Before all of the 2019 NRL Grand Final fallout is completely boxed and buried, we finish up with one final rant about the big event by declaring the 2019 NRL showpiece was the culmination of some of the best and worst of the NRL this season. As in, everyone got what they deserved.
Well, except the Canberra Raiders, who played well enough to win the game that is.
The NRL have run the game poorly for some time now, and they received full comeuppance after Sunday where very few are talking about the game.
We already discussed the best and blurst of the NRL Grand Final and end it here with our final word and 2019 NRL Grand Final fallout.
REFEREES
The NRL got what they deserved after a season of poor decisions, and less than believable justifications on the Monday.
Too many games during 2019 were spoiled if not decided by some poor refereeing, and on too few occasions did there seem to be much punishment for poor form.
They also continue to pick Suttons for big games, and overlook the best referees for the big games.
So by creating an atmosphere of mediocrity throughout 2019, the NRL got what they deserved in the 2019 Grand Final fallout as the main talking point is the Six Again rather than the actual play.
TRAINERS
Trainers on the field have been an unnecessary pain in the arse for years, either annoying fans or at least leaving the rest questioning what on earth they need to be on the field
Why on earth does a trainer need to be on the field after a few minutes? Or why do they need to be on the field at all except for injuries?
The whole thing is best explained in this fine article from the Roar’s Tim Gore.
So, by the NRL doing nothing about trainers for years, it came back to bite them on Grand Final night, as like the refereeing, the trainer is a talking point and not the actual play that led to the Roosters first try.
Once again the NRL get what they deserve.
CLIVE CHURCHILL MEDAL
Finishing off the NRL’s appalling Sunday evening was the awarding of the Clive Churchill medal.
Only an organisation going as badly as the NRL could stuff up a simple three person 3-2-1 vote.
According to this story from Fox Sports and other sources, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was told he had won the best on ground, only for him and others on stage to be told that the votes from one judge hadn’t been counted as they weren’t able to log into the mega IT system compiling the nine different votes.
So after a year of looking rather stupid, the NRL and especially CEO Todd Greenberg got what they deserved on Sunday night with a final moment of incompetence in front of the rugby league to sign off with.
CHANNEL NEIN’S TV RATINGS
A recent NRL survey found that most fans favour a day time Grand Final. Not the pissweak attempt to placate both fans and Channel Nein like the 5pm kick off – a day time kick off.
Every year it is the same. Fans want the Sunday Grand Final to be on the Sunday afternoon.
Fair enough the NRL should listen to the broadcaster who pays a tonne of money to show it, but it’s more professional cousin the AFL has managed to keep its traditional kick off despite pressure to change it so far. That’s because the AFL are better run in every way.
So, continuing our theme of people getting what they deserve in the 2019 Grand Final fallout, the NRL Grand Final saw the worst ratings in some time.
The five city metro audience was the lowest on record since 2003.
As far as we know, the only reason to have the Grand Final on at night is for ratings, and to possibly allow an awful musical act to “entertain” the crowd and TV audiences in the better lighting at night.
So if the rating continue to dive, why not make the fans happy and return the Grand Final back to where it belongs. Before it fails to out-rate Shaun the Sheep.
NRL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
On a positive, the NRL should be applauded for finally getting on board with the NRL State Championship.
They got what they deserved on Sunday with a fine contest between Burleigh and Newtown that went down to the very last second.
THE ROOSTERS
Against popular belief, the Roosters did actually win the NRL Grand Final, and although they were assisted with some luck in the above rants, they also took their chances, and their defense to hold out a rampaging Canberra was admirable. And ultimately match winning.
They even had their share of refereeing pain, as the Cooper Cronk sin bin was pretty soft.
It’s hard to argue that the Roosters players were any less committed that Canberra’s.
So despite all the above noise, the Roosters got what they deserved – back to back premierships.
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