The NRL plans to introduce a “Wildcard Round” for the postseason from the 2028 season, after the AFL originated the idea in Australia recently, resulting in huge fan engagement and success.
The Sporting Base understands the NRL even wanted to bring the idea in from the 2027 season, but with Las Vegas already splitting Round 1, it was impossible. The NRL will also not move the Grand Final from October’s long weekend.
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The idea is simple: the NRL will copy what the AFL and many U.S. sports have been running in the 2010s and 2020s. In this case, the ninth and tenth teams will also get a chance to compete in the finals series, with 7th vs. 10th and 8th vs. 9th in a weekend before the finals truly begin.
In the AFL this season, the “Wildcard Round” still saw the seventh and eighth teams go through to the next round, but there were sell-out crowds and huge TV ratings.
There were many who doubted the idea — including Peter V’Landys himself, who lampooned the suggestion twelve months ago — but once the games had been played, it was hard to disagree that they had been a success. The AFL will be running the same concept every season moving forward.
NRL club bosses will be briefed on the incoming finals update at an in-person chief executive meeting with V’landys a little later this month.
V’landys had already looked to bring in the clubs, asking for feedback on the idea in the lead-up to the grand final in October. It reportedly “received widespread support,” according to reports from CODE Sports today.
Whether the NRL will copy the AFL’s naming convention, however, remains to be seen.
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