The controversial NRL finals schedule change that has split rugby league fans could jeopardise the NRL grand final, potentially sidelining one of the sport’s biggest names.
The debate has inspired 9News Queensland journalist Adam Jackson to call for a radical, NFL-style solution.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER, Jackson criticised the preliminary final tweak confirmed by the NRL this week, a move many say creates an unbalanced grand final preparation.
He argued that even a nine-day turnaround wouldn’t be enough under the league’s category one concussion protocols.
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Under the revised structure, either the Melbourne Storm or the winner of the Raiders vs Sharks semi-final will enjoy a nine-day break before the grand final, while the Brisbane Broncos or the winner of the Bulldogs vs Panthers semi-final will have only seven days.
“To me what it opens it up for, which I’ve been advocating for a while, follow the NFL and have a two-week lead-up period to the grand final,” Jackson said.
He explained that adopting an NFL-style two-week gap would remove the perception of unfairness and prevent major stars from missing the decider.
“There’s going to be a day where a player, a star player, is gonna cop an HIA and have a mandatory 11-day stand-down period,” Jackson said.
“If that’s a Reece Walsh, if that’s a Nathan Cleary, they’re out of the grand final. And then it also eradicates this ‘you get a seven day off and I get a nine day off period’.”
Broncos director Darren Lockyer responded cheekily to Jackson’s idea:
“You should be on the Commission,” Lockyer said with a grin.
Jackson proposed filling the extra weekend with a standalone NRLW grand final and the NRL All-Stars game, suggesting clubs would be more willing to back the concept if it were scheduled post-season, eliminating pre-season injury risks.