McIntyre Final Eight System
Encyclopedia
The McIntyre Final Eight System was devised by Ken McIntyre
in addition to the McIntyre Four, Five and Six systems. It is a playoff
system of the top 8 finishers in a competition to determine which two teams will play in the Grand Final
. The teams play each other over three weeks, with two teams eliminated each week. Teams who finish in a higher position in the competition are given an easier route to the Grand Final.
It is currently the finals series system used by the National Rugby League
(since 1999) and was used by the Australian Football League
from 1994 to 1999. From the 2000 season the AFL replaced it with another top 8 system
- similar to the one abandoned by the Australian Rugby League
in 1996 when they moved to a top 7 and later a top 10 system.
The organisation of the rest of the finals series is dependent upon whether teams won or lost in week 1 and their final ranking on the ladder before the finals. The two lowest ranked losers are eliminated from the finals, whilst the two highest ranked winners progress straight to Week 3.
Week 2
The two losing teams are eliminated, the two winning teams progress to Week 3.
Week 3
The two losing teams are eliminated, the two winning teams progress to Week Four.
Week 4
Scheduling
A key element of an effective McIntyre system is scheduling in week 1. In the first week games must be played in the following order: 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6, 2 vs 7, 1 vs 8. Teams in the first two games are playing for the chance of a bye in the second week of the finals. If the final two games ultimately go as predicted, then the chance of a bye or the risk of elimination disappears. Therefore, those games need to be played last so that there is never a situation where two teams know that their result would not matter.
1st: Advances with a win to preliminary final (week 3). Must play the semifinal with a loss. He can´t be eliminated in week 1 (He has 18,75% of winning the tournament).
2nd: Same as 1st, but he has a more difficult opponent in week 1 (7th instead 8th).
3rd: Advances to preliminary final with a win AND at least one upset in one of the two last qualifying finals (1st or 2nd loses his qualifying final). Must play the semifinal with a win and no upset in last two qualifying finals or a loss if there´s at least one hopeful result in two last qualifying finals. Is eliminated if he loses AND 1st and 2nd too. (He has a 15,625% of winning the tournament).
4th: Advances to preliminary final with a win AND there are, at least, two upsets in remaining qualifying finals. It must play the semifinal if there are, at least, two hopeful results in other qualifying finals, regardless his result. Is eliminated with a loss AND, at least, two upsets (He has a 12,5% of winning the tournament).
5th: Same as 4th (but play away his qualifying final against 4th).
6th: Advances to preliminary final with a win AND 7th and 8th win their qualifying finals. It must play the semi final with a win AND, if there is, at least, one hoperful result, OR, if he loses, if there are BOTH hopeful results in remaining qualifying finals. Is eliminated with a loss AND one upset, at least, in remaining qualifying finals. (He has a 9,375% of winning the tournament).
7th: It can´t advance straight to preliminary final. Advances to semifinal with a win and is eliminated with a loss (He has a 6,25% of winning the tournament).
8th: Same as 7th (but he has a more difficult opponent in week 1 -1st instead 2nd).
1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th depend on themselves. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th depend on their results and other qualifying finals results
At the Qualifying Finals, team 1 won and so went straight through to the Preliminary Finals. Team 4 also went through to the Preliminary Finals, because they won while teams 2 and 3 lost. However, teams 2 and 3 were not eliminated, but played again in the Semi Finals, because two teams ranking lower than them on the ladder also lost. Those two losing teams ranking lower than them, teams 5 and 8, were eliminated.
The top two teams after the regular season are rewarded by being given a 'second life' within the finals. If either of these two teams lose to their much lower ranked opponents in the first week, then one of the two losing teams ranked lower than them are eliminated, which means the 1st and 2nd ranked teams can withstand a loss in the finals and their season will continue, albeit with significant disadvantages.
This 'second life' advantage for the highest ranked teams on the ladder can flow on to teams 3 and 4 (and even further down the ladder, as far as team 6.) If only one of the top two on the ladder loses in the first week, then team 3 is not eliminated if it has lost. Similarly, if only one of the top three on the ladder loses in the first week, then team 4 is saved from elimination if it has lost.
If the top two teams win in the first week, then teams 7 and 8 will be the ones to be eliminated. Only two teams drop out, so even if they were to lose their games, teams 5 and 6 would still have another chance in the second week.
