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New Zealand Warriors chief executive Cameron George hopes his club is not forced to host a final at nearly 10pm local time to accommodate a prime-time Australian television audience.
Should the Warriors lose to Brisbane or Penrith next weekend, they will host a semifinal the following week. A victory will allow the Kiwis – the feelgood story of this year’s competition – a week’s rest before hosting a preliminary final.
George would love for the NRL and Nine, owners of this masthead, to dump the 7.50pm kick-off timeslot and bring their final forward to a 4pm New Zealand time – 6pm, Sydney time – on a Saturday.
The only problem is Nine is already locked in to broadcast an NRLW double-header on September 16, week two of the NRL finals.
“We won’t cop a 9.50pm kick-off, and no rugby league fan should cop a 9.50pm kick-off,” George told this masthead.
“We’re guaranteed a final in New Zealand, but there’s no way any stakeholder of the game would think it’s appropriate or beneficial to maintain a 7.50pm AEST timeslot.
“I would have assumed the broadcast agreement that’s been in place for some time would acknowledge a New Zealand-based semifinal timeslot that’s appropriate for all parties to attend, or that’s a good viewing time in Australia.
“Ideally, a 6pm timeslot in New Zealand and a 4pm timeslot in Australia on a Saturday would have a lot of eyeballs leading into any new commitments for the broadcasters.”
George hopes to sit down with the NRL next week to lock in a time and venue. Most fans did not expect the Warriors to make the finals, let alone secure an all-important top-four finish.
There was talk of the Warriors moving their home final to Eden Park, which holds 45,000 fans, instead of the 26,000 capacity at Mt Smart Stadium.
But again there are logistical headaches, with Eden Park having already sold tickets to the Qatar Airways Hole in One Challenge, which falls on the Saturday of week two.
There is a feeling the Warriors should be looked after when it comes to hosting a final at an appropriate time after they lived on the road for a couple of years to keep the competition going through Covid.
The NRLW double-header on September 16 will feature the Roosters and Cowboys kicking off at 1pm at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium, followed by the Dragons and Broncos at 3pm. Flights and accommodation have already been booked for the visiting teams.
One week-two option is to move the Warriors to 4pm, then shift the NRLW double-header to the vacant 7pm timeslot.
An afternoon kick-off on a Saturday is all but certain if the Warriors host in week three, given there will be no overlap with the NRLW. A double-header is scheduled to be played on that Sunday.
As for the ratings, Thursday night’s Brisbane and Melbourne game, featuring a cast of fringe first-graders, was the third most-watched game of the NRL season on Nine with 739,000 viewers.
We can't blame them for not expecting the Warriors to be anywhere but sitting on a beach on an island somewhere come finals time.
