Joey wants top eight finals system scrapped

3 years ago 301

Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns says helium would beryllium successful favour of a apical six strategy to halt teams with a losing grounds from being rewarded.

No substance what results hap during adjacent week's last circular of the location and distant season, the squad that finishes successful eighth spot volition suffice contempt having much losses than wins.

The Sharks, Titans, Raiders, Warriors, Dragons and Wests Tigers are each a accidental to instrumentality the last spot successful the apical eight.

Meanwhile, if the seventh-placed Knights suffer adjacent week, they volition suffice for finals shot with 12 wins and 12 losses; conscionable astir the explanation of mediocre.

Asked if the NRL should instrumentality a top-six strategy to debar scenarios wherever teams with a losing grounds tin marque the finals, Johns had a elemental response: "Yes."

"We're rewarding teams who person mislaid much games than they've won," helium told Wide World of Sports' Freddy and The Eighth.

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"I deliberation the Knights person a minus differential of astir 130... truthful for maine a top-six.

"I tin lone deliberation of the Parramatta squad from 2009 that came from eighth presumption and went done to the large one.

"I deliberation a apical six."

The past clip a squad had much losses than wins and finished successful the apical eight, were the Broncos of 2019, with 11 wins and 12 defeats.

While Johns' preferred strategy whitethorn guarantee mediocre sides are kept retired of the playoffs, Brad Fittler replied that determination was 1 important crushed the NRL volition ne'er chopped the magnitude of teams successful the finals.

"I consciousness finances whitethorn person thing to bash with however galore semi-finals we play," Fittler said.

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"They're other games. If you commencement dropping disconnected teams, you're dropping disconnected games.

"Not each twelvemonth you person a disparity similar we person astatine the moment. It varies each year.

"This twelvemonth much than ever, it feels similar those apical 3 teams person nary occupation with not galore beneath them."

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