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2015 NRL Draw: The key talking points

15th December, 2014
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Dave Smith promised proactive leadership. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
15th December, 2014
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The 2015 NRL Draw has been released today, and there are plenty of things to discuss, dissect and get angry about.

Hopefully not too much of the latter.

So with the draw announced, here are the five biggest issues we’ve picked out from what we’ve seen of the 2015 NRL season so far.

Thursday Night football to start things off
Always controversial, the 2015 NRL season will kick off in the same manner it did last year, with a blockbuster on a Thursday night.

Next year it will feature the Broncos, who will be minus Darius Boyd, Ben Barba and Josh Hoffman but plus Wayne Bennett taking on premiers South Sydney. It will be a cracking game, but Thursday night football does divide fans.

It will be played at Suncorp and broadcast live on Channel Nine, but how many fans do you think will be showing up to that one?

Live Sunday football on Channel Nine
Speaking of live football on Channel Nine, Sunday Football will retain its 4:00pm timeslot, but will now be shown live on television.

For as long as rugby league fans can remember, Sunday footy has been a mainstay at 4pm, complete with huge ad breaks every 10 minutes of the match.

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In the age of social media and live coverage, many Roarers have argued that it simply can’t be shown on delay anymore, despite whatever excuses about the sanctity of the 6pm news Phil Gould chooses to offer up.

So this is a big win for footy fans, and a step forward for the game. Any arguments here?

Anzac Day football. 10 hours of it
This one might divide a few more people, with 10 hours of football to be played on Anzac Day.

It will start in New Zealand at 2pm local time, midday Australian time, with New Zealand taking on the Gold Coast. This spells a change from the Storm-Warriors match that had been played for the last two years on Anzac Day.

We will then see the Cowboys play Newcastle, the Rabbitohs play the Dragons, Manly play Melbourne and the Eels face Brisbane.

The NRL have called it an ‘extravaganza’ and ‘smorgasbord’, but what would you call it?

The promise of better Monday night football
One of the curious parts about the announcement of the draw was an accompanying statement about Monday Night Football.

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“A revitalised schedule for Monday night football on Fox Sports featuring stronger games.”

This is interesting, as it raises the question of whether weaker matches were scheduled for Monday last year, and the year before. A curious announcement, and perhaps the figured for Monday nights haven’t quite been up to expectations.

Tackling the Origin burden
Every year, a major talking point in the NRL and rugby league circles is the burnout of players. In particular, representative players.

During this year’s Four Nations, some of Australia’s most potent players were ruled out of playing for the Kangaroos due to injury that didn’t prevent them playing at the end of the NRL season.

For 2015, the NRL has attempted to reduce player burnout by scheduling only four matches in three rounds around the Origin period.

“Rounds 11, 14 and 17 will each feature just four games rather than five – one each on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday – with a view to easing the burden on clubs in pre-Origin rounds,” goes the official NRL release.

NRL Head of Commercial Peter Kind says this was an important step for the league.

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“We deliberately targeted trying to minimise the number of what you call ‘blockbuster’ games in that Origin period,” Kind said.

“It’s inevitable there are going to be some and you’re looking at Friday night football on Channel Nine throughout that period, so it’s inevitable there are some games still there but we’ve tried to minimise those.

“There has been a focus on that. Having said that, State of Origin remains in its traditional Wednesday night slot where we think it belongs and where it’s so dominant and where it’s such a big part of our season.”

Will the reduction to four games help?

What do you think Roarers? What are the big issues that stick out to you with the 2015 NRL Draw?

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