I can picture NSW League fans perched on the edges of their seats, foaming with anticipation at the prospect of the Queensland game this Friday.
Channel 9 viewers will be treated to a showcase in attacking football and tough defence when the Brisbane Broncos take on the Parramatta Eels.
I was wrongly under the impression that the reason for the flexible scheduling in the last six rounds of the year was to ensure the best games were shown on free-to-air.
The NRL and Channel 9 have seen fit to force those of us without Foxtel to watch the Eels play not only this weekend, but three other times in the final six weeks of the regular season.
Is this some conspiracy to con us into buying Foxtel?
As if the game this weekend wasn’t unpalatable enough, it will follow the Sea Eagles against the Rabbitohs.
That game will be a blockbuster whereas the Eels game, just like all of their games this year, will be lacklustre.
It isn’t as if there aren’t going to be exciting games this weekend either.
The Bulldogs will play in Canberra, the Knights will face off with the Storm (to be televised on Sunday afternoon on Channel 9) and the Warriors will be out for revenge against the Panthers.
All those games have implications for the upcoming finals series.
Yes, the Broncos can technically make the finals, but it will require them to win the rest of their games, plus hope that the four teams ahead of them lose all of their games.
Last week I was in Melbourne watching the Storm play the Rabbitohs and was thankfully spared the agony of watching the last-placed Eels beat the second-last placed Tigers.
Round 24 will feature the Panthers against the Broncos and the Storm versus Eels encounter, while arguably the most exciting team in the competition and current ladder leaders, the Roosters square off against the Sharks on Monday night.
Despite the fact that the Sea Eagles will play the Storm in Round 25, Channel 9 has provided us with the Broncos against the Knights.
The final act of the regular season will be the Raiders, possibly fighting for the last finals spot, against the Sharks, who will most likely make the eight.
The last-placed Eels will get four Channel 9 games, while the currently 11th-placed Broncos will get six.
The Broncos can be forgiven for getting all six games, as they plausibly can make the finals and have a massive fan base, but the Eels have had nothing going for them all year.
Teams like the Raiders and Sharks who are desperate for free-to-air time so they can get more sponsors will get precisely zero minutes on Channel 9, despite the fact that the Sharks sit comfortably in the eight and the Raiders just outside it.
Third-placed Manly Sea Eagles will get one Channel 9 game, this against the Rabbitohs, despite the fact that they will play the Storm, plus three teams who could make the eight.
The Rabbitohs, who until recently were in first place, will get five games, while the now first-placed Roosters will get three. Of course, both these teams play each other in Round 26, and thankfully this game will be on free-to-air.
There are plenty of great games that have and will be played over the final six rounds of the competition, and none of them involve the Parramatta Eels.
It is understandable that teams like the Eels and the Broncos have a lot of fans, but since they already get so many games during the year (the Broncos in particular. It should be called the Broncos game, not the Queensland game), surely the NRL and Channel 9 can broadcast a few more games with finals implications.
Better yet, they should broadcast games between not just the finals contenders, but Premiership contenders as well, eg., the Rabbitohs, Roosters, Storm, Manly, Bulldogs and the Sharks.
Vivalasvegan
Guest
You have to be kidding... I won't watch a match with 40 minutes of ads in between anymore... NRL is not a sport that can be watched in small chunks. It is totally butchered by the ads and all tension is lost... I hate Channel Nine and could not believe that they got the rights this time... We are treated like the mugs we probably are for putting up with it...
Football United
Guest
Fill it with decent post match analysis like every other sports broadcaster in the world does.
Marco
Guest
That's the point , Gould is very vocal in the press commentating on issues that are detrimental to the game. Many of these high profile media people are so tied to the system that they are reluctant to slag off the broadcaster. The tv issue needs to be discussed front and centre by league commentators .
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
Well Gould's broadcaster also signs pays his salary, I can't imagine he would remain employed there for very long if he started slagging off the way they run things.
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
Then what happens if the game does run on time? You then have time to fill between the end of the game and the news. I get the point you're making but it really isn't as easy as it sounds.
Marco
Guest
You never see the media personalities like Phil Gould having a crack at nine. Gould thinks he has all the answers to the games problems. The Panthers need some TV exposure, 6000 turned up to their game last weekend in rugby league heartland. These media types seem to be scared of upsetting the broadcaster, although many of them also work at nine. The system is so entangled and people are so entrenched in their self serving interests that they are losing sight of the big picture.
Boomshanka
Guest
Which is why ratings are diminishing for Sunday afternoon / late Friday night games. If they treat the game with contempt, people will turn off. I've found myself doing that a couple of times this year. There's only so much low bit rate, high cross promotion a guy can take.
Marco
Guest
As terrible as nine may be, the network can do what it likes. They probably paid more than they should of for the NRL rights,they really wanted state of origin. Nine will be desperate for a return on their investment and will telecast what they want and when they want with out giving much thought to fans and clubs. The NRL is as much to blame for selling out and losing control.
Morfs
Guest
That I can understand, but that is easily dealt with by starting the coverage at 3, when the kick-off is, and then having a highlights package/magaize program start as soon as the game finishes, which can be edited as needed (read: more ad breaks, longer breaks) if the live game goes overtime. That way, you get three hours of rugby league, including one live game.
Boomshanka
Guest
This game was not even shown into Melbourne live. I remember watching the game on the internet. There was a great social media push for Nine to show the game down here but nothing happened. That game would have blown the socks off the ratings into Melbourne which only had a Fremantle v Collingwood game starting at 8.40pm anyway.
Renegade
Guest
Yet the highest rating regular season game in 2011 was between the Melbourne Storm and Manly..... which was a game between two 'contenders' (1st V 2nd).... not a game of cards between 13th and 16th.
turbodewd
Guest
Are you serious?! Just have the kickoff start earlier. No drama.
scribble
Guest
Channel 9 is the worst network in the country by far. Everything they do is just rubbish, add to that the constant self promotion and patting themselves on the back they do between ads. That home of Rugby League promotion was awful and had everyone rolling their eyes. They are just hopelessly out of touch.
Jimmy Crocodile
Guest
I'm not sure when people like you will ever get it. TV games aren't about the best game, they're about how many people will watch. The Eels (like it or not - and clearly you don't) are one of the most followed teams in the NRL, as are the Broncos, the fans of which, would rather watch them play cards, than watch Canberra or some other 'contender' play the greatest football of their lives. It's not complicated, it's business!
turbodewd
Guest
Saturday arvo on ABC was my intro to the game and how I got into the sport.
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
Having worked behind the scenes at a radio station it isn't as simple as that to show a live game on Sunday afternoon. If the live game on Friday night goes overtime, it doesn't matter because the next program is a delayed game followed by nighttime programming, which most people aren't going to mind if it starts 10 minutes later. The Sunday game poses a problem because if it does run over time then that causes a run on effect for the rest of their programming that night, everything will be behind schedule. The other advantage to a delayed game is the 3-4 minute ad breaks they have which you obviously can't do during a live game.
turbodewd
Guest
I dont mind the ads...but its not live! If it aint live it halves my interest. Nothing wrong with the odd ad break, as long as theyre not over the top.
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
I will actually be doing this!
Pete
Guest
Why channel 9 feel the need to show 2 games on a Friday night I will never know. Move one to Saturday night/Afternoon and its win win all round
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
I am a big fan of Sterlo!