The winners and losers in the NRL draw

Finally the National Rugby League have released the times for the final six rounds of the 2014 Premiership.  Here’s the winners and the losers from the draw.

WINNER: Brisbane

Brisbane continues to have the support of the broadcasters and will only suffer one round without free-to-air coverage when they face the Knights in round 23.  Only on one occasion will they need to back up less than seven days after the completion of a match, when they play Thursday night against South Sydney in round 23.  Many Sydney clubs would love to be in the same position of their northern counterparts in the run to the finals.

LOSER: Penrith

The competition front runners at the mid-point of the season have back to back Monday night fixtures against Melbourne and North Queensland in rounds 23 and 24.  Generally Monday night crowds are poor so the marketing department are in for a lot of work to get bums on seats.  They face New Zealand Warriors in the final match of the preliminary rounds on Sunday at 6:30pm.  The worse possible outcome could be having to back up as early as Friday night if they qualify for the finals.  This would be a daunting task for a team that relatively has finals football.

LOSER: Wests Tigers

Wests Tigers are reportedly approaching the National Rugby League for compensation over the round 23 move of their clash with Sydney Roosters from ANZ Stadium, to Leichhardt Oval.  You would expect tickets will be in hot demand and the Tigers could have attracted close to thirty thousand at ANZ Stadium, compared to around eighteen thousand at Leichhardt.  The Tigers will claim the scheduling of this match coincided with the Bledisloe Cup match at ANZ.

WINNER: South Sydney, Manly, Canterbury

All these teams will have prime time football over the final weeks of the competition.  Canterbury will have each of their final round matches televised on free-to-air.  South Sydney and Manly will appear on free-to-air five times.  Great for merchandising and promotion of these clubs.

LOSER: Sydney Roosters

As defending premiers they have only managed one free-to-air game, being the Thursday night final round clash against South Sydney at Allianz.  They must feel unlucky that their round 25 clash against Melbourne Storm wasn’t considered a blockbuster to be played on Sunday.  The game couldn’t be played Friday night as Melbourne play the previous round on a Monday night.

National Rugby League times and dates, round 21 to 26

ROUND 21

Friday 1 August
Sea Eagles vs. Broncos Brookvale Oval (NINE) 7:45pm
Bulldogs vs. Panthers ANZ Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Saturday 2 August
Sharks vs. Eels Remondis Stadium (FOX) 3:00pm
Cowboys vs. Titans 1300Smiles Stadium (FOX) 5:30pm
Roosters vs. Dragons Allianz Stadium (FOX) 7:30pm

Sunday 3 August
Raiders vs. Warriors GIO Stadium (FOX) 2:00pm
Rabbitohs vs. Knights Barlow Park Cairns (NINE) 3:00pm

Monday 4 August
Tigers vs. Storm, Campbelltown Stadium (FOX) 7:00pm

ROUND 22

Friday 8 August
Rabbitohs vs. Sea Eagles Sydney Cricket Ground (NINE) 7:45pm
Broncos vs. Bulldogs Suncorp Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Saturday 9 August
Knights vs. Storm, Hunter Stadium (FOX) 5:30pm
Cowboys vs. Tigers 1300Smiles Stadium (FOX) 7:30pm
Eels vs. Raiders TIO Stadium Darwin (FOX) 8:30pm (8:00pm NT local)

Sunday 10 August
Warriors vs. Sharks Mt Smart Stadium (FOX) 2:00pm (4:00pm NZ local)
Dragons vs. Panthers WIN Stadium (NINE) 3:00pm

Monday 11 August
Roosters vs. Titans Allianz Stadium (FOX) 7:00pm

ROUND 23

Thursday, Aug 14
Rabbitohs vs. Broncos ANZ Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Friday, Aug 15
Eels vs. Bulldogs ANZ Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Saturday, Aug 16
Raiders vs. Dragons GIO Stadium (FOX) 3:00pm
Storm vs. Sharks AAMI Park (FOX) 5.30pm
Tigers vs. Roosters Leichhardt Oval (FOX) 7:30pm

Sunday, Aug 17
Knights vs. Warriors Hunter Stadium (FOX) 2:00pm
Titans vs. Sea Eagles Cbus Super Stadium (NINE) 3.00pm

Monday, Aug 18
Panthers vs. Cowboys Sportingbet Stadium (FOX) 7:00pm

ROUND 24

Thursday, Aug 21
Bulldogs vs. Tigers ANZ Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Friday, Aug 22
Eels vs. Sea Eagles Pirtek Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Saturday, Aug 23

Broncos vs. Knights Suncorp Stadium (FOX) 5:30pm
Rabbitohs vs. Cowboys ANZ Stadium (FOX) 7:30pm

Sunday, Aug 24
Warriors vs. Roosters Mt Smart Stadium (FOX) 12:00pm, 2:00pm local
Sharks vs. Raiders Remondis Stadium (FOX) 2:00pm
Dragons vs. Titans WIN Jubilee Oval (NINE) 3:00pm

Monday, Aug 25
Panthers vs. Storm Sportingbet Stadium (FOX) 7:00pm

ROUND 25

Thursday, Aug 28
Bulldogs vs. Rabbitohs ANZ Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Friday, Aug 29
Broncos vs. Dragons Suncorp Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Saturday, Aug 30
Knights vs. Eels Hunter Stadium (FOX) 3:00pm
Raiders vs. Tigers GIO Stadium (FOX) 5:30pm
Roosters vs. Storm Allianz Stadium (FOX) 7:30pm

Sunday, Aug 31
Warriors vs. Titans Mt Smart Stadium (FOX) 2:00pm, 4:00pm local
Sea Eagles vs. Panthers Brookvale Oval (NINE) 3:00pm

Monday, Sep 1
Cowboys vs. Sharks 1300Smiles Stadium (FOX) 7:00pm

ROUND 26

Thursday, Sep 4
Roosters vs. Rabbitohs Allianz Stadium (NINE) 7:45pm

Friday, Sep 5
Storm vs. Broncos AAMI Park (NINE) 7:45pm

Saturday, Sep 6
Tigers vs. Sharks Leichhardt Oval (FOX) 3:00pm
Raiders vs. Eels GIO Stadium (FOX) 5:30pm
Cowboys vs. Sea Eagles 1300Smiles Stadium (FOX) 7:30pm

Sunday, Sep 7
Knights vs. Dragons Hunter Stadium (FOX) 2:00pm
Titans vs. Bulldogs Cbus Super Stadium (NINE) 3:00pm
Panthers vs. Warriors Sportingbet Stadium (FOX) 6:30pm