WHY THE NRL’S WILDCARD WEEKEND HAS MERIT
Anything is better than boring ‘dead’ games in league’s final rounds
WILDCARD Weekend is not the solution to all of the NRL’s problems but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
I’ve kept a close eye on the reaction since NRL head of football Graham Annesley suggested the new finals format, and it’s fair to say I’m in the minority.
Under the plan, the top six teams would enjoy one week off while teams which finish between seventh and 10th play off for the final two places in the post-season.
The main driver for the change is to eliminate the high number of “dead” games – the fixtures which have no bearing on the top eight, don’t attract crowds at the ground or in front of the TV, and are, to put it nicely, snoozefests.
The Wildcard Weekend, as a concept, is fantastic, but it can’t be the only change: it has to accompany either a conference system, or expand to more teams.
The NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball all use a wildcard system, though their leagues benefit from a greater number of teams and a much lower percentage of teams qualifying for the post-season.
All four play in division and conference systems. The top team from each division progresses to the final, while the two next best teams in the conference play off for that last place in the post-season.
Very few fixtures match the excitement, drama and theatre of wildcard games, which is why I’m excited to see it introduced in the NRL.
But for it to work, the NRL should adopt a conference system. Put five NSW-based teams in each conference, with the three Queensland teams in the northern pool and New Zealand, Canberra and Melbourne in the other. They play the teams in their conference twice, and teams from the other conference once each in the regular season.
The top three from each pool reach the finals, and the next two best performers in each play off to be the fourth team in the post-season.
There is always the risk that one conference will be stronger than the other – one look at the current AFLW ladders shows that – but it can work.
Expansion would help alleviate the concern teams with losing records contest the postseason, but there’s little chance four teams will be added in the near future.
Mediocrity should never be rewarded, and moving to a top six with wildcards will help.
But I’ll take just about anything to avoid watching boring, meaningless fixtures in the final few rounds.
VERY FEW FIXTURES MATCH THE EXCITEMENT, DRAMA AND THEATRE OF WILDCARD GAMES, WHICH IS WHY I’M EXCITED TO SEE IT INTRODUCED IN THE NRL.