Easts 1998 Season

[Easts to Win]

Hi Guys , This is a little left field . I got bored and was looking over previous Easts seasons and came across something that confused me and I was hoping someone knew the answer .

So in 1998 Easts come sixth on the ladder and won there first two semi finals games away from home and were the first team to qualify for a major semi . They got the next week off and then had to face Brisbane in Brisbane the following week and that’s what I don’t get . Easts should of got a home semi at SFS instead of having to go up to Brisbane with a busted Freddy and get slaughtered by those bastards .

On top of it all the NRL had an agreement to play a certain number of finals games at the SFS that season and decided to play Melbourne v Brisbane there the week before to meet this quota . It doesn’t make any sense . Can anyone shed any light on the matter . I was only a youngster when this went down and I was shattered when we got beaten by Brisbane that year , especially when we just missed out on making the GF in 1997 .

[col porter]

from 1998
John Brady's E-mail (Public Relations NRL) Thanks for passing the replies on, I forward the following reply.
Thankyou for your letter regarding the scheduling of matches. I can understand the frustration you may feel as a Sydney City fan, but it is frustration born of results both of Sydney City matches and those of their rival teams. All clubs in July agreed to a home and away system of matches for the first two rounds of this year's Sydney SportsTAB Finals series. Those clubs who finished higher on the minor premiership than the team they were competing against were awarded the home game. It was done to get as many games as we could to where the majority of fans for those teams resided. Successful clubs were rewarded by being close to their supporter base for those first two weeks. Unfortunately for Sydney City, they did not qualify for a home game during these two weeks because they finished sixth, and the teams they played finished third and second. It represents a great achievement by the Roosters that they were successful in those matches and it reflects the merit of a 10 team final series that they were successful. Also in July, the NRL agreed that of the five matches the NRL would schedule in the finals series, one should be played in Brisbane. This was consistent with a policy introduced by the ARL in 1995 and which had seen either ARL or Super League finals games in Brisbane for every year since. Accordingly, it was agreed that should the Broncos play on the final weekend before the Grand Final, that their match would be scheduled for the Saturday at ANZ Stadium. It was also agreed that should Brisbane be playing in that weekend, that it would be better for all fans to avoid a situation which may see two Sydney or two NSW teams play in Brisbane on the same weekend that Brisbane was sent to Sydney. It is unfortunate in the eyes of Sydney City fans that results have now put them in a situation where they play Brisbane on September 19. But it is a situation based on results and a system that was agreed to well in advance of those results occurring. It may well be that we need to review this system for next season, as we must assess the standard of venues allocated during the "home and away" section of this year's finals series. I very much admire the loyalty of those supporters who have given the club support through those matches and I regret any problems that they have experienced. All I can say is that this year's final series was very much a first attempt and the problems will be fixed. This year's allocation had taken place on the basis of assurances given at each ground, and it was very much a first attempt. Clearly there have been lessons learned from the experience, and the entire Final Series Format will be reviewed at the end of the season. However, we are not in a position to change the allocation of matches for 1998.

[Spirit of 66]

from 1998
John Brady's E-mail (Public Relations NRL) Thanks for passing the replies on, I forward the following reply.
Thankyou for your letter regarding the scheduling of matches. I can understand the frustration you may feel as a Sydney City fan, but it is frustration born of results both of Sydney City matches and those of their rival teams. All clubs in July agreed to a home and away system of matches for the first two rounds of this year's Sydney SportsTAB Finals series. Those clubs who finished higher on the minor premiership than the team they were competing against were awarded the home game. It was done to get as many games as we could to where the majority of fans for those teams resided. Successful clubs were rewarded by being close to their supporter base for those first two weeks. Unfortunately for Sydney City, they did not qualify for a home game during these two weeks because they finished sixth, and the teams they played finished third and second. It represents a great achievement by the Roosters that they were successful in those matches and it reflects the merit of a 10 team final series that they were successful. Also in July, the NRL agreed that of the five matches the NRL would schedule in the finals series, one should be played in Brisbane. This was consistent with a policy introduced by the ARL in 1995 and which had seen either ARL or Super League finals games in Brisbane for every year since. Accordingly, it was agreed that should the Broncos play on the final weekend before the Grand Final, that their match would be scheduled for the Saturday at ANZ Stadium. It was also agreed that should Brisbane be playing in that weekend, that it would be better for all fans to avoid a situation which may see two Sydney or two NSW teams play in Brisbane on the same weekend that Brisbane was sent to Sydney. It is unfortunate in the eyes of Sydney City fans that results have now put them in a situation where they play Brisbane on September 19. But it is a situation based on results and a system that was agreed to well in advance of those results occurring. It may well be that we need to review this system for next season, as we must assess the standard of venues allocated during the "home and away" section of this year's finals series. I very much admire the loyalty of those supporters who have given the club support through those matches and I regret any problems that they have experienced. All I can say is that this year's final series was very much a first attempt and the problems will be fixed. This year's allocation had taken place on the basis of assurances given at each ground, and it was very much a first attempt. Clearly there have been lessons learned from the experience, and the entire Final Series Format will be reviewed at the end of the season. However, we are not in a position to change the allocation of matches for 1998.

Let me translate this for those who don’t speak PR waffle:

”We farked up.”

[The Brain]

Went to that game.....think we left 10mns into second half.Chooks were rubbish.

[zac]

From memory we beat the Knights in Newcastle and Storm in Melbourne. Yeah, the NRL had different rules about who played who and where. Although if you come seventh or eighth now you'll still have 3 away games to make the GF.

Our game v Broncos was cruelled by, I think, a rib cartilage injury to Freddy.

[The Brain]

Walker went missing...for 5 weeks prior to it and turned up to the game with his gear...simply they all went missing in that game..we faired better at the strip clubs on the Gold Coast thst night

[stephenj]

i remember being very pissed off too. its always been all about keeping qld happy? they moan louder than we do! brisbane have always got the better calls!

[Headless Chook]

From memory we beat the Knights in Newcastle and Storm in Melbourne. Yeah, the NRL had different rules about who played who and where. Although if you come seventh or eighth now you'll still have 3 away games to make the GF.

Our game v Broncos was cruelled by, I think, a rib cartilage injury to Freddy.

Yep, the games were around the other way though. We beat Melbourne in Melbourne thanks to a Freddie masterclass and then came from 15 nil down to beat the Knights in Newcastle. We ended up winning 26-15, scoring 6 second half tries and the normally reliable Ivan Cleary only kicking one goal. Late in the game Freddie put a kick downfield and immediately clutched at his side. We got a week off but we needed a month for Freddie to be right and we were a one man team back in those days

[Vasco]

Walker went missing...for 5 weeks prior to it and turned up to the game with his gear...simply they all went missing in that game..we faired better at the strip clubs on the Gold Coast thst night

Mate with Freddie busted we were no hope. Was this one of the finals where we had most of our front row missing also? Scott Logan was a starting prop!