Wok cooks up new finals format
Warren Ryan: new Wok recipe for finals feast.
A new top-eight system devised by former premiership-winning coach Warren Ryan is set to be adopted for next year's finals series, ahead of a possible return to a 22-round competition and the introduction of a 16th team.
The changes were flagged at yesterday's clubs' conference, at which the 2004 season draw was also released and a handful of rule modifications unveiled.
Premiers Penrith will kick off the season on March 12 with a Friday night home game against Newcastle and hope to defend their title in the grand final at Telstra Stadium on October 3.
In between, all 15 clubs must contest 24 games over 26 weeks, which includes an Anzac Test in Brisbane, City-Country at Gosford and State of Origin, before the play-off series, likely to be staged under the new format outlined by Ryan at the beginning of the two-day conference.
NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said: "Warren is obviously a former coach in the game and now a media commentator and he's put a lot of time and effort into coming up with a unique rugby league solution, so we've asked the clubs to go away and have a think about it.
"Obviously we need to get their feedback on it and then the NRL board will have to make a decision, I imagine, before the season gets under way."
While identical to the AFL's finals system in the first week, with the top four teams protected from elimination, Ryan's model creates an extra match in week two, thereby guaranteeing extra revenue for the NRL.
It also rewards teams for their performances during the regular season, as their finishing positions are carried throughout the finals, even if they lose in week one, while only the minor premiers are assured of a week off by winning.
The major changes to the current McIntyre system is a third game in week two, with all three sudden-death, and it would be impossible for the teams finishing seventh and eighth to meet in the grand final.
If Ryan's system had been in place last season and the highest-ranked teams won, the Panthers would have advanced to week three, with Brisbane eliminated, and the three games in week two would have been identical to the others in week one this year - Raiders v Storm, Bulldogs v Warriors and Roosters v Knights.
Assuming results went the same way as they did, Penrith would have again met the Warriors in one grand final qualifier with the Roosters taking on Melbourne, instead of the Bulldogs, in the other.
A rematch of this year's grand final between the Panthers and Roosters will be played in round four at Penrith Stadium, one of several highlights early in the season.
Other features of the 2004 draw include: the Knights, at their own request, opening the season with six away matches while EnergyAustralia Stadium is redeveloped; double-headers at Telstra Stadium in rounds one and five; an Anzac Day clash between the Roosters and St George Illawarra; the Roosters to host the Bulldogs on Good Friday; the Bulldogs and Wests Tigers playing home games against the Warriors in New Zealand; South Sydney and the Dragons playing at the SCG in round 16; and an improved Origin schedule for players, with a three-week break between each interstate clash.
"This year there will be some relief for our rep players," said NRL chief David Gallop, who revealed that the toll on the game's elite players had prompted a review of the season's structure.
"It's not something we can jump into quickly but we've certainly indicated that we are going to have a look in the first part of 2004 about a change in 2005.
"The clubs need to know what their financial budgets are going to look like and at the moment the 12 home games are very important, so the clubs need to know early if we're going back to 11 home games to give them time to prepare for that."
The timing of such a decision coincides with the verdict on applications by several consortia for admission to the competition in 2006, and Gallop agreed it would be difficult to have a 22-round competition with 15 teams.
"One of the considerations is the imbalance the 15 teams causes. It's not impossible, but it is difficult," he said. "There was a very, very brief discussion on [an expanded competition] this afternoon, and it is an issue we're continuing to monitor."
The Ryan system
WEEK 1 Game 1: 5 v 8, Game 2: 6 v 7, Game 3: 2 v 3, Game 4: 1 v 4. *Highest-ranked winner to Week 3, lowest-ranked loser eliminated.
WEEK 2 Game 5: top-4 highest loser v bottom-4 lowest winner. Game 6: top-4 lowest loser v bottom-4 highest winner. Game 7: top-4 2nd highest winner v bottom-4 2nd lowest loser. *All losers eliminated.
WEEK 3 Game 8: highest winner week 1 v lowest winner week 2. Game 9: highest winner week 2 v 2nd highest winner week 2. *Losers eliminated.
WEEK 4 - Grand final
