A controversial plan to add a new consolation match between the two losing teams from the NRL preliminary finals during grand final week has been firmly pushed back by current players, with injury risk cited as the primary point of opposition. The proposal, which emerged in media reports over the weekend, draws loose inspiration from the FIFA World Cup’s third-place playoff match between England and France earlier this year – a high-scoring 6-4 contest that produced plenty of on-field highlights but failed to match the relentless intensity of the tournament’s other knockout round fixtures. Even so, NRL officials have floated the idea as a way to generate extra broadcast and gate revenue on the Friday night of grand final week, though the plan still faces major hurdles to win buy-in from players and their representative body.
Canterbury Bulldogs veteran Kurt Mann, one of the first active players to publicly comment on the proposal, has emerged as a prominent critic, arguing that there is little incentive for athletes to risk long-term damage in a meaningless match. Mann, who has spent years navigating the physical and emotional toll of a full NRL schedule, highlighted that coming off a devastating preliminary final loss already puts players in a vulnerable state. “It’s a big emotional rollercoaster, and usually when you have a massive emotional high and then you have the big comedown – which would be losing a preliminary final – the likelihood of getting injured or something going on in those next games is pretty high,” Mann explained. “You don’t really want that to happen to any of the players, especially if there doesn’t need to be. If there’s nothing in it for them, then it probably doesn’t need to happen.”
Mann added that the risk of losing key talent to injury ahead of the next pre-season and regular season far outweighs any potential benefits the extra game could bring to the league. “You just wouldn’t want to risk it,” he said. The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA), which has long advocated for reducing the total number of games on the annual calendar to protect player welfare, has echoed these concerns. As of the latest update, the association has not yet received a formal briefing on the proposal, but has already signaled it would prefer players get an extended break between the preliminary finals and the season-ending grand final. This year, player workload has been an even more pressing issue, with the NRL season overlapping with the men’s Rugby League World Cup, creating an unusually packed schedule for elite athletes.
Not all players have outright rejected the idea, however. Bulldogs prop Max King acknowledged that psychologically and physically, gearing up for another match just days after a season-ending heartbreak would be a major ask, but said he would comply with any league decision if it benefits the sport financially. “I’m a football player, it’s a business, so I’m respectful enough to know that,” King said. “It’s such a tough sport that we play, you leave everything out there. You go home after game days and the next two or three days you’re just a wreck. So it is tough knowing you’re out, but then getting up for another game from a player’s side, it would be tough. But again, I’m a player, I get paid to play, so whatever they tell me to play, I’ve got to play it.”
King added that if the match drives ticket sales and grows overall revenue for the code, it is not his place to dismiss it out of hand. “I’m sure it would be tough for the players, but like I said, if it’s bringing in crowds, if it’s bringing in revenue, I guess who am I to say it’s a bad thing for the game,” he noted. For context, if the match had been introduced last season, it would have pitted the 2023 preliminary final losers the Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers against one another. It remains unclear if the NRL will move forward with the plan, or how the league would address player concerns around injury and workload to secure the support needed to launch the fixture. At this stage, league head office still has a long way to go to convince the playing group that the extra match is a worthwhile addition to the grand final week schedule.