Clubs given more control over NRL draw

The NRL has handed clubs the power to decide which teams they play at home in 2008 by scrapping its pool system for deciding next year's draw.

Clubs have until Wednesday to provide the NRL with a list ranking opponents from one to 15 based on who they most want to play at home next season.

It comes after the NRL club chief executives voted to remove the pool system which decided the 2007 draw because it prevented marquee match-ups and didn't capitalise on revenue for cash-strapped clubs.

Under the new system the NRL will try to accommodate as many club requests as possible for home games with the 2008 draw to be released later this month.

Clubs can choose their preferred home games based on marquee clashes, strong attendances, reducing travel or even avoiding the strongest teams to give themselves a better chance of premiership success.

NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said primarily the change in system was so that local derbies, such as Brisbane's growing rivalry with North Queensland and the Gold Coast, would be assured of being played twice each year.

"It should help to ensure those really high-profile games clubs like to play each year aren't missed because of the way the pool structure falls out," Annesley said.

"The Broncos playing the Cowboys and Broncos playing Gold Coast (twice) every year should pretty much be assured under this system.

"Depending on the pools (system) ... there may have been years when they played each other once rather than twice.

"It's got to be looked at in the context of each year there's only (six) teams I think it is you don't play twice anyway. In the past it has been a bit of lucky dip which six teams they are.

"We are instead going to move to a system where it is basically club requests for certain matches."

But Annesley has warned not all clubs will be happy with the final product and while there could be inequity in the 2008 draw, the NRL would try to even it out over two years.

"It's all been done in consultation with the clubs and in fact you could pretty much say it was club driven," Annesley said.

"They were fully aware under this system some clubs would do better than others in any particular year but we agreed to take a two year approach to it and if a club didn't fare as well as another club in one year then we would try and adjust that the following year."

One club ecstatic at the scrapping of the pool system is Manly.

The 2007 grand finalists were facing a horrendous draw under the pool system with guaranteed away games at Melbourne, North Queensland, New Zealand, Brisbane and Gold Coast.

"I am exceptionally pleased to hear that is not going to happen because the pools are being scrapped," Eagles chief executive Grant Mayer said.