speaking.

 

[Timbo]

I seem to remember a Radiers V Warriors week 2 final getting a crowd of 31K at the SFS. That was a bloody good crowd, great game too. I'm assuming there were lots of Warriors fans.

That was when Eric Watson bought 20,000 tickets and gave them for free to anyone with a New Zealand passport. So it's a bit of a false indicator.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

did the same thing with sharks vs warriors prelim"

its dumb for Canberra. and Newcastle. but yeah

as for sharkpark etc, they aren't finals venues. IMO

 

[shaggs]

Finals should be played at Suncorp, ANZ or Allianz. That's it.

No Melbourne, Townsville Gold Coast Canberra etc

 

[yobbo84]

They had Souths Friday night final pencilled in about 8 weeks out from the final. I know this because I contacted the NRL about a potential clash with ANZ maybe being booked by the Swans for a finals game on the Saturday of our week 1 finals, and was told at that time that they had "something special" lined up for that outcome already (obviously the double header).

- over 30% more penalties awarded than any other team in league history
- Taking no action until after the season on Auva despite a guilty domestic violence verdict
- Countless sweetheart deals at the judiciary for the sparkly eyed man and others
- Turning ANZ into a home game with the stupid bell and Souths theme song blaring for the GF
- Allowing Burgess to stay on the field despite a very clear and obvious concussion in the opening tackle of the GF

I'm sure others could add more

They didn't rig games, but they desperately wanted the fairytale to come off after multiple chokes in the previous 2 seasons.

If you don't actually think sports organisations are capable of and have applied favouritism based what's best for their coffers then your are truly naive. It happens in all sports leagues around the world.

This is brilliant, please keep going.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

Finals should be played at Suncorp, ANZ or Allianz. That's it.

No Melbourne, Townsville Gold Coast Canberra etc [quote/]

I would add Etihad as a venue. that way you have all basically covered under that model

 

[skeepe]

At the end of the day, 13/16 teams, if they win the right to host a prelim, get to host it in their home city.

Why should the other 3 teams not get a benefit that everyone else gets?

 

[Raiderdave]

Finals should be played at Suncorp, ANZ or Allianz. That's it.

No Melbourne, Townsville Gold Coast Canberra etc

Ah
Yeah
You're an idiot ...

 

[Timbo]

At the end of the day, 13/16 teams, if they win the right to host a prelim, get to host it in their home city.

Why should the other 3 teams not get a benefit that everyone else gets?

Because the NRL gives no f**ks about us, Newcastle or the Gold Coast.

 

[dogslife]

Finals should be played at Suncorp, ANZ or Allianz. That's it.

No Melbourne, Townsville Gold Coast Canberra etc

AAMI park and whatever the Gold Coast stadium is called now are much better venues than ANZ or Allianz

 

[SBD82]

Because the NRL gives no f**ks about us, Newcastle or the Gold Coast.

What about Wollongong?

 

[Lambretta]

Sharks game will be great at the SFS. 30k+ crowd everyone hoping they beat the out-of-towners.

Even I might wander along to the SFS to cheer the Sharks

 

[Lambretta]

AAMI park and whatever the Gold Coast stadium is called now are much better venues than ANZ or Allianz

The Gold Coast stadium better than Allianz? Seriously? What do you base that on?
There is a great view regardless of where you sit at Allianz - it's a fantastic stadium and I cannot understand the constant knocking. Seriously - there are a million things to gripe about before the quality of Allianz comes into question

 

[Valheru]

At the end of the day, 13/16 teams, if they win the right to host a prelim, get to host it in their home city.

Why should the other 3 teams not get a benefit that everyone else gets?

Because they aren't deemed to have a big enough stadium in their home city. I am not sure what you don't understand about this concept.

 

[Walt Flanigan]

Because they aren't deemed to have a big enough stadium in their home city. I am not sure what you don't understand about this concept.

Canberra’s capacity isn’t much different to Townsville, Auckland & Melbourne who get home prelims. Newcastle holds even more.

 

[no name]

It's such a mish mash of criteria.

 

[Saint Doc]

Canberra should be able to host. No doubt

What are the ideal finals match ups (realistically) from a crowd point of view?

I'd say

1v4 Storm vs Cowboys
2v3 Sharks vs Raiders
5v8 Bulldogs vs (Panthers/Tigers/Warriors)
6v7 Broncos vs Titans

 

[adamkungl]

The criteria is a mess.
Canberra and Newcastle are refused because they have smaller stadiums.
Cowboys are allowed because of some undefined notion of Townsville being "too far away" despite the stadium being basically equal to what other regional clubs have.
Melbourne and Auckland play at stadiums the same size as Canberra and Newcastle despite having 50k+ stadiums available, while Cronulla, Manly and Penrith are forced across town because we need to play games at big stadiums.

Makes sense.

 

[Billythekid]

I'm not really sure what the NRL gains by forcing Newcastle or Canberra to play in Sydney. A 30K crowd in Newcastle or Canberra is better than a 20-30K crowd at Allianz stadium (I guess it could be more or less than that depending on the opponent).

If anything finals home matches (especially prelims) are a fantastic chance to build a teams home fan base. If Canberra play a home prelim in Sydney and pull 30K there is little gained for the club or the game. A packed out Bruce stadium would be fantastic for the local game in Canberra. It would also look amazing on tv and have an incredible atmosphere. It's a no brainet really.