The Serve

Programming the latest NRL glitch

Next week we have the farcical situation where Townsville hosts its first day NRL game in years, a situation neither the Cowboys nor the Warriors want, while a prime opportunity to play a Sydney blockbuster on a Sunday afternoon has been thrown away.

Everyone is a loser.

Welcome to the latest version of the McIntyre system, rugby league’s equivalent of the Ford Capri. Looks so shiny on the surface, but just when all the obvious problems are ironed out, out pops a new one.

For years, out of town teams have had to put up with coming to Sydney when they had earned the right to a home final. Took nearly a decade, but that abomination has been averted. Flexibility in the arrangement of venues meant the ridiculous situation of 2005 - when the Tigers/Dragons final had the SFS bursting at the seams, while Telstra was lying dormant - would no longer happen.

Yet we still manage to find ways to infuriate the fan.

The ambiguous explanation for this glitch has something to do with ‘the system’. NRL boss David Gallop was quoted today as saying the games were locked down and the ‘integrity of the competition’ must be protected.

Excuse me?

How about the rest of the season, when teams are forced to put up with five day breaks on a regular basis? Every week, the two teams that play on Monday Night are at a disadvantage the following week.

Don’t remember hearing too much about integrity earlier in the season when the Broncos were forced to play in Newcastle on a Sunday night, flying back on Monday morning before a Friday clash with the Melbourne Storm.

Now we’re worried about rest periods.

By the way, the four teams involved in this week’s action had all played their first final by last Saturday, so there were no possibilities of short turnarounds, no matter what the order of play.

If the league is seriously worried about the integrity of its finals schedule, they need look no further than week three.

The winner of Parramatta vs. Bulldogs will meet Melbourne the following Sunday.

No problem there.

However the winner of the Cowboys/Warriors clash on Sunday has a date with Manly, the following Saturday Night.

A six day turnaround, as opposed to eight days for the other winner out of week two.

Integrity, eh?

And before you start thinking television might be at fault here, think again. Both games will rate enormously, however the Sunday afternoon fixture is far more important for Channel Nine than Saturday Night. Sunday is all about the lead in for their news and night time shows.

Which game do you think Nine would prefer in that crucial slot?

As my colleague on The Serve Ray Warren wrote last week (click here for article), the system itself is a dud. How on earth a team that finishes sixth can lose first up, yet still get a second chance, is beyond belief.

That is the fault of the clubs. They keep voting Mr. McIntyre’s system in year after year.

However, what is happening this week is the fault of the league. Plain and simple. The Warriors don’t want to play in the heat, for obvious reasons, while the Cowboys avoid day games because it prevents many of their faithful from making the trek. The Dogs and the Eels don’t care and would have gleefully played whenever.

Last month’s sellout at Leichhardt proved how Sydneysiders yearn for the traditions of a Sunday afternoon game when they can get it.

There is absolutely no reason for these matches to be slotted where they are. The clubs, the fans and the TV bosses all lose.

It just doesn’t make sense.