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Corey Parker's NRL 'joker card' savaged by fans: 'Makes no sense'

The NRL world has torn shreds out of the league great's wild idea for the competition.

adam lucius
Contributor
·3-min read
Pictured left is NRL great Corey Parker and Brisbane Broncos players on the right.
There are concerns Corey Parker's 'joker card' idea would only increase the gap between the NRL's top teams like Brisbane, and their rivals. Pic: Getty

If Corey Parker had his way, Parramatta and Manly could still be in the finals race, the Warriors would be challenging Penrith and Brisbane for the minor premiership and Wests Tigers could offload the wooden spoon with one win. In case you missed it, the Broncos great has come up with a radical proposal to change the way the NRL allocates competition points each round.

We're not sure if it was a case of Corey blurting a thought out loud that should have stayed in his head or he genuine believes in this system, but he'd like a "joker card" introduced to spice things up. We will let him explain… but you may have to read back over it a few times to fully understand.

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"You must nominate the joker card on the Tuesday when the teams are announced," Parker told SEN Radio. "When you go into that game, you must win by ten (or more) points. If you win by ten points, you get four (competition) points.

Seen here, Wests Tigers players look on during an NRL game.
Teams like the last-placed Wests Tigers would be the likely targets of 'joker cards' if the idea was introduced in the NRL. Pic: Getty

"If you win by (less than 10 points) and have nominated the joker card, you get zero points." Each club would be permitted to use the joker card once a season but the system would be on hold during the Origin period.

Teams could also choose not to use their joker card at all. "If you are the North Queensland Cowboys - in the current state right now - and you're playing the Dolphins next week and desperate to make the eight, you may play your joker card," Parker added.

Corey Parker's radical idea slammed by NRL fans

But Parker's out-there proposal was widely condemned by fans, who were quick to point out clubs would only use their joker cards on basement teams. One posted: "(This) literally doesn't make sense. Tigers and Bulldogs would have a very exhausting season ahead of them, constantly playing against teams preparing for 4 competition points instead of 2.

"It’ll be like playing finals footy ever week for them. Only benefits the top tier teams, which isn’t healthy for the game."

The NRL won't go anywhere near Parker's idea but four years ago did investigate introducing a "Wildcard Weekend" in a bid to spice up the top eight format. Under the plan, teams finishing ninth and 10th would play teams seventh and eighth in sudden death matches.

The two winners would then join the top six in the play-offs. The NRL argued it would prolong interest in the regular season, but clubs showed little interest in the concept.

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