NRL draw 2021: Dragons face horror run home as season fixtures are revealed
Tight Covid restrictions on players will be eased for the 2021 season as the NRL remain optimistic the Warriors will be able to base themselves in New Zealand.
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It’s the six weeks that could define or destroy Anthony Griffin’s first season with the Dragons.
Every NRL side cops a few rough weeks through the season but nobody has a tougher run than St George Illawarra’s finish to 2021.
From Round 20 to Round 25 the Red V will play South Sydney (home), Canberra (away), Penrith (home), the Roosters (home) and North Queensland (home) before finishing the regular season with another clash against the Rabbitohs.
It’s a hellish stretch for Griffin’s men that will lead one of two ways – either they enter the finals battle hardened and ready for anything, or their chances of returning to the playoffs after two years on the outer vanishes in front of their eyes.
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For their part, the Dragons aren’t complaining – after all, being the best starts with beating the best.
“From our perspective we’re pretty satisfied with the draw. There’s not much you can do about it, so it’s not something we dive too deeply into once it comes out,” said football manager Ben Haran.
“We’ve had a couple of lean years there and we certainly are expecting to improve. “We have to be positive that we’ll be one of those teams that come the middle of the season and people say ‘we’ve got the Dragons this week, that’s a tough one’.”
It’s not all bad news for Griffin’s men – they only play the Storm and Panthers once and have the advantage of hosting four of their last six games.
With only three matches against teams from last year’s top four in the first 16 rounds, the Dragons could be well placed as they enter their difficult stretch to end the season.
Despite having to take on five of this year’s top eight twice in season 2021, Penrith have responded favourably to their draw as they aim to avenge this year’s 26-20 loss to the Melbourne Storm in the grand final.
Penrith fans will only get one Sunday afternoon match at Panthers Stadium but will get two games in Central West NSW, a chance to grow their footprint in the region even further.
“We’re particularly thrilled to be playing two games in Central West NSW given our strong affinity with the region. We always look forward to our annual game in Bathurst but the opportunity to play in Isaah Yeo’s hometown of Dubbo is a bonus,” Panthers General Manager Rugby League Matt Cameron.
The NRL 2021 season will return to a 25-round home and away season along with its traditional Anzac Day and Easter fixtures.
Magic round will also return to Suncorp Stadium in round 10.
COVID BUBBLE BURSTS
Tight Covid restrictions will be eased, meaning players will now only have to adhere to the same safety protocols as the rest of the community.
“The protocols will be in adherence to what the public protocols are but clearly we want to make sure the players are training in a safe and low risk environment. If that situation changes we will put together a set of protocols relevant to the risk level at the time,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.
While international borders remained closed Abdo said he is confident the Warriors will be able to base themselves in New Zealand in season 2021.
“If the borders are not open, the NRL and the Warriors will be ready to host them in Australia and they will play at their second home on the Central Coast. At the moment the borders are closed but we are optimistic … borders opening and Warriors playing at home, that’s what we are hoping for.”
ORIGIN
While the dates for the Origin series were confirmed, including it’s return to mid-season, the locations for all three matches are yet to be announced.
“We’ve announced previously we have an agreement to play one Origin in Melbourne and we’re currently in discussions with the Victorian government around what that looks like,” Abdo said.
“We’re working on a configuration that potentially has Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
“But before formalising that we want to make sure it’ll be a great experience for the fans, for the players and, of course, our partnership with the Victorian government.”
WOMEN’S GAME
The NRL and the ARL Commission are working to expand the women’s competition in season 2021. But at this stage expansion will be in the form of a longer season and the possibility of adding another State of Origin match to the current stand alone fixture.
“The women’s premiership is very important to our game, the commission has made it clear that we need to invest in the female elite pathways from the grassroots to the Jillaroos. The NRLW is an integral part of that puzzle. It will be played at the back end of the men’s season but it will look different in 2021 … thinking about how we expand the rounds and then ultimately the number of clubs and teams is a priority for us,” Abdo said.
SALARY CAP
Abdo said progress was being made on finalising a figure for the 2021 salary cap and negotiations with the players association were ongoing while the possibility of players enduring another pay cut was yet to be ruled out.
“We’re making great progress and we’re hoping to announce very, very shortly in the next couple of weeks, the certainty for our players around what those changes will look like,” Abdo said.
“We’ve been in a dialogue with the RLPA and I think we’re on the brink.
“They (the players) understand our revenues have dropped, we’ve been hit by a pandemic which has impacted on revenue significantly – not just for the NRL but for clubs and the players, as you would expect, have been understanding of that.”
BRISBANE GRAND FINAL
While ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys said he would consider moving the grand final to Brisbane, Abdo quickly shut the door on any immediate move.
“We have a great partnership with the NSW government and our default position remains to play the grand final at ANZ Stadium in 2021. Yesterday we went to the Premier, it was a terrific discussion over the investment in infrastructure that supports tribalism and community assets. But I’m very confident we will be playing the grand final at ANZ Stadium next year,” Abdo said.
REGIONAL QUEENSLAND
The NRL will play six matches in regional New South Wales in 2021 but regional Queensland has been left in the cold with the Sunshine Coast the only venue north of the border outside of Brisbane, Townsville and Gold Coast scheduled to host games.
“We were fortunate this year that we had a regional task force set up in partnership between the NRL and the New South Wales government,” Abdo said.
“That doesn’t mean we’re not thinking about Queensland, we need to do more work on that.
“We only have three NRL teams in Queensland, there’s less opportunities to move games around but that is on the agenda and we’ll definitely be looking to work with the clubs in regional Queensland. We just didn’t have that growth in 2021.”
Originally published as NRL draw 2021: Dragons face horror run home as season fixtures are revealed
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