The NRL has bowed to pressure and brought forward Melbourne’s preliminary final start time to avoid a clash with the AFL grand final on Saturday week.
Rugby league headquarters was lashed for scheduling the Storm’s match on September 25 to kick off 35 minutes after the first bounce of the AFL grand final in Perth.
Melbourne CEO Justin Rodski described it as a “huge missed opportunity” for the NRL’s push outside of rugby league strongholds NSW and Queensland.
With two Victorian teams – Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs – featuring in the decider, the NRL faced a near impossible task of drawing viewers in the southern state.
NRL boss Andrew Abdo announced on Monday afternoon they had decided to bring forward the start time to 4pm (AEST) from 7.50pm for the Suncorp Stadium clash.
Premiers Melbourne will take on the winner of the Penrith-Parramatta semi-final.
“Rugby League is about the fans who have made it clear across the weekend that they are disappointed about having to choose between the preliminary final and the AFL grand final,” Abdo said.
“We pride ourselves on being agile and listening to our fans. It’s clear that a small change to the schedule provides the best outcome for our fans in Melbourne who have been incredibly loyal throughout the pandemic.”
Abdo said a daytime preliminary final was also a positive outcome for fans in Brisbane, allowing more families to attend the game.
The AFL decider is traditionally an afternoon affair at the MCG but the COVID-19 pandemic forced its relocation to Perth and changed the timeslot to 5.15pm local time (7.15pm AEST).
Rodski said the defending premiers had requested to play Friday night or the 4pm timeslot on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Melbourne announced they had re-signed all of coach Craig Bellamy’s assistants – Marc Brentnall, Stephen Kearney, Aaron Bellamy and Ryan Hinchcliffe – for at least the next two years.
AAP
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
