Ricky Stuart believes that the NRL would be giving the Broncos a huge advantage if they don’t schedule Canberra’s important game against Brisbane for the Sunday of next week. The Raiders will play the Dolphins in their last game of the regular season this Sunday, and they’ve already secured the top spot.
However, they might have to play the Broncos only six days later on Saturday, during the first weekend of the finals. This would give Brisbane an additional nine days to rest. The NRL is going to finalize the playoff schedule on Sunday now that the top-eight teams are set before the last regular season game.
Melbourne will kick off the finals by playing against Canterbury next Friday night, but the plans for the two Saturday games and the Sunday afternoon final still aren’t settled. Since the Raiders finished at the top of the standings, Stuart thinks they should choose when they play their qualifying final.
He wants the Raiders to have the longest break possible between their game against the Dolphins and their first finals match. The Broncos will already have an edge with three extra days to recover after beating Melbourne on Thursday in their final regular season game.
Usually, qualifying finals are held on Friday nights and Saturdays, but this final round has made things tricky. Raiders officials have been quietly asking the NRL for a Sunday afternoon final at GIO Stadium all week. Stuart made his case stronger on Saturday by pointing out that the league needs to ensure fairness in the race for the title.
Ricky Stuart advocates for a Sunday final for the Raiders. Stuart said, “We have the right to choose when we play. We are the minor premiers, and we need as much time as possible between the game we have tomorrow on Sunday. We’ll be up against a team that gets nine days off, so that’s a crazy advantage for Brisbane if they play on Saturday. That extra day is what we deserve for being at the top.”
Last year, the Sharks had to play Melbourne with only six days of rest compared to the Storm’s nine days, but at that time, Melbourne was the top team. Even if Canberra gets the Sunday they want, the team that loses between the Raiders and Broncos will have one day less to prepare for their next match against a lower-ranked team the following week.
Stuart says this idea is much better than going up against a strong Broncos team without at least a week to prepare in the first week of the finals. The Raiders are resting 11 of their main players for their round 27 game against the Dolphins, and Stuart revealed that he held back Matty Nicholson from returning to the NRL because of the uncertainty around the playoff schedule.
Letting some players take a break is one thing, but I still have some players who will compete tomorrow and next week, Stuart mentioned. “I took Matty out because I have no idea when this game will actually happen.
Honestly, we are supposed to have the game on Sunday. But since it is uncertain and we might end up playing on Saturday, it didn’t make sense to have Matty play too because of the travel and short notice, which could have a bad impact on him.”
