BY DAN

The NRL leaked the first round of their draw today mostly because that’s what you do when it’s November and you’re trying to get people to pay attention.

Within hours of this information being out there it was reported that the broadcasters were not happy, notably with the Raiders and Knights being the “showcase” game on the Thursday night. It was already being announced that while the matchups wouldn’t change, when teams played was. So within hours Canberra’s Thursday night start now seems to have evaporated like the last vestiges of a pleasant dream upon a rude awakening.

It’s understandable in a sense. Canberra and Newcastle are two of the smallest markets in the competition. Bigger clubs with bigger traditional TV catchments, particularly on free to air, are available for the remaining rumoured games. One obvious candidate is Parramatta, one the biggest markets in the league, playing Canterbury on Saturday afternoon. You can make arguments about the teams playing in the first game not being relevant (i.e people will so keen for regular season prime time footy they’ll watch anyone), or addressing systemic inequality in the game, but those won’t be heeded by broadcasters more interested in reducing uncertainty than building the game.

When this will all be confirmed remains to be seen. The leaking of the draw usually happens over a few days, and most expectations are the draw will be made official early next week. But if you’re a betting man you won’t be expecting the “first” Thursday of the season to start with Canberra playing. The broadcasters have had Peter V’Landys by his jatz crackers since he came to power. There’s little to suggest that has changed. This leak, after all, came from the broadcaster. Let me get my tin foil, but it’s not ridiculous to think this is them communicating publicly what probably could’ve been done privately.

What is confusing is how and why the NRL got this far down the path without checking in with their broadcasters. Most public reporting suggests Fox and Nine play a big role in determining the shape of draws. Were they not involved with this round? Did the NRL get leak-happy and jump ahead of consultations? Was this all just a test balloon designed to make a bit more noise than usual. It’s weird that you would put two teams offside for no reason by taking away something from them they never expected. It’s unfortunate that two fan bases that think the NRL couldn’t give a flying about them now have even more ammunition.

However you think about it it’s bad stakeholder management. The broadcasters are reportedly upset because they weren’t consulted. The Knights and Raiders are miffed by having their very nice gift probably ripped from their hands and offered to someone else. I guess Parramatta are happy. Which is nice. Good for them I guess.

It’s a shame for the Milk not just because they miss out on a high-status game, but also because a Thursday night game in round one is an advantage. A Thursday game creates a mini bye before the next round, not that the Raiders normally get much access to that. But they usually come with the curse of a short turnaround on the way in. When it’s your round one there’s no short turnaround. Instead you just get an extra mini-break. That’s a win.

Alas the Raiders will just have to be happy they’re playing in round one. A round one bye is more cursed than the Hope diamond. In a competition where byes provide the best (and maybe) only chance to rest, and adjust game plans, this is critical. This is even moreso the case when you have young players making up the bulk of your decision-making positions. Whoever lands at one and six will be playing more games there than they’ve done so in their careers so far. Moments to reflect and adapt will be critical throughout the season. So you know, silver linings I guess?

What a way to start the season.

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