It’s the biggest NRL game of the year so far and unless you have pay TV or a ticket to Melbourne’s AAMI Park, you’ll miss out on Saturday’s top-of-the-table match-up between the Storm and Sharks.

The NRL agreed to lock in the 2016 draw and allocate games ahead of the season, when few could have foreseen that this Saturday’s clash would decide the minor premiership.

The 2016 NRL rights are shared by free-to-air broadcaster the Nine Network – which shows live games per week – and Fox Sports, which airs five live games including its regular ‘Super Saturday’ match.

While Fox Sports subscribers will be tuning in to the Cronulla versus Melbourne blockbuster, Channel Nine’s Sunday afternoon match this weekend will feature the New Zealand Warriors and Parramatta Eels, neither of whom can reach the finals. 

Cronulla beat Melbourne 14-6 at home when they met in round four this season.

In an ironic twist, the Cronulla vs Melbourne game coincides with the rival AFL’s first ever bye weekend ahead of its finals. With no AFL games to compete with, a free-to-air game of that calibre could have been a ratings bonanza.

The Eels scandal affected the complexion of the NRL draw. Photo: AAP

Things don’t get much better for free-to-air league fans on Sunday, with Fox Sports holding the sole rights to the Wests Tigers’ must-win game against the Canberra Raiders. The Tigers need to win if they are to make their first finals series since 2011.

Traditionally, the NRL would wait until mid-season to gauge form and interest before locking in the final six rounds of the year, however Fairfax reports it surrendered that right as part of its controversial broadcast negotiation strategy with Fox Sports and Nine.

When the schedule was drawn up nine months ago, the NRL could not have known the implications of Parramatta’s salary cap crisis or the massive form slump of 2015 minor premiers the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney, who will all feature on Channel Nine this weekend. 

Cronulla got the better of Melbourne when they met in round four. Photo: AAP

The NRL kept the draw secret from the 16 clubs, Fairfax reported, making just three changes to the final six rounds of the season to alleviate the stress of five-day turnarounds when they officially announced the remaining schedule at the end of June.

Monday night football comes to an end after this season, giving the NRL the breathing space in its schedule needed to leave the make-up of the final six rounds in 2017 until later in the season.

In 2018, the NRL will assume complete control of the draw, meaning the broadcasters will lose their right to choose matches.