Wild Card Weekend - reports NRL looking to expand finals to ten teams

[mxlegend99]

I vote a top 16 finals series.

Week 1:
1 vs 4
2 vs 3
5 vs 8
6 vs 7

9 vs 16
10 vs 15
11 vs 14
13 vs 12


Week 2: we drop to 6 games, winners of top 4games get a week off.

Loser of 1 vs 4 plays winner of 6 vs 7
Loser of 2 vs 4 plays winner of 5 vs 8
Loser of 6 vs 7 plays winner of 9 vs 16
Loser of 5 vs 8 plays winner of 10 vs 15
Winner of 11 vs 14 plays winner of 12 vs 13
Loser of 11 vs 14 plays winner of 12 vs 13

Week 3: same formula only we bring the week 1 top 4 winners back and give the week 2 highest ranked winners a break.

This goes on indefinitely with no teams being eliminated.

 

[Life's Good]

 

[firechild]

lol wow they only just got it right (by ripping of the AFL mind you) and not they are going to f--k it right up again well done NRL.

All they care about is money that is clear, unless you make the top 4 you are no chance anyway.

You do realise that the current system was first used by the ARL when the AFL used the 1v8, 2v7, etc system?

This idea is stupid. They should just draw 8 names out of a hat after round 25 and go from there.

 

[unforgiven]

I once came up with an alternate finals system based on the old top 4 and top 5 models because they were my favourite Finals systems.

 

[Spot On]

Wow.

Just wow.

FFS, will someone please take control and LEAD this game. Turn it into what it should be, not what it is becoming.

 

[Captain Apollo]

FMD, this is one of the dumbest propsals I've seen. What it does is teams 1-6 get a week off whilst 7-10 play, then the winners of the Week 1 Qualifying finals get a week off in week 2 when the teams are playing elimination football in week 3. Giving teams 2 byes in the finals series is what often winds up with those notionally "best" teams going off the boil and not qualifying for the Grand Finals as they become rusty. That is part of what used to happen under the old "Top 5 system" when the Minor Premiers won their first semi.

Even allowing for that, it really does promote mediocrity as you are enabling 62.5% of the competition to make the finals. That is worse than when we had a top 10 in a 20 team competition.

Finally it is adding yet ANOTHER week to the competition. Sorry but I would not pay $0.01 to watch teams 7 v 10 and 8 v 9 play (or combinations thereof), and I doubt many neutrals would either.

There is a poll appended to the end of the article on the NRL's site, so I suggest people vote - https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/03/04/nrl-proposes-wildcard-weekend-to-revamp-finals-format/

Or send them feedback via this - https://www.nrl.com/contact-us

 

[adamkungl]

Wildcard games should have multiball

at any point in the game the apex of the home team can throw in the extra topball and if a super-try is scored with the extra ball the team gets 150 and skips the next week of the finals

 

[adamkungl]

Omg the poll on nrl.com is somehow 51% yes
This sport truly has the dumbest fans

 

[Old Mate]

The NRL are taking the piss surely...

 

[Last Week]

Omg the poll on nrl.com is somehow 51% yes
This sport truly has the dumbest fans

The absolute dumbest of fans. Our game is truly a beacon for the dumb uneducated bogan.

 

[Eelectrica]

Top 8 is bad enough. Top 10 out of 16 teams is a horrible joke.

 

[Vee]

There is a poll appended to the end of the article on the NRL's site, so I suggest people vote - https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/03/04/nrl-proposes-wildcard-weekend-to-revamp-finals-format/

Or send them feedback via this - https://www.nrl.com/contact-us

It's all about the money. They don't give a rat's ass about what the fans think unless it suits their narrative .

 

[Incorrect]

What next; expanding the finals series to 16 teams just so the Eels can play in September?

We'd still find a way to miss out I reckon....

 

[AlwaysGreen]

The shield is all that matters anyway to us purists.

 

[txta2]

Raiders n Warriors are laughing

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Just watched the debate on this on NRL360, Slothfield was arguing that it was a good idea because it reduces dead rubbers, and Kent was against it for the same reasons as us. It’s cheapening sport for the sake of entertainment, and as such is. A bloody stupid idea.
The only way I could see something like this working would be if there was a scheduled week off after the end of the season and that if any teams were tied on competition points for the last few spots they would then get to play off for those spots on that weekend. But otherwise, no.

 

[Game_Breaker]

So top 4 teams could play potentially play 1 game in 3 weeks when they reach the prelims

 

[Saxon]

What drugs are these merkins on?

 

[TheVelourFog]

once again the most amateur elite sporting competition in the world goes full genius

by flopping it out in public they will end up either implementing an idea that at best 50% of fans will be behind or be forced into an embarrassing backdown

the Raiders were 10-14 last season but would make the finals under this ridiculous system. What is even the point?

 

[Stallion]

Top 8 is bad enough. Top 10 out of 16 teams is a horrible joke.

Top ten out of twenty teams would be justice! But sitting on their hands instead is the go.