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With the 2014 NRL season fast approaching, I have read many articles and alike mainly predicting what was going to happen in the 2014 season.
As I sat down to write my generic ‘what will happen in 2014’ article, it came to mind that it wasn’t what was on my mind.
What is on my mind, is something, I think, is far more important in terms of expanding the greatest game of all.
In recent years one of the main under performing features of the NRL has been crowd numbers, especially in the Sydney area.
Teams like the Eels, Tigers, Sharks, Panthers and Dragons have struggled to generate crowds. Even Manly, who have been one of the most successful clubs this past decade, have struggled to reach high numbers.
It began to be clear to me, that the whole idea of ‘expanding the NRL’ to feature around 22 teams is very unlikely when six other Sydney clubs are struggling to reach 14,000 a game.
Although expansion is very important as we need to develop and cement the sport in areas like Perth and Central Queensland, I have seen some ideas that are just too far fetched, such as Adelaide.
What I believe needs to be done is to firstly reignited that passion that the fans of Sydney clubs used to possess for their team.
A way to do this is to really advertise Sydney rivalries by having a conference/division system.
Now I know what many of you may be thinking when I say ‘conference system’, but let me tell you it’s not what you think.
I have seen many articles written about conference systems, implementing the idea that two conferences (NSW Conference and a Regional Conference) play out their own finals system then the winners face off in the big grand final at ANZ Stadium.
Personally I think this is a stupid idea because it limits the grand final of having the two best teams.
I mean what if the top four teams all come from NSW like they did in 2013?
The idea I propose is this: four divisions, a Southern NSW division, a Northern NSW division, a Queensland division and a Regional division. The teams in each conference will include:
Northern NSW Division – Knights, Manly, Roosters, Rabbitohs, Dragons
Southern NSW Division – Cronulla, Eels, Panthers, Tigers, Bulldogs
Queensland Division – Broncos, West Brisbane, Central Queensland, Titans, Cowboys
Regional Division – Warriors, Wellington, Storm, Raiders, Perth
As you can see I have added four expansion clubs, obviously we will not chuck them all in in one go, but rather ease them all in until 20 teams are in the competition, I think by the 2018 season.
West Brisbane is my idea of the Brisbane Bombers (I hate that name so much), as they will still play out of Suncorp Stadium but still be linked with cities such as Ipswich, this will kill two birds with one stone in expansion (so we don’t have another Sydney fiasco on our hands).
Then the Perth, Wellington and Central Queensland will all be introduced as well. I figure two teams can be introduced at the same time to avoid byes each week an allow another game slot.
Now back to the divisions, each team in each division will play each other two times, both home and away while versing the other teams in the other divisions only once.
This will create greater rivalries throughout the regular season, something the NRL has been desperately lacking for a while. Also, because of the rivalries being within closer radius of one another bigger crowd numbers will follow.
Now how the finals will work is that the winner of each division make up the top four with the order depending on each teams’ points record. This will also decide minor premiers.
The other six spots will then go directly off the teams’ regular season points records to make a finals series of 10 teams.
This not only means each division has a team in the top four but also means that no other quality teams miss out on finals because the scores still compare to all the other divisions.
Now if you’re asking how a top 10 finals system will work, it is rather simple once you get your head around(and no I’m not using the generic AFL proposed top 10 system if you’re wondering)
Teams from seventh-10th will play out in elimination matches while third-6th play in qualifying finals with the top seeded sides getting home advantage. The Top two sides get the week off.
So if we took the ladder from 2013 it will look like this:
Week 1
Elimination Finals
Knights versus Panthers(7th v 10th)
Cowboys versus Titans(8th v ninth)
Qualifying Finals
Storm versus Bulldogs(3rd v sixth)
Manly versus Sharks(4th v fifth)
Now from this the lowest seed winner from the Qualifying Finals would verse first and the highest seeded winner verses second.
The two teams who won in the Elimination Finals play the losers of the Qualifying Finals, same seeded rule applies as above.
So just for this purpose, let’s assume the top seeded teams always win.
Week 2
Qualifying Finals(again)
Roosters versus Manly
Rabbitohs versus Storm
Elimination Finals
Sharks versus Cowboys
Bulldogs versus Knights
Look familiar? After the first week it reverts back to the familiar top right we have in place now.
This way though, allows many different scenarios to take place as well as creating 13 finals matches compared to nine equaling to a lot more interest.
I believe this system of the NRL, although may be a little confusing, will work much better in creating fan interest and passion that has been lacking so much recently.
Do any of you Roarers agree with me?
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