League avoids clash with AFL’S big dance

THE NRL has avoided a headon collision with the AFL grand final and moved its preliminary final on Saturday week to an afternoon time slot.

Melbourne Storm will now play the winner of the Parramatta v Penrith game at 4pm on September 25 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The original plan was to start at the same time as the Melbourne

Demons v Western Bulldogs AFL grand final at 7.30pm.

Only two weeks ago, NRL boss Andrew Abdo said: “We’ll stand our ground. Sports lovers will have to make a choice. League fans will be more interested in our preliminary final.

“We’ve got to do what’s right for our game, our teams, our fans and our stakeholders.

“I’m so focused on what’s right for our sport, not theirs.”

The decision to move the game to an afternoon time slot was to ensure the NRL game got the biggest possible national audience.

The Storm had complained to the NRL about the fixture clash, knowing it would have a huge effect on their viewership in Victoria.

The NRL had talks with Channel 9 and Fox Sports before making the decision.

Earlier, Storm CEO Justin Rodski said the schedule clash was frustrating. “We’re disappointed for our fans,” he told SEN radio on Monday.

“With good planning and good scheduling, it could have been avoided, and we did raise this with the NRL last week.

“Ultimately, it doesn’t impact us from a football point of view ... but a big part of this for us is ensuring we continue to promote the game of rugby league in Victoria and our fans can watch our team play.”