Brad Fittler has urged the NRL to resist tinkering with the finals format and throw out the wildcard weekend proposal.
The NRL has floated the idea of extending the finals series by a week to what would essentially be a 10-team format.
Under the plan put forward by NRL head of football Graham Annesley, teams one through six will be given the first weekend off, with ranked 7-10 involved in play-off matches for the final two spots.
It would be the biggest shake-up of the NRL's finals system since the much-maligned McIntyre system was scrapped in 2011.
In the first major blow to the proposal, NSW coach Fittler voiced his opposition, saying there was no need to change with something that wasn't broken.
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"I think there are other places in our game where we can look towards debate," Fittler said.
"From what I can remember our semi-finals have been great. The interest last year was unbelievable because two points separated one to eight, which was unique."
Many critics of the idea believe it is a distraction designed to divert attention away from the game's horror off-season, while the NRL says it is considering it in earnest.
Some have claimed the proposal would reward mediocrity. Canberra last year finished 10th with just 10 wins from 24 games.
The NRL argues there were 36 "dead games" last year in which neither side was in finals contention and had nothing on the line.
However, last season was an anomaly in which there was a six-point gap between eighth and ninth and the top eight was all but decided the round after the conclusion of State of Origin.
Fittler rejected the notion of "dead games", pointing to Canterbury who took important steps in their rebuild late last year when they won four of their last six and several of their players' jobs were on the line.
"(The NRL) are also talking on behalf of fans where it's not their job," Fittler said.
"Whether the fan thinks it's a dead game or not, you need to ask the fans that. I don't consider any of them to be dead games.
"Ask the Canterbury fans whether they thought the last two games were dead games."
