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Big games deserve the big stadiums

Andrew Johns

14:30 AEST Wed Sep 12 2012

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Former Australia, New South Wales and Newcastle Knights champion halfback Andrew Johns is part of the Wide World of Sport commentary team and he will write exclusively for us in 2012.

Have your say the NRL Finals

Manly plays North Queensland this weekend at the Sydney Football Stadium and once again the issue of crowd size has come up. Last season when these two sides met in the first week of the finals on the same ground, they attracted a disappointing crowd of less than 14,000. Manly fans are criticised for not travelling and they respond by saying that it's not really a home final unless it's at Brookvale. And they are right – playing anywhere other than Brookvale Oval is not giving them the home advantage that other teams receive for finishing up the top of the ladder at the end of the season.

I might be considered a dinosaur these days, but I believe all finals after week one should be played at the major venues in Sydney. You have to come to Stadium Australia to play the grand final, you might as well get used to it early on in the finals. Give Brisbane and Melbourne a final in week one if they have teams deserving, but after that make it an even playing field for everyone. Melbourne only had 20,000 turn up for their match against South Sydney, so it's not as though they are packing them in down there.

In regards to the on-filed action I'm not sure whether it was the venue or the occasion, but South Sydney were disgraceful against Melbourne last week. They looked like they had a plan to intimidate, but they did it with very little discipline and gave away far too many penalties and turned over possession far too often. Melbourne took advantage and played solid finals footy, with an incredible 37/41 completion rate. The fact that they were kept to only 24 points shows just how well the Rabbitohs defended.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy sent Cooper Cronk out with a master plan to keep Rabbitohs fullback Greg Inglis quiet and it worked to perfection. Cronk had the prefect kick to suit every occasion and limited the opportunities for Inglis to make an impact on the game. Melbourne also employed the perfect kick chase with a lead player sprinting to cut Inglis down around the ankles as soon as he had the ball. It was a polished Storm performance and convinced me that having finals experience could be more important than I originally believed. Souths approached the game differently and in the end poorly – something they might have avoided had they been in a similar situation previously.

Manly have been in the finals plenty of times recently, but it didn't help them against the Bulldogs in a match that would have disappointed both sides. Ball control was terrible and there were some really lazy mistakes from both teams, but the turning point came when Manly co-captain Jamie Lyon limped off in the first half. You can't replace a player of Lyon's quality, and the Sea Eagles struggled in attack from that point on. The Bulldogs forwards worked so well together once again, with James Graham and Aiden Tolman the perfect foils for big Sam Kasiano. They'll need to clean up the error rate before their next big game in two weeks' time.

This week's games should be great entertainment with North Queensland and Canberra both in great form and on a roll coming up against the two losing sides from last week. Manly and South Sydney should be the stronger sides, based on how they played all season, but these two games are less then clear-cut. I think the Sea Eagles can beat the Cowboys if Lyon plays, but momentum is an incredible thing in footy.

The Raiders are a team which absolutely feeds on momentum, both during the season and during a match. When they get going they are very hard to stop and the halves Sam Williams and Josh McCrone have to take a lot of credit for their success. They have some freakish outside backs with Blake Ferguson capable of anything and Josh Dugan ready to return to his best form. They will miss Jarrod Croker and particularly his goal kicking. Dugan took over when Croker was helped off with his face fracture and it wasn't pretty. Dugan would have to be the most stylish kicker I have ever seen, but his kicks all sounded like someone kicking a tin bucket. The results were just as ugly and I hope he has been working all week on it or it could prove costly. I think with the Rabbitohs suffering a few key injuries and still shaking their heads after what happened in Melbourne, the "Green Machine" could continue into week three of the finals.

Should all finals after the first week be played at big stadiums?
Can Manly stop the in-form Cowboys?
Will Souths bounce back against Canberra?

User comments

It dosen't matter which stadium the teams play on as long as you actually have a field to play on.

i really dig your passion for your team but its pointless replaying the game and what could have been..people just laugh because the refs decision is final as all of nsw found out in the soo...its obvious a bunch of two year olds could do a better job.

Must be the Melbourne water "Storm Rider" get it right there was no "Sydney Powerbrokers" responsible for stealing your flags as you well know. Better to say nothing than look stupid..............

Don't worry people, the Storm has it in the bag anyway.......Sydney Powerbrokers won't be able to steal our flag off us this year!Go the Storm and Go melbourne. Move the comp eher if you want crowds.

