OK, SO THE FINALS situation for the remaining teams is:

[Andrew McAwesome]

IF Parramatta beat St George today:

OUT
Newcastle
Manly

WEEK OFF
Bulldogs
Melbourne

WEEK 2
Brisbane v St George @ Suncorp
Parramatta v Gold Coast @ wherever the heck Parramatta get to play in Week 2 (dunno)

WEEK 3
Melbourne v Winner of Brisbane v St George (in Melbourne's 'region', so probably Etihad)
Bulldogs v Winner of Parramatta v Gold Coast (probably ANZ)

GRAND FINAL
Melbourne, Brisbane or St George v Bulldogs, Parramatta or Gold Coast

IF St George beat Parramatta today:

OUT:
Newcastle
Parramatta

WEEK OFF
Bulldogs
St George

WEEK 2
Brisbane v Manly @ Suncorp
Melbourne v Gold Coast in Melbourne (wherever they decide, probably Etihad)

WEEK 3
St George v Winner of Brisbane v Manly (In St George's 'region' - your guess is as good as mine)
Bulldogs v Winner of Melbourne v Gold Coast (probably ANZ)

GRAND FINAL
St George, Manly or Brisbane v Bulldogs, Melbourne or Gold Coast

 

[Andrew McAwesome]

edit

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

If St George win through today, their 3rd week region will see them play at the SFS or Stadium Australia

 

[Quidgybo]

A Parramatta hosted week 2 match could only be at the SFS or ANZ (Home City - ANZ and SFS only venues approved for "Sydney").

A St George hosted week 3 match could also only be at the SFS or ANZ (Home Region - SFS and ANZ only venues approved for "NSW" region).

http://www.rugbyleague.com.au/promotions/2009/finalseries/finalsvenues.php

Leigh

 

[Andrew McAwesome]

are they still trying to get Wollongong considered as their 'region'?

 

[broncos_warriors_storm]

i like the look of the top pan out.

GO THE EELS!

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

are they still trying to get Wollongong considered as their 'region'?

We tried a few weeks ago but it was rejected.

 

[user_nat]

As a Brisbane fan.. go the Dragons.

Would much rather play Manly at Suncorp followed by the Dragons at a slightly more neutral ground.
Opposed to Dragons at Suncorp followed by Melbourne in Melbourne.

 

[Broncodr01d]

The path to the Grand Final is through the Dragons for us ... interesting times ahead.

 

[ElectricEelMan]

I am thinking a Dragons v Storm grand final OR if as expected the Eels beat the Dragons today then a Storm vs Eels grand final

 

[Country Bronco]

Ok, Manly or St George for my team at home. How did we get so lucky!!!! I'm off to get my tickets.

 

[Where Eagles Dare]

Storm will make their fourth straight GF looking at that.

 

[Butters]

Come on Parra give Melbourne the week off

 

[ozjet1]

the thing that sh*ts me about the McIntyre 8 is if St Geroge win to day, seeds 3,4,5 & 6 simply swap opponents. both the old 8 and McIntyre 8 have a 'dead' 2nd week IMO. furthermore, the 6th-placed team can lose in the 1st week of finals yet win still win the comp.

How about the 'Ozjet1 8?'

Wk 1
Elimination Finals
a - 8-seed @ 5-seed home ground
b - 7-seed @ 6-seed home ground

Losers eliminated


Wk 2
Qualifying Finals
c - 4-seed @ 3-seed home ground
d - Winner 1 {a/b} @ 2-seed home ground
e - Winner 2 {a/b} @ 1-seed home ground

Loser 2 & Loser 3 eliminated
Loser 1 receieves double-chance


Wk 3
Preliminary Finals
f - Winner 3 {c/d/e} @ Winner 2 {c/d/e} home region
g - Loser 1 {c/d/e} @ Winner 1 {c/d/e} home region

Wk 4
Grand Final
h - Winner f vs Winner g

I only knocked this up in 5 minutes so prolly some holes in it, but from what i can see....

pros:
- build up each week
- top teams get the bye 1st week
- only ONE of top 3 teams gets double chance
- play for home games

cons:
- ONE of top 3 teams can make it into GF via Wk 1 Bye, Wk 2 loss, & Wk 3 win
- less finals

critque away.

EDIT - actually disregard. it's sh*t. cant have a loser in the 2nd week qualify to play the top team in Prelim.

 

[barney838]

I'm not sure a week off would be good for the Storm, playing Titans and then the Dogs might be easier than meeting Dragons or Brisbane.

 

[kia ora storm]

Let the Dragons win...Storm v Titans for me.

 

[18to87]

The path to the Grand Final is through the Dragons for us ... interesting times ahead.

So arguably the two best teams (St George and Brisbane) cannot meet in the Grand Final, great system we have, but theres already a thread for that.

 

[Evenflow]

So arguably the two best teams (St George and Brisbane) cannot meet in the Grand Final, great system we have, but theres already a thread for that.

I can't see how the team that finished 6th could be regarded as one of the two best teams.

 

[ElectricEelMan]

So arguably the two best teams (St George and Brisbane) cannot meet in the Grand Final, great system we have, but theres already a thread for that.

Arguably? By a mentally deranged lunatic maybe, but I doubt any sane person could argue that Brisbane are one of the best two teams this year ... yet. Don't forget they were all but written off not just 6 weeks ago.

 

[18to87]

Give me a break, Brisbane knows whats going on, its the business end of the season and they are the hottest team in the comp.