Unfair Finals System

I find it very ironic that Rugby League commentators are displaying concern over the unfair nature of their finals system (The McIntyre Final 8). A specific example this year was how can the 6th place Bulldogs lose in week one and have a second chance against 4th place Parramatta in week two. Luckily results went the way they should and the Bulldogs were consequently eliminated by Parra. In years gone by teams haven't been so lucky. St George were once eliminated after week one despite finishing the season in 5th place.

The irony lies in the fact that the AFL abandoned the McIntyre Final 8 many years ago for exactly the same reasons. One or two years later the ARL (now NRL) take it up. Did they ignore the AFL's concerns with the system?

Mark Geyer on the NRL Footy Show apparently knows better than everyone else as he proclaims "find a better system...there isn't one." Mind you, he strikes me as the type who would shrug off anything the AFL does (or any other sport for that matter) as not as good as Rugby League.

The AFL has a much fairer Final 8 system where the top 4 play each other and the bottom 4 play each other. That way the bottom 4 have to win to stay alive. At least we had some sense from, of all people, Paul Vautin. He actually stated that the NRL needs to adopt the same system that the AFL has in place as he thinks it is much fairer.

Thanks for your common sense Vautin. Pull your head in Geyer.