Brisbane City will host Saturday night's final against Perth at Ballymore. © Getty Images

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The whirlwind that has been the National Rugby Championship wraps up this weekend with Brisbane City hosting Perth Spirit in the grand final at Ballymore on Saturday evening. The competition has had its fair share of criticisms with poor crowds and desperately low viewing audiences on Fox Sports leading many to question whether the NRC has a future - perhaps even beyond this season. But in between the negative headlines and other major headaches at ARU HQ - see Kurtley Beale, Ewen McKenzie et al - plenty of entertaining rugby has been played and a number of rising stars have announced themselves as players to watch in the future.

Quade Cooper made his playing return in the NRC in front of the "Tongan Thor". © Getty Images

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The Good

ARU chief Bill Pulver flagged his intention for a reformation of the third tier early in his tenure, stating from the outset his desire for a competition that showcased attacking rugby. He certainly got just that. Across the 38 games to be played thus far, an average of 65 points have been scored while the reduction in value of penalty goals to two points encouraged teams to chase tries.

The competition also trialled a number of other law variations, the pick of which allowed play to carry on when a crooked lineout throw had not been contested by the defending side. With so many tries scored, the decision to award a bonus point for sides winning by three tries or more - rather than the regular four-try system - also had merit.

Elsewhere, it was great to see some regional areas host matches with New South Wales Country taking three of their home games to the bush and Queensland Country heading to the Gold Coast and Townsville. Perth also took one of their home fixtures to Adelaide.

As for the players? Well we certainly got a glimpse into Australian rugby's generation next with the likes of Andrew Kellaway, Jack Debreczeni and Samu Kerevi just some of a number of youngsters to make the most of the NRC.

Super Rugby contracts also resulted from standout performances in the NRC, with Melbourne Rising winger Sefanaia Naivalu and Canberra Vikings' Rodney Iona picking up deals with the Rebels and Brumbies respectively.

The NRC also proved to be an ideal starting point for players returning from injury. Wallabies Will Genia and Quade Cooper made their comebacks via the competition while fringe Test players like Will Skelton were able to slot back into NRC sides in search of match fitness.

The Bad

Asking fans to adopt a new rugby competition for which they would have little, if any, emotional investment was always going to be a hard sell, and the crowds reflected just that. Apart from the Queensland derby, which drew around 5000 fans to Ballymore on a Sunday afternoon, most NRC matches have had few spectators watching from the stands. The lack of fans pitch-side was added to by reportedly disastrous viewing numbers on Fox Sports, with the Thursday night timeslot failing to resonate with rugby supporters. There were some positive numbers in the early weeks but, as with the Wallabies, fans seem to lose interest as the early-season momentum was lost.

Could it have been because some of the rugby played was just too loose? The free-flowing nature of most NRC matches was great, but, at times, it felt as though some of the fixtures descended into touch footy. Scorelines of 77-26, 78-19 and 68-29 make you wonder whether any tackles were made at all.

It would also be remiss of us not to mention the standard of refereeing which, at times, didn't quite reach the mark needed for professional rugby. The shocking "own try" awarded by the TMO in the Stars-Rays clash will go down as one of the great howlers in history.

The Future

There is no doubt the NRC could help to improve the playing depth of Australian rugby, but it could come at an unbearable cost: complete financial ruin. Welcome to the NRC - Australia's "Necessary (but) Risky Competition".

The ARU deal with Fox Sports to broadcast the NRC is slated to run for another year, but rumours continue to circulate that the broadcaster may pull the pin on 2015. That would leave the ARU without a significant chunk of cash, and with the governing body in an already perilous financial position, they would have little choice but to confine Australian rugby's third tier to the scrapheap for a second time.

If Fox Sports do decide to broadcast the NRC for a second year, the competition would certainly be expected to improve. With greater time for organisation, the nine clubs would be far better prepared - both on and off the field.

For now, the only guarantee is that either Brisbane City or Perth Spirit will be crowned the inaugural champions on Saturday night. Whether they become the one and only winners of the tournament remains to be seen.