Ricky Stuart says the NRL would be handing the Broncos an ‘unbelievable advantage’ if they don’t schedule Canberra’s qualifying final against Brisbane on Sunday week. The Raiders host the Dolphins in their final game of the regular season this Sunday, having already wrapped up the minor premiership.
But they could face the unwanted prospect of having to play the Broncos just six days later on Saturday, in the first weekend of the finals – a scenario that would afford Brisbane a nine-day turnaround. The NRL is set to finalise their schedule for the opening weekend of the playoffs on Sunday, with the top-eight now locked in ahead of the last day of the regular season.
Melbourne will host Canterbury to open the finals series next Friday night, but the schedule for the two Saturday games and the Sunday afternoon finals clash remain up in the air. Given that the Raiders finished the season on top of the ladder, Stuart believes they’ve earned the right to pick what day they play their qualifying final on.
And he wants the Raiders to be afforded the longest possible turnaround between their round 27 clash with the Dolphins, and their opening finals showdown. The Broncos will already have the advantage of three extra days of recovery time after beating Melbourne on Thursday night in their final game of the regular season.
Qualifying finals are traditionally played on the Friday night and Saturday, but the draw for the final round of the regular season has complicated matters. Raiders officials have been privately pushing the NRL for a Sunday afternoon final at GIO Stadium all week, and Stuart upped the ante on Saturday after insisting the league had a duty to uphold the ‘fairness’ of the premiership battle.
Ricky Stuart pushes for Sunday finals slot for Raiders
“We have (earned the right to pick when we play),” Stuart said. “We’re minor premiers and we need the maximum (amount of) turnaround as possible from the Sunday game tomorrow.
“We’re going to be playing against a team that’s got nine days, so it’s an unbelievable advantage (for Brisbane if the match is played on Saturday). That one extra day is what we deserve for being minor premiers.”
The Sharks were forced to face Melbourne on a six-day turnaround compared to the Storm’s nine in last year’s finals, but on that occasion Melbourne were the minor premiers. Even if Canberra get their Sunday wish, the loser of the Raiders-Broncos qualifying final will have a one-day shorter turnaround when they face a lower-ranked team the following week.
But Stuart says that’s a far more desirable outcome than facing a red-hot Broncos side off any less than a seven-day turnaround, in the opening weekend of finals. The Raiders are resting 11 regular starters for the round 27 clash with the Dolphins, and Stuart admitted he held back Matty Nicholson’s NRL comeback due to the uncertainty around the finals schedule.
