Dana Johannsen: Nothing wrong with sharing the points

Jodi Brown of the Central Pulse. Photo / Greg Bowker

There was a big first in the ANZ Championship over the weekend. And then, just hours later, it happened for a second time.

But these firsts and seconds have not been celebrated, in fact, they've been roundly criticised, because no team came first and no team came second. The matches ended in a draw, and that to many fans just wasn't acceptable.

Up until this season, if the scores were tied at the end of regular time the teams would play seven minutes each way of extra time. If the scores were still level after that, the match would continue until one team broke two goals clear. But transtasman bosses have done away with extra time during the round robin this year, mainly to ensure the sanctity of television schedules is upheld.

With most of the pre-season angst centred around the move to a conference system this year and the changes to the finals format, the decision to can extra time didn't really generate much debate.

That was until the Firebirds and Swifts had to settle for a draw on Sunday after the New South Wales side fought their way back from a seven-goal deficit at the end of the third quarter, only to miss their chance to seal the match in the final few seconds.

In the next match-up in Adelaide, the Mystics looked set to be heading for their first win on Aussie soil in three years until an inexplicable meltdown in the final two minutes of the match saw the Thunderbirds rattle off five quick goals and secure a 51-all draw.

After seven and a bit seasons without a draw, there were two in the space of about three hours. It was an extraordinary afternoon of netball and yet the fans seem to think they've been ripped off.

I'm struggling to see what is so wrong with a draw. Many of the arguments seem to centre on the need to see a "result". But a draw is a result.

It may not be a particularly satisfying result for the players involved, but if neither side can get the job done in 60 minutes, then they don't deserve to claim full points.

Perhaps the biggest reason the reinstatement of draws is so unpalatable for fans is because transtasman league bosses made the changes to appease broadcasters.

As a sports fan it can be hard to accept the growing influence the broadcasters have in the way professional sporting leagues are run. But in the case of netball especially, were it not for the broadcast revenue coming out of New Zealand, there wouldn't be a competition at all.

We have to remember also New Zealand is in the privileged position of being able to watch every game of the championship live on telly. Without Sky TV's support, we wouldn't be able to watch any of these games win, lose or draw.