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2015 NRL finals: Start time, format, key dates and information

8th September, 2015
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Dylan Napa will be back for the big dance. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
8th September, 2015
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The NRL Finals begin with the first of two qualifying finals on Friday, September 11th and go through until the 2015 NRL grand final on Sunday, October 4.

NRL FINALS FORMAT EXPLAINED: HOW DO THE NRL FINALS WORK?

At the end of 2015, eight teams have qualified for the 2015 NRL Finals series, having finished in the first eight places on the ladder. These are:

2015 NRL GRAND FINAL KICKOFF TIME

1. Sydney Roosters
2. Brisbane Broncos
3. North Queensland Cowboys
4. Melbourne Storm
5. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
6. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
7. South Sydney Rabbitohs
8. St George Illawarra Dragons

The first week
Under the NRL finals system, these eight teams are then divided up into a top four and a bottom four, who play games among themselves in the first week of finals.

First plays fourth and second plays third in qualifying finals. The advantage of having finished in the top four is that these qualifying finals will not see teams eliminated. However, the teams that win them will go straight through to preliminary finals in the third week, and will have a bye in the second week. The teams that lose them will have to keep playing, and will be at risk of elimination.

The higher-placed teams, first and second, are given the right to host these finals in their home state, which means that this year these finals will be in New South Wales and Queensland.

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In the first of these two finals the Sydney Roosters host the Melbourne Storm at 7:55pm AEST on Friday, September 11, at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

The Brisbane Broncos host the North Queensland Cowboys at 7:55pm AEST on Saturday, September 12, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in the second of these two finals.

The other games in the first week of finals are elimination finals, played between the bottom four clubs. Fifth plays eighth and sixth plays seventh. The losers of these matches are eliminated from the finals series, while the winners continue on to play the losers of the qualifying finals next week.

Again, the higher-placed teams, fifth and sixth, are given the right to host these finals in their home state, meaning that in 2015 both of these finals will be in New South Wales.

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs host the St George Illawarra Dragons in the first of these two elimination finals at 5:50pm AEST on Saturday, September 12 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks then host the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the last match of the first week at 4:10pm AEST on Sunday, September 13, at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

The second week
In the second week of the finals series two semi-finals are played between the two teams that lost the qualifying finals and the two teams that won the elimination finals.

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The teams that won the qualifying finals have a week off, while the teams that lost the elimination finals are out of the running.

The teams that lose these semi-finals will also be eliminated, while the teams that win will go through to face the qualifying final winners in preliminary finals in week three.

The finals series is organised so that the loser of first versus fourth will play the winner of fifth versus eighth, and the loser of second versus third will play the winner of sixth versus seventh.

In 2015, that means the loser of Roosters/Storm will play the winner of Bulldogs/Dragons, and the loser of Broncos/Cowboys will play the winner of Sharks/Rabbitohs.

The losing qualifying final teams are given the right to host these matches in their home state. These two fixtures are yet to be confirmed, but they will be held on Friday, September 18, and Saturday, September 19.

The third week
In the third week the winners of the qualifying finals from the first week play the winners of the semi-finals from the second weeks in preliminary finals.

These preliminary finals determine who enters the grand final. The teams who win preliminary finals are through to the grand final, the teams who lose them are eliminated from the finals series.

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There are a wide variety of potential preliminary final combinations available depending on how the first two weeks of the finals series point out.

However what is essentially agreed is that in one preliminary final, the qualifying final winner from first versus fourth (in 2015, Roosters versus Storm) will host one of the teams that finished second, third, sixth or seventh (in 2015, Broncos, Cowboys, Sharks or Rabbitohs).

In the other, the qualifying final winner from second versus third (in 2015, Broncos versus Cowboys) will host one of the teams that finished first, fourth, fifth or eighth (in 2015, Roosters, Storm, Bulldogs or Dragons).

The qualifying final winners not only have had a week off as a bye, but also get to host these games in their home state, giving them a significant advantage. These two fixtures are yet to be confirmed but they will be held on Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26.

The fourth week
In the fourth week of finals, the two teams that won the preliminary finals play each other in the grand final. The winner of this match is declared the year’s premiership team.

The grand final could theoretically be between any two teams in the finals series, except for those that play elimination finals against each other in the first week and cannot possibly both progress.

Although one team will be listed first as the ‘home’ team, this fixture does not change venue regardless of the home state of the teams involved. Since 1999 it has been played every year at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. This year it will be played on Sunday, October 4.

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