NRL 2020: Melbourne Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy calls for an NFL-style wildcard weekend

Dead rubbers! It’s a term that sends chills through sports. So, as the NRL grapples with a testing final round, one CEO has put forward a proposal that has turned American sports on its head.

Melbourne Storm has rested en masse ahead of its Round 20 clash with St George-Illawarra. Picture: Getty

Melbourne Storm has called on the NRL Commission to consider a wildcard weekend next year before the finals.

Under the NFL-style model, the top six teams get a bye week as the next four shootout for two wildcards.

Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy urged the league to assess the merits of wildcards, or floating final-round fixture.

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The Storm are resting their stars this weekend with second place already sewn up.

“I think reassessing the merits of a wildcard weekend makes sense for a league who’s shown themselves to be really progressive,” Donaghy said.

“This is a great opportunity to learn and to improve, if we feel it is in the best interests of the game.

“I feel in this case there’s merit in seeing how we can improve on what’s in front of us this weekend.”

The progressive structure this week would see Souths (7th) and Wests (10th) and Sharks (8th) and Titans (9th) in cutthroat mini-finals, instead of six of the eight Round 20 matches being dead-rubbers.

It would also mean Manly (11th), New Zealand (12th) or Dragons (13th) could sneak a wildcard, depending on results.

“It just keeps fans engaged longer and you have less dead-rubbers,” Donaghy said.

Storm on Tuesday confirmed up to 16 possible changes to a team which belted Wests 50-22, with Cameron Smith, Cameron Munster and Josh Addo-Carr among the star-studded cohort being rested.

The finals fixture will be released on Sunday after the Melbourne-St George/Illawarra clash, with Storm facing a potential six-day turnaround for a qualifying final in Brisbane against Roosters or Eels.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy on Tuesday told Melbourne radio he would back an AFL-style pre-finals bye, if it meant none of the top eight teams would disadvantaged by the final round fixture.

The AFL introduced the “celebration of football” pre-finals bye weekend in 2016 to stop teams resting en masse in the final round. It led to bumper ratings and attendances.

Donaghy said the Storm “dodged a bullet” cementing second spot on the ladder last Saturday and being able to rest players.

Premiership contenders including Penrith, Sydney and Canberra have rested players in recent weeks.

“The game has been as fast as Origin historically and coming off a condensed pre-season the attrition rate with injuries has been brutal,” Donaghy said.

“I don’t think anybody would begrudge any player to take the opportunity to freshen up heading into the finals.”

The 11th-placed Sea Eagles would have benefited from a wildcard weekend this year.

Storm has finished in the top two the past five seasons and missed the top four once in 10 years.

“It‘s probably a fair indication we’re a pretty good chance of making (the finals),” Donaghy said ahead of a tricky Sunday home-and-away finale.

“Perhaps moving forward with broadcast arrangements we look at a wildcard weekend, a floating fixture … or a Premier League model where no games are played the Sunday of the final weekend?”

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