In 2008, the first week of the NRL finals saw the then reigning grand finalists the Melbourne Storm
lose to the 8th placed New Zealand Warriors
. Granted a home final as a week 1 winner, the Warriors then defeated the Sydney Roosters
in the second week and proceeded to the final 4, the first team ever to make it that far from 8th position, whereas the Storm had to travel to Brisbane and win away to continue on. This scenario was exceeded in 2009 when the Parramatta Eels
, who had finished 8th defeated St George Illawarra Dragons
. Parramatta, with a home advantage, proceeded to defeat the Gold Coast Titans
in week 2, whereas the Dragons were eliminated from the competition in week 2 in their away match against the Brisbane Broncos
. This gave them the dubious distinction of being the first minor premiers to be eliminated after two consecutive losses since the inception of the McIntyre System. Parramatta became the first team ranked last of the finalists to contest the Grand Final, only to lose to the 4th-placed Melbourne Storm, although this Premiership has been struck from the record due to salary cap breaches by the Storm. For the record, at least one top four team has lost its qualifying final in every year since this system was introduced in 1999, until 2011 when all top four teams won their qualifying final.
Another criticism is that, like many other top-8 systems, there is the possibility of games in the first week that are effectively meaningless, where teams have no risk of elimination and results only determine respective opponents and home ground advantage in the second week. In the MacIntyre system if first-week results go as planned, then first defeats eighth and second defeats seventh. This leaves the teams who finished from third to sixth effectively playing "dead rubbers" in the first week, with the results merely reshuffling the order of these four teams.
This also makes scheduling much less flexible, since the first vs eighth game must be the last game played, in order to prevent the teams between third and sixth entering their qualifying finals knowing that the game is already a dead rubber.
Another anomaly of scheduling is that in the second week a team may play a higher ranked opponent than the team they defeated, and similarly a first week loser may play an easier opponent than the team that defeated them. In the second week of the McIntyre system the third highest winner (i.e. the strongest winner of those playing) plays the highest ranked loser rather than the second highest loser (i.e. the weakest loser). This may ensure no repetition of games in the second week, but it means higher ranked teams end up with more difficult opponents simply for the sake of more interesting scheduling. An example of this happened in 2005 when the Wests Tigers (4th) defeated the North Queensland Cowboys (5th) in week one of the finals and were 'rewarded' in week 2 with a game against the 3rd placed Brisbane Broncos. Meanwhile, the Cowboys played the Melbourne Storm who were ranked 6th.
In 2011, the 6th-placed New Zealand Warriors
were beaten convincingly by the Brisbane Broncos
(ranked 3rd) in its qualifying final by the scoreline of 40–10. Following that match, then-Warriors coach Ivan Cleary
was quoted as saying "the way we played tonight, we don't deserve to be in the finals". That loss saw them at risk of being eliminated initially, but were granted a reprieve after the two lower ranking teams, North Queensland
and Newcastle
, also lost their finals. A sudden reverse in form would see them advance to the Grand Final
, thus becoming the third team (after the St. George Illawarra Dragons in 1999 and the Sydney Roosters
the season previous), to advance to the Grand Final after finishing sixth at the end of the season. Ultimately, the Warriors would lose to the second-placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
who had a much easier run to the decider.
in Great Britain
, the NSWRL Premier League and Jersey Flegg competitions.
Kenneth McIntyre
Kenneth Gordon McIntyre OBE was an Australian lawyer, historian and mathematician who is perhaps best known for his controversial book The Secret Discovery of Australia - Portuguese ventures 200 years before Captain Cook....
in addition to the McIntyre Four, Five and Six systems. It is a playoff
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
system of the top 8 finishers in a competition to determine which two teams will play in the Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
. The teams play each other over three weeks, with two teams eliminated each week. Teams who finish in a higher position in the competition are given an easier route to the Grand Final.
It is currently the finals series system used by the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(since 1999) and was used by the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
from 1994 to 1999. From the 2000 season the AFL replaced it with another top 8 system
AFL finals system
The current AFL finals system was devised by the Australian Football League in 2000 as its end-of-season championship playoff tournament. It is a revision of the McIntyre Final Eight System, used by the AFL from 1994 to 1999, designed to address several perceived issues with that system...
- similar to the one abandoned by the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
in 1996 when they moved to a top 7 and later a top 10 system.
How it Works
Week 1- 4th Qualifying Final: 1st vs 8th
- 3rd Qualifying Final: 2nd vs 7th
- 2nd Qualifying Final: 3rd vs 6th
- 1st Qualifying Final: 4th vs 5th
The organisation of the rest of the finals series is dependent upon whether teams won or lost in week 1 and their final ranking on the ladder before the finals. The two lowest ranked losers are eliminated from the finals, whilst the two highest ranked winners progress straight to Week 3.
Week 2
- 1st Semi Final: 4th highest ranked winner vs 2nd highest ranked loser
- 2nd Semi Final: 3rd highest ranked winner vs 1st highest ranked loser
The two losing teams are eliminated, the two winning teams progress to Week 3.
