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The NRL insists that player welfare is paramount, yet teams are still being asked to play with a meagre five days between games.
As an ex-player, I think it is too great a strain on modern footballers, and I can only hope some common sense is shown when the match schedulers sit down to map out next season’s draw.
This is not an entirely new subject but the code’s new rules have seen the speed of play increase markedly this year. The demands on our footballers are bordering on ridiculous.
Melbourne Storm, for example, played a highly physical home game last night against the Knights but now have to fly across the country to Perth to prepare for and play against the Bulldogs on Saturday.
OK, you are probably thinking it is the same problem faced by many teams (especially the New Zealand Warriors) but it usually takes a few days to get over a Monday night outing, and Friday or Saturday rolls around way too soon.
Many players carry injuries into battle at a time when even 24 more hours’ treatment might have them close to 100 per cent.
Burn-out is also a factor. League is a mental as well as a physical contest, and playing two full-on games in the space of five days can be extremely taxing, especially with a lot of travel involved.
If your team has this sort of schedule three or four times in a season, flat spots are inevitable and that could mean the difference between a finals appearance or otherwise.
Five-day turnarounds are tempting fate and I hear the RL Players’ Association is extremely keen to see the back of them. It’s interesting the AFL won’t have a bar of them. I am told six days is the minimum time between their premiership matches. Other codes, particularly soccer, often play several games in a week, but their athletes do not endure the same body contact.
I am sure the TV people have plenty of input when the match schedules are devised, and naturally they want the star quality of high-rating teams for their telecasts.
But if this short turnaround practice persists, the code will lose some of its marquee players due to injury and fatigue. It is a problem that could worsen as the 2014 season progresses.
The solution might be to leave the big teams off the box in that timeslot and promote a so-called lesser light to prime time – which would be better for the viewers in many cases.
Rugby league footballers are not cattle and should not be treated as such, no matter how many billions were outlaid for the NRL telecast rights.
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