Finals format tackled

It was hard to understand why the Mcintyre finals system lasted as long as it did.

Fans of the difficult to comprehend and ridiculously unfair format were as rare as silverware in Cronulla’s trophy cabinet.

The Australian Rugby League Commission’s decision to scrap the format in favour of the system used by the AFL ends 13 years of September uncertainty for NRL finalists.

For a team forced to play on the Friday and then have to wait until the Sunday afternoon to find out if they will get another game in the finals speaks volumes about its failings.

Then there were the flaws, which were exposed in 2008 when minor premiers Melbourne were beaten in the opening week of the finals.

They were then forced to go to Brisbane for a suddendeath encounter.

The eighth-placed Warriors were handed a home semifinal against the Sydney Roosters, which had finished fourth in the regular season.

The Roosters’ only crime was to lose in week one of the finals, and they then had to go to a hostile Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, where they duly lost.

The biggest question is why the NRL went for the complicated formula in the first place.

NRL chief executive David Gallop had defended the format, saying the mid-season impact of State of Origin made it ideal for the NRL, and that due reward had to be given to the top two teams.

Under the new system, the top four are guaranteed a second chance, and they need just two wins to secure a grand final berth, while those sides that finish in the top two are guaranteed two home games in the finals.