Why the Peter McDonald Premiership finals system needs a rethink

If the regular season was to end right now and we started the finals, it would be an even four teams from Group 10 and Group 11 which take part.

That's just how the organisers would like and how it would be each year in an ideal world.

But things aren't always ideal and if we dig into the table a little more, we could be on track for a vastly different scenario ahead of the final round of the season proper on August 12 and 13.

Attend any Group 11 game this season and you'll hear people talking about the strength of the sides involved in that pool this season. Many are saying it's one of the strongest Group 11 competitions they can remember and it's easy to see why.

The ever-consistent Dubbo CYMS is top of the ladder, Parkes is much better and has a powerhouse forward pack, Wellington is much better and has Blake Ferguson in its ranks, Nyngan is much better and injured captain-coach James Tuitahi hasn't even played a game this season, Forbes has gained recruits in recent weeks and is better than its current record shows, and Macquarie's team on paper is arguably as good as any of the others.

Across in Group 10, the top four is already locked in. Mudgee, Bathurst St Pat's, Orange Hawks and Bathurst Panthers will play finals as things stand. You'd get great odds for anything otherwise. Lithgow and Orange CYMS just aren't at that level this season.

Given Group 11's strength, there's every chance the upcoming crossover matches could again be dominated by sides from the western pool. Group 10 sides won three of the 12 crossover games played to start the season.

If we get a repeat of that, it would likely lead to teams four, five and even six in Group 11 potentially having as good, or even better, records than the team which finishes fourth in Group 10 when the season is done.

This is not a dig at Group 10, as much as those of us over in Group 11 territory enjoy that. This is about the good of the competition.

Look at last season. Orange Hawks missed out on finals despite having the same amount of wins and losses as Parkes, who finished fourth in Group 11.

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It didn't matter that Parkes beat Wellington in the final round. They could have rested everyone, taken the loss and still played finals despite having a worse record than Hawks.

This season, can we say for certain Hawks and Panthers are going to have a better record than Wellington, Nyngan, Forbes or even Macquarie? You'd do well to say yes to that.

There's a lot to like about this Peter McDonald Premiership. There's still some out there who oppose it and it does have its issues - crowds on crossover matches one of those - but it's great seeing the best sides in the two proud competitions go head-to-head. We saw it last season when Mudgee went up against Dubbo CYMS in one semi and Forbes met Orange CYMS in the other.

That best of the best is what we want. So let's make it happen.

We keep it a top eight, that works. And we need both pools represented in the finals, there's no arguments there.

Top three from each pool make finals. They're likely going to be the best six teams in the competition every year anyway.

But those final two spots should be for whoever is the next best. Be that Panthers and Hawks last year had things been a little different, or Nyngan and Forbes this year if that's how it works out.

That system would also add real excitement to the finals rounds rather than us going in knowing who is in each top four.

Crowds are better, there's more interest and there's more passion.

Forbes is fifth in Group 11 and has currently played one match less than each of the sides in Group 10 after having the bye last weekend. If the Magpies were to win that game, their record would be good enough to be third in the Group 10 pool currently.

If the Magpies jag a win over the likes of Hawks or Macquarie in the coming weeks then they have every chance of finishing with about 13 points. Knock over Dubbo CYMS once, which is easily possible given a Fijian quartet headlined by former NRL player Pio Seci arrived this month, and they're up to 15.

Are Hawks, Panthers and Pat's all going to end up with more than that? Not likely.

Nyngan got belted by CYMS last weekend but they were seriously down on troops due to injury and the fact a chunk of the town is currently in Europe for a wedding. Those players will be back on deck next time they play so games against Wellington, Orange CYMS and even Mudgee are winnable, especially given two of those three games will be at a pumping Larkin Oval.

Macquarie needs to quickly right the ship if it is to play finals but it's fair to say it has more potential to climb the ladder than Lithgow and Orange CYMS, who are both in rebuilding years, given the likes of Alex Ronayne, Jack Kavanagh, Billy Gilbert, Filisione Pauta, Jordan Reynolds and Tyson Fuller are all in blue this season.

Group 11 secretary Paul Loxley said earlier this season he's happy about the way it is because he doesn't want his sides to miss out should things be different in the coming years.

We shouldn't use fear as a reason in decision-making. We should be thinking about the best for the game.

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