By Brian Lowe, Date: 18/7/12
The American National Rugby League has unveiled the new format for this year’s Atlantic Conference playoffs.
In a return to formats of past seasons there will be quarterfinals, semi-finals and then the championship game, although there is a slight difference in the makeup of which teams qualify for the early rounds.
In the quarterfinals, the #2 placed team in the standings will host the #5 team, while Game 2 will pit the #3 placed team against the #4 placed side. The team that finishes the regular season at the top of the standings earns an opening round bye, while the team that finishes at the bottom of the ladder misses out altogether.
The winners of both quarterfinal matches will go through to the semi-finals, as will the highest seeded team of the two losers.
In the semi-final matchups, the #1 placed team will host the highest seeded loser from the quarters in one game, while the two quarterfinal winners will face off in the other semi.
The two winners from the semi-final round will meet in the AMNRL championship game.
The playoffs are scheduled to start on Saturday, August 4 with the AMNRL Grand Final XV set to be played on Saturday, August 18.
