NRL finals system

Last updated

NRL finals series
Current season, competition or edition:
Rugby football current event.svg 2023 NRL finals series
Sport Rugby league
Founded1916
No. of teams8
Most recent
champion(s)		 Penrith Panthers (4th title)
(2022 NRL finals series)
Most titles South Sydney Rabbitohs (21 titles)
TV partner(s) Channel 9
Fox League

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. [1] [2]

Contents

A similar system was previously used by the Australian Rugby League in the 1995 and 1996 seasons; however, there was no crossover in 1995, and in 1996 teams crossed over in Week 2, rather than Week 3. The system has also been adopted by the Victorian Football League and a slightly modified version adopted by Super League. The Australian Football League (AFL) also use this system and have done so since 2000.

The highest-ranked eight teams at the end of the regular season participate in a four-week tournament, with two teams eliminated in each of the first three weeks. The seventh team is eliminated (and the premiership awarded) in the grand final.

The system is designed to give the top four teams an easier road to the grand final than the second four teams, in order to reward regular season success. The top four needs to win only two finals to reach the grand final, while the second four needs to win three; and, two of the top four teams receive a bye in the second week of the playoff and then play at home in the third week, while the other two play at home in the second week.

Current system

Qualifying and elimination finalsSemi-finalsPreliminary finalsGrand Final
1st qualifying final
11stHome
44thAway1st semi-final
Loser of QF1Home
1st elimination finalWinner of EF1Away1st preliminary final
55thHomeWinner of QF1
88thAwayWinner of SF2 NRL Grand Final – Stadium Australia
Winner of PF1
2nd elimination final2nd preliminary finalWinner of PF2
66thHomeWinner of SF1
77thAway2nd semi-finalWinner of QF2
Winner of EF2Away
2nd qualifying finalLoser of QF2Home
22ndHome
33rdAway


Finals format

Week one

  • 1st qualifying final: 1st ranked team hosts 4th ranked team
  • 2nd qualifying final: 2nd ranked team hosts 3rd ranked team
  • 1st elimination final: 5th ranked team hosts 8th ranked team
  • 2nd elimination final: 6th ranked team hosts 7th ranked team

The eight finalists are split into two groups for the opening week of the finals series. The top four teams have the best chance of winning the premiership and play the two qualifying finals. The winners get a bye through to week three of the tournament to play home preliminary finals, while the losers play home semi-finals in week two. The bottom four teams play the two elimination finals, where the winners advance to week two away games and the losers' seasons are over. The scheduling of each of the four games is at the discretion of the NRL.

Week two

  • 1st semi-final: [3] Loser of 1st QF hosts winner of 1st EF
  • 2nd semi-final: Loser of 2nd QF hosts winner of 2nd EF

Week three

  • 1st preliminary final: [3] Winner of 1st QF hosts winner of 2nd SF.
  • 2nd preliminary final: Winner of 2nd QF hosts winner of 1st SF.

Week four

  • Grand final: Winner of 1st PF meets winner of 2nd PF at Accor Stadium on a Sunday night with the game starting at about 7.15pm.

Extra time

In the event of tied scores at the end of the 80 minutes of a rugby league match, two five minute periods of extra time occur. If the scores are not then settled, an unlimited period of golden point will take place. This ensures that none of the matches are draws. [4] Before 2016, the match went straight into golden point time. This most notably occurred in the 2015 NRL Grand Final, when the North Queensland Cowboys defeated the Brisbane Broncos thanks to a Johnathan Thurston field goal. This triggered the change as despite the Cowboys kicking off, due to Ben Hunt knocking the ball on off the kick-off, the Broncos didn't get to play a set with the ball.

Advantages for ladder positions

Under this finals system, the final eight teams are broken up into four groups of two. Each group of two earns one extra benefit over the teams beneath it. These benefits are home ground finals and the double-chance, whereby a first-week loss will not eliminate the team from the finals. Note that the "home" designations may be irrelevant for games played between teams from the same state – all finals games played between two Sydney based teams will be held at Allianz Stadium or Accor Stadium, regardless of the "home" team's home ground.

First and second

First and second receive the double-chance, and will play their first two finals matches at home: their qualifying final, and then either a semi-final if they lose their qualifying final or a preliminary final if they win their qualifying final. They need to win two finals to reach the grand final.

Third and fourth

Third and fourth also receive the double-chance, but receive only one finals match at home: either a semi-final if they lose their qualifying final or a preliminary final if they win their qualifying final. They need to win two finals to reach the grand final.

Fifth and sixth

Fifth and sixth receive one home final: their elimination final. They need to win three finals to reach the grand final.

Seventh and eighth

Seventh and eighth receive no home finals. They need to win three finals to reach the grand final.

