The NRL has proposed to introduce a wildcard weekend as part of the new finals system that could be brought in in 2020.
Under the proposed concept, the teams finishing 9th and 10th at the end of the regular season would be given a chance to qualify for the finals by beating the 7th and 8th ranked teams.
This is how it would work in the NRL:
The top six teams would have the weekend off while the team finishing 7th plays the team finishing 10th, that would be at home of the 7th-ranked team, of course.
The team that finished 8th would play the team that finished 9th at home.
The finals series would then kick off in the normal format the week after with the Qualifying Finals and Elimination Finals.
The NRL has jumped the AFL to this.
This will be introduced in the NRL and the AFL are asleep at the wheel.
It’s absolutely time for the AFL to switch. There is nothing worse at the moment than the week off before the finals start.
You get all the excitement of finals then you have a complete week off which is a waste.
The reason they’ve brought this week off in is so that teams don’t rest their best players before the finals series. It’s not needed. It’s a waste.
Imagine the excitement if you had a wildcard weekend like they do in the NFL, which is amazing, and you are a last-ditch chance to make the finals.
Also, it makes the season feel longer. Last year we had 12 teams vying for that eighth spot. Don’t you think there’d be more excitement about who can qualify for 9th and 10th to potentially make the finals as well?
It clearly rewards the top six teams, certainly the top four, because at the moment the reward is diminished by everyone getting that week off.
The AFL said it is not on their agenda. Well they are absolutely asleep at the wheel.
