A sudden rise in Brisbane’s COVID cases has handed the NRL quite possibly their greatest every conundrum - whether to play the grand final this weekend, or postpone it a week.
The NRL has held a series of ‘crisis meetings’, and has been in constant contact with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over whether or not Suncorp Stadium can hold this week’s decider. The capacity for the venue has already been slashed to 75%, meaning the last 13,000 fans to buy their tickets will miss out on attending the day.
That’s if it happens at all.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has indicated that he’d rather see the game delayed than played in front of no fans.
“We are not going to play without a crowd. For us, it’s all about the atmosphere. It’s a grand final, it’s a major event and we have a number of contingency plans," V'landys told AAP.
Those contingency plans include Townsville as the next best option, though a COVID-positive pilot has been in the far north town, which could also bring a grinding halt to Plan B.
It leaves us with the great debate - to postpone, or to play in front of a crowdless venue?
There’s benefits to both from the NRL’s perspective, but what about the players, and the broadcasters?
There’s little doubt Channel Nine would prefer the game played this weekend, being a long weekend in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.
No work on the Monday means more viewers on the Sunday, a luxury the free to air company would be incredibly resistant to losing. It’s the only club game that Channel Nine has exclusive rights to, and could really scale back the potential viewership.
The other gripe lies with South Sydney. The Rabbitohs turned this finals series on its head three weeks ago, defeating Penrith in the qualifying final and earning a week off, while the Panthers were forced to grind out an 8-6 thriller over Parramatta.
The Bunnies had their feet up, enjoying the sight of Penrith churning out back to back victories in an exhausting fashion, having made over 500 tackles more than the Bunnies this finals series alone.
Penrith have a number of injuries, with Tevita Pangai Junior already ruled out of the clash, with the likes of Viliame Kikau, Dylan Edwards, James Fisher-Harris, Brian To’o and Moses Leota all battling niggles.
There’s little doubt that Ivan Cleary’s men would be keen for an extra seven days to recuperate. The story goes differently in Wayne’s World.
Postponing the decider nullifies any advantage the Rabbitohs had by allowing the Panthers to refuel the tank, and head into the following week freshened. It may bring atmosphere, but the backlash from South Sydney fans would be enormous.
Adam Reynolds does have an injury of his own, a groin strain, though it’s expected he would be fine if the grand final is played this Sunday. The pro’s and cons list for a postponement is a one-sided affair for the men from Redfern.
Financial losses of playing in front of zero fans is not a deterrent for V’landys and the NRL, with a deal struck with the Queensland government ensuring that the competition wouldn’t be out of pocket if forced to postpone or relocate to smaller venues.
Yet, at the same time, imagine running out to grand final, the first ‘big dance’ in the career of 17 of these 34 players, in front of no fans. No cheers at fulltime, lifting the trophy in front of empty seats. It’s a hollow moment, even with the jubilation and adrenaline in their veins.
So postpone, and you’ll hinder the advantage of one of these sides, and hand it to their opposition. Play it in front of an empty venue, and you’ll have one of the strangest and emptiest premiership wins in the games history.
It’s a flip of a coin, a lose-lose situation if a Queensland lockdown is announced. Is atmosphere worth tilting the tides over? Will the roar of a crowd cancel out the hindrance it causes, the question marks it raises?
Of course not.
There’s no guarantee if a lockdown is called, that the people of Queensland will be out for the following Sunday. What then? Play it crowd less the following week after already giving Penrith seven days of rest? You can’t push it back a week on a whim, it’s simply unfair for the players involved, the broadcasters that pay hundreds of millions for the rights, and the fan bases that these sides carry.
The show must go on. The wheels must continue to turn, whether it leads us to a soulless stadium or not, for the sake of fairness and a level playing ground, you can’t bring this decider to a halt.
You can’t.
