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With the seasonal shift well and truly nigh, our attention begins to shift away from football to summertime, barbecues and cricket. Yet, for many there is a genuine wish that the footy seasons would never end.
I myself don’t think the season ever has to and I intend on explaining how this could be achieved.
Year round football is currently a blessing bestowed only on two codes. Firstly association football fans who between English Premier League, A-League and international fixtures are never short of content.
Secondly, rugby union too through their monthly Sevens tournament are able to provide a sprinkling of union between October and March.
The main Australian codes, rugby league and AFL, can’t offer this kind of year round coverage.
However, if media attention is anything to go by, many out there seemingly dream of year round AFL/NRL, as evidenced by the level of coverage provided to these codes during their hibernation and the inanity of the content reported.
Where there is a product demand, an opportunity exists to supply it and I will spend the rest of this article outlining how the NRL can achieve this.
Put forthrightly, the NRL should consider introducing a touch football competition played between Sydney clubs during the pre-season months. Touch football has more registered participants than contact rugby league and union combined (ABS 2009-2010) and therefore has no lack of credibility as a sport.
Indeed some of the codes greatest entertainers in the game, such as Benji Marshall and Shaun Johnson, honed their skills by playing touch football. The sport of touch football, via trans-tasman and State of Origin matches, is already broadcast on Fox Sports and the entertainment value of this product would sky rocket via the participation of Ben Barba, Greg Inglis, Jarryd Hayne and co.
Such a competition has minimal downside and considerable upside. The injury rate for touch football is low (relatively), while the intensity required should have no impact on pre-season preparations.
If the competition was limited to Sydney clubs, there would also be limited cost to holding such tournaments. On the upside, there are significant benefits to be reaped in terms of game development, finance and media presence.
NSW represents the lion share of television ratings and Foxtel subscriptions, therefore a Sydney club touch tournament would provide a potentially enticing media proposition.
By extension, such tournaments would keep rugby league in the media over summer for positive reasons. Additionally, such games would provide the perfect opportunity to revisit forgotten homes such as North Sydney Oval or Henson Park.
More likely, such games could provide the backbone to festival style events in regional centres to promote the game in manner similar to City versus Country. Such festivals would also promote tourism in a smaller scale to that of the English Super League’s ‘Magic Weekend’.
Clubs could also benefit by playing a mix of established stars and young guns. A player such as Marmin Barba (Parramatta) comes first to mind as someone who would benefit from the experience yet also provide significant entertainment value.
A NRL touch football summer comp would provide considerable benefits, both social and financial. Most importantly however, it would keep myself and many others sane over the footy-free summer months.
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