Week 3
- 1st Preliminary Final: 1st highest ranked winner (from Week 1) vs winner of 1st Semi Final
- 2nd Preliminary Final: 2nd highest ranked winner (from Week 1) vs winner of 2nd Semi Final
The two losing teams are eliminated, the two winning teams progress to Week Four.
Week 4
- Grand Final: winner of 1st Preliminary Final vs winner of 2nd Preliminary Final
Scheduling
A key element of an effective McIntyre system is scheduling in week 1. In the first week games must be played in the following order: 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6, 2 vs 7, 1 vs 8. Teams in the first two games are playing for the chance of a bye in the second week of the finals. If the final two games ultimately go as predicted, then the chance of a bye or the risk of elimination disappears. Therefore, those games need to be played last so that there is never a situation where two teams know that their result would not matter.
1st: Advances with a win to preliminary final (week 3). Must play the semifinal with a loss. He can´t be eliminated in week 1 (He has 18,75% of winning the tournament).
2nd: Same as 1st, but he has a more difficult opponent in week 1 (7th instead 8th).
3rd: Advances to preliminary final with a win AND at least one upset in one of the two last qualifying finals (1st or 2nd loses his qualifying final). Must play the semifinal with a win and no upset in last two qualifying finals or a loss if there´s at least one hopeful result in two last qualifying finals. Is eliminated if he loses AND 1st and 2nd too. (He has a 15,625% of winning the tournament).
4th: Advances to preliminary final with a win AND there are, at least, two upsets in remaining qualifying finals. It must play the semifinal if there are, at least, two hopeful results in other qualifying finals, regardless his result. Is eliminated with a loss AND, at least, two upsets (He has a 12,5% of winning the tournament).
5th: Same as 4th (but play away his qualifying final against 4th).
6th: Advances to preliminary final with a win AND 7th and 8th win their qualifying finals. It must play the semi final with a win AND, if there is, at least, one hoperful result, OR, if he loses, if there are BOTH hopeful results in remaining qualifying finals. Is eliminated with a loss AND one upset, at least, in remaining qualifying finals. (He has a 9,375% of winning the tournament).
7th: It can´t advance straight to preliminary final. Advances to semifinal with a win and is eliminated with a loss (He has a 6,25% of winning the tournament).
8th: Same as 7th (but he has a more difficult opponent in week 1 -1st instead 2nd).
1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th depend on themselves. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th depend on their results and other qualifying finals results
Example
The 2010 NRL Final Series:At the Qualifying Finals, team 1 won and so went straight through to the Preliminary Finals. Team 4 also went through to the Preliminary Finals, because they won while teams 2 and 3 lost. However, teams 2 and 3 were not eliminated, but played again in the Semi Finals, because two teams ranking lower than them on the ladder also lost. Those two losing teams ranking lower than them, teams 5 and 8, were eliminated.
Advantages
The major advantages of the system are the number of different combinations of teams which could make the final game and that no matches are repeated twice in the first three weeks. When compared to other final eight systems, many of which split the participants into two groups, the McIntyre system means only two combinations (1v7 and 2v8) are impossible in the Grand Final.The top two teams after the regular season are rewarded by being given a 'second life' within the finals. If either of these two teams lose to their much lower ranked opponents in the first week, then one of the two losing teams ranked lower than them are eliminated, which means the 1st and 2nd ranked teams can withstand a loss in the finals and their season will continue, albeit with significant disadvantages.
This 'second life' advantage for the highest ranked teams on the ladder can flow on to teams 3 and 4 (and even further down the ladder, as far as team 6.) If only one of the top two on the ladder loses in the first week, then team 3 is not eliminated if it has lost. Similarly, if only one of the top three on the ladder loses in the first week, then team 4 is saved from elimination if it has lost.
If the top two teams win in the first week, then teams 7 and 8 will be the ones to be eliminated. Only two teams drop out, so even if they were to lose their games, teams 5 and 6 would still have another chance in the second week.
