The NRL have reportedly decided that the Newcastle Knights will be the team to miss out on magic round in 2023.
The addition of the Dolphins to the NRL has created plenty of headaches for the NRL, among them the structure of byes across what is now likely to be a 27-week season, up from the previous 26 weeks with 25 rounds.
The timing of byes for clubs will be a contentious issue from the NRL draw when it is released in the coming weeks, with those teams receiving byes during the Origin period, in the opening round, during magic round and in the final round of the season likely to be under the microscope more than any others.
It has previously been reported that all four Queensland teams, as well as the Melbourne Storm, were already locked into magic round, however, it was unclear which team would be taking the weekend off.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, that will now fall upon the Newcastle Knights, with the report suggesting that the Knights flopped when it came to fan engagement at the last magic round.
That will leave the men from the Hunter missing out on the game, although in some positives, not giving up one of their home game to the three-day party of rugby league.
Knights boss Phil Gardner told the publication that missing magic round wasn't an issue for the club at this stage given other issues facing the NRL.
โWe have heard rumours that we are the team to miss out next year. It's not our major concern at the moment," Gardnder said.
"We are bothered by the uncertainty around other things like the salary cap and what is going on with the women's competition. There is a lot of uncertainty around that for all the players.โ
The NRL are yet to agree on the collective bargaining agreement for 2023, meaning teams still don't know what the salary cap will be, while it has also been revealed teams have privately expressed to the NRL they are concerned around the amount of money that will be lost by them on the NRLW competition next season as it expands to ten teams.