Not saying cowboys would have won the game but they were denied a fair shot at winning by incompetent refs. People keep talking about the strip that lead to a cowboys try, that wasn't 12 points placed directly on the scoreboard.Manly still had a chance to set their defense from the scrum and defend their line but weren't up to the task.Those sort of 50-50 calls and mistakes are a part of football, players & fans can live with that, some go with you some go against you.The rubbish that went on the other night was just that.RUBBISH. 35 tackles in the game where both sides were giving as good as it gets and then suddenly the clown pulls a penalty out of nowhere that wasn't in the context of the game.Oh well next year maybe.It's funny that everyone is taking such delight in the fact that all the Queensland teams are out of the comp now.I guess we will just have to take comfort in the fact that Queensland won the games that mattered this year.

What about teams like Rabbitohs or Tigers. They have more than one "home ground". Where do they play finals footy? It never ceases to amaze me how some Sydney base clubs think they deserve any favors. I remember a few years back the Roosters wanting a higher salary cap because of the cost of living. Anyway, Manly don't deserve any more favors than what they got on Friday night!

did nrth qld get smashed..coffee beejay.

Why can't finals be at brookvale

You may very well be right I may need to smell the coffee whatever that means. They are however very serious allegations you've made. You have accused the the NRL of cheating... There also seems to be some sort of distrust in the referees I can't imagine why. You must be a bit slow because down south we cottoned on to that a couple of months ago.........

Maybe you should try to wake up & smell the coffee if you actually think one man controls the game..

If this is the video refs way of making up fot the farcical decisions which cost NSW the Origin series, I would have rathered see NSW win origin & Nth QLD win last night both results were improperly handled & so much for Lord Bill saying we will get it right later

Demoman you had better contact John Grant seeing as he and his committee are currently responsible for the allegations you are making.......One question isn't he a Queenslander?

Very Controversial I agree. However after being told to 'Suck it up Princess" after the State of Origin debacle I can say now "Right back at you"......

All this talk about home finals is a joke. Manly weren't good enough to win last week. Cowboys win yet they have to travel to Sydney to play. Manly complain about not being able to play at Brookvale??? Not as if they have to travel 2500kms from home. Last night's game was a joke, referee's are a joke, but the NSWRL sorry the NRL are trying to get their own way by having only Sydney based teams in the final..Hope the storm smash Manly next week..All the clowns out there complaining about other teams entering the competition, it is supposed to be a National Comp. You wouldn't have survived the super league war and you wouldn't have a competition if they didn't enter it so get over it

After last night's match Manly v Cowboys I ask the question "who are the referees accountable to". It seems as if the refs were under instruction that Manly had to win fair means or foul and that is what happened.Is some outside influence setting the agenda as to which team wins and therefore which team plays in finals. With so many poor refereeing decisions being made there should be a system in place where Captains can ask for a referal to an independent umpire ( not the 3rd umpire) to rule on referee biased try decisions. People are entitled to watch a good fair game of football but they are not getting it at present mainly because of unfair referee decisions.

The current system isnt broken. It has worked for the AFL (played nationwide). I havent heard of any manly players whinging about not playing at brookvale, in fact, they have kept a dignified silence since their premiership winning coach cheated on them! Sounds like supereelz is just jealous if you ask me. He must be baking 'special' brownies with his new wooden spoon on his end of season trip

watching thurston jump around like a lost girl scout at poor ref decisions hahahaha robbed twice hahahaha he thought it was hillarious when nsw were robbed hahahaha TA TA qld and take tate with ya HAHAHAHAHAHA.

There will never be enough done to satisfy the sea eagles mob, who like to sit in their ivory enclaves on "the shore" and whine about anything that does not go their way. The finals series is to sort out who are the best team in the comp, while giving the best chance for many spectators to attend. The attituide of "I won't go as it's not in my backyard" is typical of the manly supporters. Suck it up princesses!

The reason it's played at SFS so more supporters can attend, if there not attending then they are only "local" supporters and not true supporters. It must be embarrassing for the NRL when the AFL Giant are gettingthe same crowds as the local NRL teams in their fist year in a rugby dominant area in a rugby state. If your supporters are willing to travel a little bit further down the road to support their team, then the team may as well fold and who's fault it it, the supporters not any one elses.

Whats with the free ride comment? Can you explain to me what exactly "the leg up that the Sydney sides get when playing a Grand Final" means because I really have no clue as to what you mean. Do you want the Grand Final moved? If so where would you like it played? As I see it every club that has joined the Rugby League Sydney based competition has been accommodated.The Titans and Nrth Queensland both hit the wall financially more than once but they're still there. Teams that were in that competition since day 1 were culled or forced into amalgamation to accommodate that inclusion and yet you seem to believe that theres a conspiracy against teams based outside Sydney. If anyone has been shortchanged its the Sydney supporters who used to be able to travel and see all their club team games and did so, and now thats not possible geographically. 5 teams from outside NSW were welcomed into an existing A grade competition (a first for them) and haven't stopped complaining since.