Venues

In the first week of finals, the higher ranked team from the regular season hosts at their regular home ground. In the second week, the higher ranked team again hosts; however, Sydney teams must host at one of the major stadiums, those being Western Sydney Stadium, the Sydney Cricket Ground, the New Sydney Football Stadium, and Stadium Australia. In the third week of finals, the qualifying final winner hosts, again if it's a Sydney team, at one of those major venues. [5] The NRL Grand Final is then held every year at Stadium Australia in week four of the finals.

The Sydney Cricket Ground has hosted the most finals clashes, followed by the Sydney Football Stadium and Stadium Australia. [6]

Criticism

The new finals system was introduced after the 2011 season, after debate had raged for several years before that. In 2008 for the first time ever the 8th placed team (New Zealand Warriors) beat the 1st placed team (Melbourne Storm) in week one of the finals. In 2009, the scenario occurred for the 2nd time ever when the Parramatta Eels defeated the St. George Illawarra Dragons. In both case, these teams then went on to have home advantage in the second week of the finals, leading to criticism from fans and pundits that too much of an advantage was being given to lower placed teams. However, under the current system the 7th and 8th placed teams can never have a home finals match – a move which seems designed to eliminate the possibility of a team making a late charge towards the grand final despite finishing relatively low in the regular season. This has led to criticism that the current system has rendered having a top 8 pointless because some of the teams are there simply to make up numbers as it has been made far too difficult for them to progress very far into the finals series. [7] Despite this, in 2017, the eight-placed North Queensland Cowboys were able to reach the grand final, where they were defeated by the minor premiers, the Melbourne Storm.

It has also been noted that criticism of the previous McIntyre system has come primarily from coaches and players after their team has been eliminated from the finals by a lower ranked team. Complaints about the system from teams that have won games they were expected to win seem far less prevalent. [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

After a top-five play-off system was used, a play-off structure involving the top six teams was used to determine the winners of the Super League competition in British rugby league from 2002 through to 2008.

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.

The AFL final eight system is an eight-team championship playoff tournament developed and adopted by the Australian Football League in the 2000 season. The eight teams, which are ranked or seeded in advance of the tournament, participate in a four-week tournament, with two teams eliminated in each of the first three weeks. The grand final is played in the fourth week between the two remaining teams, with the winning team awarded the premiership.

The Australian Football League's 2008 Finals Series determined the top eight final positions of the 2008 AFL season. It began on the weekend of 5 September 2008 and ended with the 112th AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 2008. The Hawthorn Football Club were crowned the 2008 AFL Premiers, beating the Geelong Football Club by 26 points in front of a crowd of 100,012.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 AFL finals series</span> Final matches of the 2015 AFL season

The 2015 Australian Football League finals series was the 119th annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2015 AFL Premiership Season. The series ran over four weekends in September and October 2015, culminating with the 2015 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 3 October 2015. Hawthorn won the match by 46 points against West Coast, recording their third consecutive premiership. The match was played in October, due to the season starting later than usual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 AFL finals series</span> Playoffs of the Australian Football League

The 2016 Australian Football League finals series was the 120th annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2016 AFL Premiership Season. The series ran over four weekends in September and October 2016, culminating with the 2016 AFL Grand Final, between the Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2016. The Western Bulldogs defeated the Sydney Swans by 22 points to end the Western Bulldogs 62-year premiership drought, becoming the first team in AFL history to win the premiership from seventh place.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 AFL finals series</span> Australian Football League playoffs

The 2018 Australian Football League finals series was the 122nd annual edition of the VFL/AFL finals series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2018 AFL season. The finals ran over four weekends in September 2018, culminating with the 2018 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018.

The 2018 NRL finals series determines the winner of the 2018 National Rugby League season. The series ran over four weekends in September 2018, culminating with the 2018 NRL Grand Final at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on 30 September 2018.

The 2019 Australian Football League finals series was the 123rd annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2019 AFL Premiership season. The series ran over four weekends in September 2019, culminating with the 2019 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 September 2019.

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 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.

References

  1. ↑ NRL finals system changed, NRL.com official website, 22 February 2012
  2. ↑ NRL quits McIntyre system, adopts AFL-style finals, Fox Sports Australia, 22 February 2012
  3. 1 2 Under the NRL finals system, the term "semi-final" has different usage to that a traditional knock out tournament. The two games played immediately before the grand final, which would be known as semi-finals in a knockout tournament, are called "preliminary finals". The semi-finals refer to the two games preceding the preliminary finals. This is consistent with the terminology used by the league under the McIntyre system from 1931 until 1993.
  4. ↑ "NRL grand final 2018: What happens if the grand final ends in a draw, extra time, golden point". Fox Sports. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Everything you need to know about the 2019 NRL Finals". National Rugby League. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "NRL Finals – Venues – Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
  8. ↑ "Cleary slams NRL finals system as Warriors bounced out". Stuff. 11 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Lockyer no fan of finals system". www.heraldsun.com.au. 7 September 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.