LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Ricky Stuart has voiced concerns that the NRL could give the Broncos an "unbelievable advantage" if they don't schedule the Raiders' upcoming qualifying final against Brisbane for Sunday week. The Raiders will host the Dolphins in their last regular-season match this Sunday, having secured the minor premiership.
However, there looms a potential situation where they might have to compete against the Broncos just six days later, during the finals' opening weekend. This scenario would allow Brisbane a nine-day turnaround compared to Canberra's much shorter schedule. The NRL is expected to finalize the playoffs' schedule on Sunday, with the top eight teams confirmed prior to the last regular-season matchday.
Melbourne is set to kick off the finals series by hosting Canterbury on Friday night, but the timetable for the two Saturday games and the Sunday afternoon final is still uncertain. Given their top finish in the season, Stuart believes the Raiders should have the right to choose their qualifying final's day.
He is advocating for the Raiders to receive the longest possible gap between their round 27 match against the Dolphins and their finals contest. The Broncos will already enjoy an additional three days of recovery after defeating Melbourne on Thursday night during the final regular-season round.
Qualifying finals typically occur on Friday nights and Saturdays, but the scheduling for the last regular-season round has complicated the situation. Raiders officials have been privately lobbying the NRL for a Sunday afternoon final at GIO Stadium, and Stuart increased his call for fairness in the competition on Saturday.
"We have (earned the right to pick when we play)," said Stuart. "We're minor premiers and we need the maximum (amount of) turnaround as possible from the Sunday game tomorrow."
"We're going to be playing against a team that's got nine days, so it's an unbelievable advantage (for Brisbane if the match is played on Saturday). That one extra day is what we deserve for being minor premiers."