SHOULD the Storm finish second on the NRL ladder and proceed to the grand final qualifying weekend, the consolation of enjoying an extra day's rest has been lost because of a prior booking at Melbourne's Telstra Dome.

The VFL has secured the venue for its grand final on Friday, September 26, meaning the Storm would be forced to play the following evening, robbing them of the only advantage of qualifying second, rather than first.

During the past two years when the Storm have won the NRL minor premierships, coach Craig Bellamy has lamented a perceived inequity in the draw where the No.1 team, providing it wins its two play-off matches, had seven days to prepare for the grand final, while the No.2 team had eight days.

Now, however, should Melbourne finish second and Manly and the Storm win their first play-offs, their grand final qualifier would be switched to September 27, gifting the Sea Eagles the extra day's preparation for this year's season decider.

"It's just another thing we have to deal with," Bellamy said.

NRL chief operations officer Graham Annesley admitted the Storm were victims of a multi-purpose venue and predicted the Broncos could also be forced to play on different days because of prior A-League bookings at Suncorp Stadium.

"Obviously, the Storm can't play on Friday night because of the VFL booking," he said. "If they qualify for the home region preliminary final, it [the match] will probably have to be Saturday night. This would mean they would be playing the same day as the AFL grand final [at the MCG] but thankfully it won't be the same time."

Annesley said the NRL was fortunate the Broncos' opportunity of hosting a home semi-final in the first weekend of the play-offs could only be next Friday, but he anticipated clashes if Wayne Bennett's team continued to win.

"Fortunately, the Bledisloe Cup match is on Saturday at Suncorp, and the highest the Broncos can qualify is fourth, meaning a Friday night match at the same venue," he said. "However, there is an A-League booking at Suncorp in week three of the play-offs, which could cause some scheduling rearrangements if the Broncos qualify.

"Because of the multipurpose venues sport uses these days, sometimes we become the victim of prior bookings. Since we moved to regional finals last year, we have allowed ourselves the option of changing days, if necessary, while mindful it can upset teams' preparation time."