The NRL will schedule the Brisbane Broncos preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium on a Sunday afternoon, with the commission opting for daytime semi-final football.
The NRL has decided to give the Broncos a Sunday afternoon grand final qualifier, which would also give their opponents – either Canterbury or Penrith – a seven-day turnaround heading into the match instead of a six-day turnaround and the customary Saturday night slot.
Complicating the situation for the NRL, however, is the fact that the Melbourne Storm are all but guaranteed to play their preliminary final against either Canberra or Cronulla on a Friday night.
That would give the winner of that game a nine-day turnaround into a grand final compared to a seven-day gap for the winner of the match set to be played at Suncorp Stadium.
The NRL held talks with all relevant clubs on Monday afternoon, and the clubs are comfortable with the NRL’s decision. The NRL will organise charter flights so the Sydney teams can return home on Sunday night.
A Saturday night fixture would have prohibited the teams from returning to Sydney until Sunday anyway.
The Broncos celebrate victory.Credit: Getty Images
The reason the NRL is reluctant to play the Storm at AAMI Park on Saturday night and reduce the turnaround time for the winner of that game to eight days is because of the AFL grand final.
The AFL grand final will be played on that Saturday afternoon, with Collingwood and Geelong the favourites to progress to the decider.
