The Sharks will finish second on the ladder after Group 3 management decided on Tuesday night (August 24) to scrap the original four-week, five-team finals series due to the statewide lockdown.

It will be replaced by a straight top four shootout with Wauchope (first) to tackle Port City (fourth) in the other match which will decide the grand final opponents on September 26.

The second-placed Sharks will host the Pirates at a venue yet to be determined.

But as the Port Macquarie side have become accustomed to being nomads in 2021, it shouldn't hurt their chances.

They relocated home games to Wauchope after Regional Stadium was turned into a COVID-19 mass testing clinic in June.

For all but one match against Port City that month, they have been away from home and the lack of travelling support hasn't escaped the attention of the coach.

"We've only had the one game at home where we had a really good crowd," Geary said.

"But unfortunately people then haven't been bothered travelling 15 minutes to watch us play.

"The familiar faces you see at Shark Park every year haven't been there and neither have too many of our old boys or old supporters."

Geary said the club was in preliminary discussions with rugby union club Port Macquarie Pirates to use Stuart Park.

"We've got to work on where we'll play the game because finishing second should be an advantage to third," he said.

"We are trying to sort out Stuart Park because that way we could get some local people to support us."

There won't be any change to the series if the lockdown is prolonged with the grand final locked in for the last Sunday in September.

Group 3 chief executive Mal Drury said the shortened finals format would allow teams in the semi-finals a week to train although the region's lockdown was extended today (August 26) to September 10.

There won't be any change to the series if the lockdown is prolonged with the grand final locked in for the last Sunday in September.

The worst-case scenario would see Wauchope tackle the Sharks for the premiership.

Group 3 chief executive Mal Drury said a shortened finals format would allow teams in the semi-finals at least a week to train, although the lockdown has since been extended to September 10.

It means the four clubs - the Sharks, Pirates, Wauchope and Port City - won't have played a match for at least a month, but Geary said it was now up to the players to be mindful of their fitness programs.

"It's another little challenge we can set ourselves," he said.

"We would normally be playing a grand final this weekend, but at the end of September it will be hotter. It's up to the individuals to keep themselves fit so we can rip into fitness and ballwork as soon as we can train as a team."

The stop-start nature of the 2021 season which started with the March floods has summed up the last two years for most Group 3 players, spectators and administrators.

"The last two years haven't been ideal; every club has got used to beating the obstacles thrown in our way," Geary said.

"At the start of the season we had all the away games which helped build up a bit of mental toughness, but every club is now in the same position.

"It's out of our control and we'll be happy if we can get on the pitch."

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