Steve Deane: Punting McIntyre system good idea

Farewell McIntyre finals system, you won't be missed, you wretched swine. At best, you were highly inadequate. At worst, you were a dead-set pain in the backside. How many hours of people's lives did you steal, forcing them to stand at water coolers trying in vain to explain to Brian from Accounts that if the Warriors somehow fluke a win in Melbourne they would be back at Mt Smart next Friday (or maybe Saturday) to play either St George or Brisbane, or maybe even Parramatta, depending on what happened in the match between Gold Coast and oh for xxxx's sake ...

Punting the McIntyre system has been described as a bold first act by an NRL commission that has shown it is not afraid to make tough calls. In reality, it must have been the easiest of calls. Ken McIntyre's system has been deeply unpopular since the day it was introduced by the NRL in 1999.

About the only person who might have been slightly miffed by the recent turn of events was Ken McIntyre - and he died in 2004.

And about the only thing you can say for league is that the game didn't sit on its hands for as long as Aussie rules, which used the bizarre algorithm invented by the lawyer, historian and mathematician (now there's an occupational mix you don't hear every day) McIntyre from 1931 to 2000.

Strangely, the AFL finally seeing the light proved the catalyst for over a decade of darkness in league. When they should have been joyous climaxes, finals campaigns have been blighted by utter confusion and deeply unimpressed chuntering.

Contrary to some beliefs, however, the decision to bin McIntyre had nothing to do with the Warriors' grand final run last season. If anything, 2011 was about the one time McIntyre functioned as the great man probably intended. The top four teams all won their first-round home finals, meaning they retained home advantage, while the bottom two clubs were eliminated. Yes, the Warriors went on to beat the Tigers and Storm, but both of those clubs - which finished above the Warriors on the ladder - had home advantage for their season-defining matches.

The major issue with McIntyre was that it didn't adequately reward teams that performed the best over the regular season. In 2008, Melbourne, for instance, won the minor premiership but after a shock first-up finals loss to the Warriors were forced to play the Broncos in Brisbane and then Cronulla in Sydney. The Storm won those matches but turned up for the grand final a spent force and were thrashed 40-0 by a well-rested Manly.

The following year the Dragons finished top only to be defeated by the red-hot Eels in their first finals match. They were then forced to travel to Brisbane to play a Broncos team who had finished sixth at a packed-out ANZ Stadium.

Such patently unfair nonsense will be eradicated under the new system. Home advantage will stay with the higher-ranked team, while teams ranked in the top four will get a second chance - at home - if they lose their first match.

Players will also be accorded the respect of going out with their boots on. Situations like in 2010, when the Warriors finished fifth but lost their first match to the Titans and were then eliminated while sitting at home on the couch (when two lower-ranked teams pulled off upset victories) will no longer occur. The first week's matches between the top four clubs aside, the rest of the games will be elimination matches. Lose, and you go home. Simple.

The new system, funnily enough, is exactly the same as that instituted by the AFL in 2000.

The lack of a flashy moniker suggests whoever invented it didn't want their name associated with it.