Cronulla JRL understands that the weather this year has played havoc with teams playing as many games as possible, especially considering the disruptions that have occurred over the previous two seasons.
Cronulla JRL also has to work within the time frames provided to the Junior League from Sutherland Council in regard to field availability and season changeover from Winter to Summer sport.
With this in mind Cronulla JRL has decided to alter the finals series for the 2022 season for the Cronulla JRL run competitions (Under 9s – Under 12s Tackle and all League Tag Divisions Under 9+).
In the other competitions that our clubs participate in Cronulla JRL are currently working with other stakeholders to have this change come to fruition.
How it will work
Competitions with 4 teams in it i.e. Under 11s League Tag Gold remains under the 4 team semi-finals series
Competitions with 5 teams i.e. Under 10s Gold move to a Top 5 model (workings below)
Competitions with 6 or more teams move to a Top 6 model (workings below)
Top 4
Week 1
1 V 2
3 V 4
Week 2
Loser of 1 V 2 Plays Winner of 3 V 4
Week 3
Winner of 1 V 2 plays Winner of Week 2
Top 5
Week 1
Team 1 Rest
2 V 5
3 V 4
Week 2
1 V Lowest Ranked Team Remaining
Other 2 Teams Play
Week 3
Winner Semi 1 V Winner Semi 2
Top 6
Week 1
Team 1 & 2 Rest
3 V 6
4 V 5
Week 2
1 V Lowest Ranked Winner
2 V Highest Ranked Winner
Week 3
Winner Semi 1 V Winner Semi 2
The positives of this model:
Where competitions have not had everyone play each other due to the disruptions, and some teams sit 5th or 6th because of this now have the opportunity to make the semis
Teams outside the current top 4 and feel they have no chance of making semi-finals suddenly have a renewed interest in playing (and training) the last 2 weeks of competition
More teams are involved in playing games, which having only played a maximum 11 games out of a proposed 15 at the start of the year (not taking into account Byes, forfeits, etc.) will benefit all
Teams that finish high up the ladder still get a reward for finishing the regular season in that position
More games mean more fields – clubs can recoup some of the lost revenue from washouts
Cronulla JRL look forward to seeing as many teams as possible continue to participate in the weeks ahead.