NRL Round 27 Not Good

[Graham]

What a strange round Round 27 has turned out to be. There have been so many top players withdrawn that the climax to the regular season is a bit of a damp squib.

Brisbane in resting so many players while in a great position to clinch the Minor Premiership appear not to value that title too highly. They may very well save face due to their opponents Melbourne resting even more players than them. The game to decide the destination of the MP is reduced to a dead rubber where the spectators will miss almost all the top players of both teams. The other two top four teams have taken the same approach with Dolphins and Cowboys facing weakened opposition in the shape of Panthers and Warriors. 

This is not a good look for the NRL’s last round of the season.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Graham

[Farmduck]

The better alternative might be to start resting players from about Round 22 onwards. Brisbane only had the Bye two weeks ago so I don't know why they'd all be exhausted. Then the Storm weren't sure of 3rd spot until last game.

It is disappointing but there is no perfect draw. In the final round last year 1st played 3rd, 4th played 5th and 6th played 7th. They all played their A teams except Panthers who lost to the Cows. Of course Penrith was 3 games clear on top at the time and the game was in Townsville so I guess it didn't hurt their own fans too much.

[Blotto]

No issues with Storm and Brisbane resting players to recover from the ongoing "niggling" injuries players carry at this time of year and also give players a recuperative break.

It's also a chance to see how good the the various Teams depth of quality with players out on the field playing at NRL level.

Though I remember Saint Helens turning up at Bradford with their second string in tow. Nobby's classic retort  "I thought we were going to be playing George Foreman but we got George Formby instead"

That made the RFL change the Team list rules to much earlier the week after that!

[Anita Bath]

I think its less to do with giving players a rest before play offs, more about avoiding the risk of injuries….Luais injury last week has got every coach worried about what could happen in a largely meaningless last game. Add to that the HIA protocol.

Its not a good look I agree and perhaps could be partially mitigated by following the AFL and having a bye between the last week of regular season and the first week of play offs. 

[Graham]

Bellyache reckons there should be a week’s break before finals start

Quote

Storm coach Craig Bellamy wants the NRL to copy the AFL and implement a pre-finals bye, declaring he wouldn’t have rested the 10 first-choice players he has for Thursday‘s final-round clash with the Broncos if there was a break before the playoffs.

 

[Graham]

To be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the Broncos v Storm game.