Are you saying the 5 teams outside SYDNEY don't deserve the same free ride that SYDNEY based sides get and should not get the leg up that SYDNEY sides get when it comes to a grand final. Used to be the NSWRL,only thing changed is they dropped the SW to make the competion look like a true national comp. I noticed the old guard was quick to sell off the grand final as long as it was played in SYDNEY for the next ten years before the new comission took over, to believe teams outside the self appionted owners "city of SYDNEY" are'nt disadvantaged by this coocooned idieology is rediculous.LET'S PLAY FAIR AFTER ALL MOST FANS ARE WATCHING IT ON THE TV,THIS IS WHERE THE INCOME FOR THE GAME COMES FROM!

Wow stupidity at its best. A joke to all outside Sydney that must be all of 5 teams and 1 of those is in its 4th bite of the cherry... Talk sense....

This is just more sydney based bias over and over again all home games should be played on home grounds including the grand final just like a true national competition like football does with the A league. But ofcourse this will never happen while SYDNEY thinks they own the competition and the game on every level,it really is a joke to all outside of SYDNEY.

The irony with the argument that Brookvale is a cow paddock and therefore games should be played at city venues is that it highlights the inequity of the comp. A suburban team like Manly is competing with city teams like Melbourne and Brisbane that have a far larger fan base and corporate sponsorship. Rather than acknowledging this and allowing them to play at home on their cow paddock they expect them to play in an empty city stadium and if they win, have to play at Melbourne's home ground. Why don't we play the Melbourne final in Geelong which has a stadium as good as SFS ??

Why do 2 teams that run in the last 4 of the 8 deserve a home game advantage. How is that warranted? I've watched Queensland play 25% more S of O games in Queensland than NSW when it was supposed to be 2 one year and 1 the next visa versa. If this stupidity is not sorted out then Rugby League is stuffed. Finals Football should be played at whatever oval designated by the rules, not changed to accommodate the media. After the first weekend all games should be played at Sydney Stadium if anyone whinges then tough on them. They might remember that they came into a Sydney based competition and there have been far too many allowances made, now we have a ratbag Queenslander running a committee that has not done a damn thing. Half the competition end up in the finals what a joke.......Don't anyone ever tell me that Rugby League has taken a leap forward because that is NOT TRUE...

So according to mr johns, all finals after week 1 should be played at a large venue in sydney? what if storm were to play north queensland? shall we play that at stadium aust with 5000 people watching? rather than reward the higher ranked side. thus not at all rewarding the outstanding team throughout the year. if melbourne (2nd) end up playing manly (who finished well below the storm) in sydney, it is favouring the lower ranked team. regardless of the fact it is not manly's "spiritual" home ground, they would not have to travel, they get to sleep in their own bed and in comfortable surroundings. what would be the point of finishing on top?

The constant whining about home games is a joke and just shows how narrow minded the media and supporters of the game are. If you finish in a top position to enable you to have 2 home finals it's a fair reward for effort. Joey your comments about the 20,000 crowd is not justified and I'm confident that there are a lot of Sydney teams that would appreciate such a crowd, for example Manly this week. Lets call a spade a spade, Brookvale oval is nothing better than a cow paddock and needs to be redeveloped. The only advantage for having the game there this week is that you won't see 80,000 empty seats. The system is fair the way it's currently being run and the status quo should remain.

Spot on there Joey. I'll put what you said in a simple form. For the sake of the game, finals should be played at the venue most likely to gain more spectators from the week 2 of finals. P.S Geof Toovey is a disgraceful loser

Allowing one city teams such as Melbourne and Brisbane have a home final and not allowing teams like Manly or St George have a home final is giving these teams an unfair advantage. The irony is that if Manly played this weekends game at Brookvale a bigger crowd would attend and there would be a far better advertisment for the game. I attended Manly's game at SFS last year and it was an embarrasement to the game to have empty stands and no atmosphere. Ticket sales to date suggest a repeat this year. Why don't we learn ??

I honestly dont know why the Sea Eagles are complaining! They have the second best away record this year and the 1 other game they played at the SFS they won 52-14! Quit complaining Manly, its just another case of poor sad little me...bunch of wingers! Get on with it North Qld and boot them out of the comp...you dont see Nth Qld complaining...and they are travelling out of state!