The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL).
The McIntyre system, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lecturer, for the Victorian Football League in 1931.
The McIntyre final eight system was devised by Ken McIntyre in addition to the McIntyre Four, Five and Six systems. It is a playoff system of the top 8 finishers in a competition to determine which two teams will play in the grand final. The teams play each other over three weeks, with two teams eliminated each week. Teams who finish in a higher position in the competition are given an easier route to the grand final.
The 2005 National Rugby League season consisted of 25 weekly regular season rounds starting in March, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in a grand final on 2 October.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
Since 1998, a play-off system has been used to determine the Super League champions. The format has changed over the years, starting with a play-off involving first five, then six teams, eight, four and currently back to six. The play-off series culminates in the Super League Grand Final. Use of a play-off system to decide the Championship brought back a rugby league tradition that had previously fallen out of use. The Super League Premiership, which had previously taken place between the highest placed teams in the competition, was discontinued after the introduction of the Super League play-off series. This was because its purpose had been to take the place of the previous Championship-deciding play-off system.
This is a list of rivalries in the National Rugby League.
The 2012 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds starting on 1 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in the grand final on 30 September. The finals format for 2012 was also changed, with the new ARL Commission dispensing with the McIntyre final eight system and replacing it with the finals system employed previously by the ARL in the 1990s.
The NRL finals system is the finals series that is currently being used by the National Rugby League competitions of Australia and New Zealand since 2012. The NRL finals system replaced the McIntyre system which was used from 1999 to 2011.
The 2012 Australian Football League finals series determined the winner of the 2012 AFL season. The series took place over four weekends in September 2012, culminating with the 116th AFL/VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012.
The 2017 NRL finals series was the 20th annual edition of the NRL final series, the Rugby League tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2017 NRL Season. The series ran over four weekends in September and October 2017, culminating with the 2017 NRL Grand Final at the ANZ Stadium on 1 October 2017.
The Hastings Deering Colts was a junior rugby league competition based in Queensland, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition was administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and was contested by fourteen teams, thirteen of which are located in Queensland and one in New South Wales.
The 2019 NRL Finals Series determined the winner of the 2019 National Rugby League season. The series ran over four weeks in September and October 2019. It culminated with the 2019 NRL Grand Final at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on 6 October 2019, where the Sydney Roosters defeated the Canberra Raiders 14–8.
The 2019 Queensland Cup season was the 24th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 27-week long season from March to September.
The 2020 National Rugby League finals series was a tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2020 Telstra Premiership season. The series was played over four weekends in October, culminating in the 2020 NRL Grand Final on 25 October 2020 at ANZ Stadium. The Grand Final was ultimately won by the second-placed Melbourne Storm, who defeated the minor premiers the Penrith Panthers 26–20.
The 2021 Australian Football League finals series was the 125th annual edition of the VFL/AFL finals series.
The 2021 National Rugby League finals series was a tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2021 Telstra Premiership season. The series was played over four weekends in September and October, culminating in the 2021 NRL Grand Final on 3 October 2021. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales the grand final was played outside of Sydney for the first time in competition history, at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
The 2022 National Rugby League finals series was a tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2022 Telstra Premiership season. The series was played over four weekends in September and October, culminating in the 2022 NRL Grand Final on 2 October 2022 won by the Penrith Panthers.
The 2023 National Rugby League finals series was a tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2023 Telstra Premiership season. The series was played over four weekends in September and October, culminating in the 2023 NRL Grand Final on 1 October 2023 won by the Penrith Panthers.
Melbourne Storm (6th title)
