Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo have done everything they can to keep the NRL on as scheduled and in one piece over the last five months.
You only have to look as far as the COVID pandemic to understand the lengths the duo went to in an effort to keep the code financially viable.
And while some members of the media raised eyebrows during that time period, they were roundlty applauded for their work in having the NRL play more than just about any other sporting code in Australia.
So maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that they have once again done everything in their power to keep things on track in the face of the looming Cyclone Alfred this week.
Currently a Category 2 system with the outside chance of moving to Category 3, it's expected to make landfall on Friday morning around the Brisbane area, with low lying areas at significant risk of flooding, and strong, destructive winds also set to arrive in the area.
With the Dolphins set to host the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Brisbane on Friday evening, the NRL, who at one point were exploring the idea of playing the game without a crowd in a throwback to the COVID era, had no choice but to move the game.
It will now be played at Parramatta's CommBank Stadium, with Accor Stadium - the typical home of South Sydney - out of action due to an international motorsport event.
There are no changes to the time schedule, and the Dolphins flew out of Brisbane on Wednesday evening with the Gold Coast airport already shut, and Brisbane airport set to shut on Thursday.
It was a Dolphins squad, which, per a News Corp report, was without Mark Nicholls, Kodi Nikorima and 18th man Kenneath Bromwich.
Nicholls is believed to be in an evacuation area and spent Wednesday sandbagging his home ahead of anticipated flooding, while Nikorima's wife - who is currently pregnant - took to social media to slam the NRL's decision to relocate the game, rather than postponing it.
"Because a game of football is THAT important. Leaving the families behind to ride out the direct line of a cyclone alone," Bree Nikorima wrote on Instagram.
"Some (families) with no support at all.
"I'm six months pregnant with two young kids in an area that can flood. Disgusting. Do better, NRL."
It was originally reported as many as five Dolphins players were considering withdrawing from the trip to Sydney to stay with their families and help protect property, but any further withdrawals are unlikely to be confirmed until 24 hours before kick-off when the Dolphins' side is cut to 19 players.
The decision, given the destructive weather system that is encroaching on south east Queensland, is a disastrous one for the NRL.
While it has been made to appease broadcasters of the sport, rivals the AFL had zero issue in calling off their two games in Queensland this weekend.
The other football code has the option of playing those games over the coming weeks with a number of split rounds to start the season - a luxury the NRL doesn't have - but there still should have been options for the NRL.
It would have taken a schedule manipulation likely during the State of Origin period, but as we found out during COVID, things can be flexible if the powers that be really want them to be.
Even moving the game back to Sunday would have been a better option than proceeding with a game on Friday evening. Yes, it would have removed Friday's prime time clash, but there was no reason the Knights and Tigers couldn't have dropped back to the free to air time slot, with the Dolphins then playing South Sydney on Sunday with the worst of the weather behind the state.
How coach Wayne Bennett intends to have his team up and firing while they are mentally still in Queensland, trying to work out if they will have a house to go back to whenever Brisbane airport re-opens, is beyond me.
Bennett might be a master man manager, but even with the Rabbitohs being understrength, it's hard to see how the Redcliffe-based side play anywhere near their full potential in this game during what should be a big day for the club as Tom Gilbert leads for the first time in what will be his first competitive game in nearly two years.
At the end of the day, sport is sport, family is family, the latter should trump the former on every occasion.
This is not an example of that.
This is an example of money being king.
That the Dolphins haven't dug their heels in and decided not to travel is commendable of the club from the competition's point of view, but no one could have blamed them if that was the course of action they took.
Life may not be fair, and the NRL certainly may not be either, but there was a clear course of action that needed to be taken surrounding this game.
The call we have wound up with is a major judgement issue.
I donโt see it as a major judgement error by NRL Central. PVL and AA have lots on their plates (Donโt tell me that there are not things hanging over from Vegas that need to be sorted out โ bills to pay etc)
After the cyclone comes through, there may not be _any_ grounds capable of being used for _any_ NRL games for a few weeks. If the NRL had simply said: โthe Tigers can play on Friday, with the Dolphins then playing South Sydney on Sunday with the worst of the weather behind the stateโ, they would have been derided. Attendance would have been abysmal, with fans still cleaning up. There is no guarantee that the stadium would be usable for _broadcasting_ from.
Taking the game to Sydney was a sensible decision, in my opinion.
Ignore Bree Nikorima, going on like a real Karen. Brisbane is a big city. Lots of people will be badly inconvenienced; not just the families of highly paid players who can afford to move their wives and kids out of town.
Seriously, what did this woman expect the Dolphins club or the NRL to actually _do_ for her ? Hire a gang of navvies to sandbag her house ? Buy her a portable generator for when the power goes out ? Hire King Canute to roll back the waves?
Husband Kodi could have put her and the kids on a plane back to wherever her family live, and she could have stayed with them. No drama.
Itโs NOT the responsibility of NRL Central to pander to the whims of those who think they are entitled to everything they desire from life.