Criticisms
With its adoption by the NRL, debate has arisen over its fairness. The McIntyre system rewards teams who have form coming into the finals rather than during the whole season. The advantages given to a victor in the first week of the finals, even if that team is initially ranked 6th to 8th, includes a home final in the second week against a team ranked 3rd to 6th coming off a loss. This advantage given to lower ranked teams that win in the first week are significant compared to the alternate final 8 system used by the AFL, which protects teams coming 1st to 4th from elimination and never give home finals to teams ranked 7th or 8th, regardless of whether they win or lose their matches.In 2008, the first week of the NRL finals saw the then reigning grand finalists the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
lose to the 8th placed New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
. Granted a home final as a week 1 winner, the Warriors then defeated the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
in the second week and proceeded to the final 4, the first team ever to make it that far from 8th position, whereas the Storm had to travel to Brisbane and win away to continue on. This scenario was exceeded in 2009 when the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
, who had finished 8th defeated St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
. Parramatta, with a home advantage, proceeded to defeat the Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans are an Australian professional rugby league football club, based in the Gold Coast, Queensland. The club competes in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership. It is the newest of the sixteen clubs in the league, having commenced its...
in week 2, whereas the Dragons were eliminated from the competition in week 2 in their away match against the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
. This gave them the dubious distinction of being the first minor premiers to be eliminated after two consecutive losses since the inception of the McIntyre System. Parramatta became the first team ranked last of the finalists to contest the Grand Final, only to lose to the 4th-placed Melbourne Storm, although this Premiership has been struck from the record due to salary cap breaches by the Storm. For the record, at least one top four team has lost its qualifying final in every year since this system was introduced in 1999, until 2011 when all top four teams won their qualifying final.
Another criticism is that, like many other top-8 systems, there is the possibility of games in the first week that are effectively meaningless, where teams have no risk of elimination and results only determine respective opponents and home ground advantage in the second week. In the MacIntyre system if first-week results go as planned, then first defeats eighth and second defeats seventh. This leaves the teams who finished from third to sixth effectively playing "dead rubbers" in the first week, with the results merely reshuffling the order of these four teams.
This also makes scheduling much less flexible, since the first vs eighth game must be the last game played, in order to prevent the teams between third and sixth entering their qualifying finals knowing that the game is already a dead rubber.
Another anomaly of scheduling is that in the second week a team may play a higher ranked opponent than the team they defeated, and similarly a first week loser may play an easier opponent than the team that defeated them. In the second week of the McIntyre system the third highest winner (i.e. the strongest winner of those playing) plays the highest ranked loser rather than the second highest loser (i.e. the weakest loser). This may ensure no repetition of games in the second week, but it means higher ranked teams end up with more difficult opponents simply for the sake of more interesting scheduling. An example of this happened in 2005 when the Wests Tigers (4th) defeated the North Queensland Cowboys (5th) in week one of the finals and were 'rewarded' in week 2 with a game against the 3rd placed Brisbane Broncos. Meanwhile, the Cowboys played the Melbourne Storm who were ranked 6th.
In 2011, the 6th-placed New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
were beaten convincingly by the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
(ranked 3rd) in its qualifying final by the scoreline of 40–10. Following that match, then-Warriors coach Ivan Cleary
Ivan Cleary
Ivan Cleary is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Penrith Panthers of the National Rugby League and former head coach of the New Zealand Warriors where he achieved much success...
was quoted as saying "the way we played tonight, we don't deserve to be in the finals". That loss saw them at risk of being eliminated initially, but were granted a reprieve after the two lower ranking teams, North Queensland
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
and Newcastle
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
, also lost their finals. A sudden reverse in form would see them advance to the Grand Final
2011 NRL Grand Final
The 2011 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors on the afternoon of Sunday, 2 October, and it was the first time the two sides have met in a...
, thus becoming the third team (after the St. George Illawarra Dragons in 1999 and the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
the season previous), to advance to the Grand Final after finishing sixth at the end of the season. Ultimately, the Warriors would lose to the second-placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
who had a much easier run to the decider.
Competitions
In addition to the NRL, the McIntyre Final Eight System is also used in the Rugby League National League ThreeRugby League National Leagues
The Championship, known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It is currently contested by ten teams from England. It acts as Europe's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has...
in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, the NSWRL Premier League and Jersey Flegg competitions.
See also
- Top five play-offsTop five play-offsA play-off structure involving the top five teams was used to determine the winners of the Super League competition in British rugby league from 1998 until 2001. A top six play-off system was then introduced...
- Top six play-offsTop six play-offsAfter a top five play-off system was used, a play-off structure involving the top six teams was used to determine the winners of the Super League competition in British rugby league from 2002 through 2008....
- Early VFL Final systemsEarly VFL Final systemsThroughout its history, the Victorian Football League has used a system of finals after playing a regular season to determine the winner of the premiership....
- McIntyre SystemMcIntyre SystemThe McIntyre System, or systems because there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher...
- Current Super League systemSuper League play-offsSince 1998 a play-off system has been used to determine the Super League champions. The format has changed over the years, starting with a play-off involving first five, then six teams and currently eight. The play-offs culminate in the Super League Grand Final....
, another final-8 system with a unique twist
External link
- NRL Final Eight Calculator, footy.com.au