We’re in the midst of the bye rounds. At this point of the season, we’re playing just six games each weekend and with one of them being on a Thursday night, there are some major breaks in the program.
Last week there was no Sunday game until 3:20pm. It will be the same this week.
When there are byes, it’s viable to play Thursday nights, with two teams that had the bye the previous week. During the rest of the season, due to the turnaround time required between games, it can’t be done.
Thursday night footy can be hit-and-miss with crowds, but last year saw some good roll-ups. Far better than the Sunday or Monday night timeslots that were experimented with in 2014. And there’s no doubt they rate very well on TV.
During the non-bye period, we have congested weekends where we have games being played at the same time, therefore splitting the broadcast audience. On the Fox ratings, we usually see more people watching AFL than NRL, but because the AFL audience is split, the NRL games outrate the AFL games.
The Players Association has been consistently vocal in requesting two byes during the season. In the context of rising injury tolls and fatigue, exacerbated by reduced rotations during games, they have a point.
A second bye was introduced in 2014 but was taken away in 2015, when the season started late due to the Cricket World Cup.
There’s a week off before the finals this year, but non-finals teams won’t benefit from that bye week. It remains to be seen how a week off will affect the momentum of the season.
If it becomes a regular thing, one potential benefit could be the floating fixture would no longer be needed and game dates and times would be locked in when the draw is released. But that’s a separate discussion that no doubt we’ll have when we see how that week off goes.
There’s been plenty of discussion, both on The Roar and elsewhere, of how to manage the bye periods.
I have a system that would spread the fixtures more evenly through the season and give the players the second bye they request without having so many gaps in the program. It would also drastically reduce the number of simultaneous games, allow a greater role for the high-rating Thursday night footy and give each team equal access to that prime-time timeslot.
It’s called the rolling bye.
A season would have each team playing 22 games plus two byes, meaning a 24-week home-and-away season.
For the first four rounds, there would be nine games played, same as a normal round now. Same for the last two, the run home to the finals. The other 18 rounds would see eight games played, with two teams having the bye.
The two teams with the bye would then play each other on the next Thursday night. That allows the blockbuster timeslot to be played 18 times, with teams participating having had the required turnover time.
Each team would have two byes, and therefore play two Thursday night games; one home and one away. Unlike Friday nights, where some teams get plenty while others get overlooked, it’s an even spread. Each team gets even exposure in this timeslot.
A typical round during those weeks would have one game on Thursday night, one on Friday night, one Saturday afternoon, one Saturday twilight, two Saturday night, one early Sunday and one Sunday 3:20pm.
If the early Sunday game is brought forward to 12:30pm, Saturday night would be the only timeslot in which two games are played simultaneously. And the unpopular Sunday 4:40pm timeslot would be abolished.
Concurrent scheduling would be significantly reduced, there’s a much bigger role for Thursday night football, and less gaps in the program than the current bye weeks have. It’s a big win for the broadcasters.
Thursday night games rate well on TV. They’re not always easy to get to, but you’re only going to have to do it for a home game once a season.
The players get their two byes. But with the spread of games, unless it’s your team’s turn to have the bye, you’ll barely notice it’s a bye round.
Is this the answer to the bye-scheduling dilemma?
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