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Four lessons we've learned from the 2016 NRL season

28th August, 2016
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State of Origin apparently counts for little internationally. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Expert
28th August, 2016
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With the 2016 NRL season drawing to a close, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at some of the key points to take from the year that’s been.

The Match Review Committee requires an extreme makeover
The idea of having former rugby league players on the Match Review Committee (MRC) panel was a sound one. These blokes have played the game, and should have a better feel for adjudicating on-field indiscretions than the rest of us.

However, it would seem that ex-footy players can be crippled by the same issues off the field that haunted them throughout their playing careers.

During his time with the Parramatta Eels, North Sydney Bears, Northern Eagles and Wests Tigers, Michael Buettner’s form had more troughs than the men’s toilets at ANZ Stadium. Sadly, this inconsistency has carried through to his new role as the coordinator of the MRC. His dramatic dip in form has led to a loss of confidence and ultimately poor decision-making. Judge Reinhold could have delivered a better brand of justice.

The problem is a complete lack of common sense or consistency. Certain players are given a one-week ban for touching a referee, while others (generally of higher profile) escape sanction on a technicality. Sam Kasiano received only a two-week ban for deliberately kicking someone in the face, while Josh Reynolds was not even suspended for repeatedly attempting to trip an opponent.

I shudder to think what a player would need to do to warrant a 6-8-week ban these days, but it would likely involve a body bag. The current system is dysfunctional and untenable, and I don’t believe a couple of minor changes will be enough to fix it. Time to get Scotty Cam on the blower, as a complete rebuild is needed.

Come on JT, just retire already
They say that if we experienced a nuclear holocaust, only the cockroaches would survive. I’d suggest that even if the roaches took over the Earth, they’d still lose to Queensland. The Maroons are just that good.

Sadly, it was another painful State of Origin campaign for NSW fans. Coach Laurie Daley made significant changes to a side historically thrashed in Game III of the 2015 series, but it made no difference. Even with a new coach and the loss of several backline mainstays, the Queenslanders handled the Blues with consummate ease.

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Sure, we snagged the Origin equivalent of a broken contraceptive, but who cares right? The series was over, and we lost. Again. The truth is, after 11 years of misery, it’s time for NSW fans to finally face the facts: we won’t win another State of Origin series until Thurston et al hang up the boots.

So let’s take the sensible, mature approach, and place all our hopes of future success on the shoulders of Nathan Cleary. Over to you Nath.

Money can’t buy you love
Apparently, it can’t buy you good officiating either. Despite spending a couple of million bucks on a video refereeing mothership, the same old problems remain.

Decisions are inconsistent from week to week and many rulings are seemingly at odds with the video evidence, much to bewilderment of fans, players and especially coaches. Rather than formulating a solution, the NRL have just given us a scapegoat: the Bunker.

I’m not here to trash the Bunker. The concept makes sense. If the technology is available and reliable, we’d be foolish to ignore the means to make decisions faster and more accurate.

The important point the NRL must take from this experience is that the Bunker is only as good as those who are using it. It’s no good having all these additional camera angles available if we’re unable to interpret them.

What’s been made patently clear is that you cannot simply introduce a concept like the Bunker, force feed it an archaic NRL rule book, and expect the two to get along.

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During the off-season, it would be prudent for the NRL to review the interpretation of several rules (eg obstruction) and deliver a clear mandate to those in the Bunker. Only then can they aim for the holy trinity of consistency, technology and common sense.

Origin hangover worse than cask wine
Every season, the same old complaints are raised around the scheduling of State of Origin: it’s too taxing on the players involved and it’s unfair on the clubs.

And for years, these complaints have fallen on deaf ears. After all, television rights pay the bills. Origin is the centrepiece of rugby league, so the NRL has no qualms in shamelessly flogging it to the highest bidder.

It’s a tightly held secret that Origin was almost sold to a wealthy Chinese investor, however he pulled out upon realising he wasn’t bidding on a two-bedroom apartment in Artarmon.

In all fairness to the NRL, it’s hard to take the anguished cries from teams like the Broncos, Roosters, Storm and Bulldogs seriously. Although these sides often sacrifice the most players during the Origin period, it rarely impacts their success on the field. This year, however, things were a little different.

At the conclusion of Round 12, the Sharks, Broncos and Cowboys were sitting first, third and fourth on the ladder respectively. Each team was in sparkling form, with the two Queensland sides looking almost unbeatable.

But then Origin happened.

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These three teams committed a total of 17 players to either NSW or Queensland , and each felt the weight of such heavy representation. The Broncos were the first to feel the pinch, winning only two of nine games during the Origin period, and were at one stage in danger of missing the Finals. The Sharks went four rounds without tasting victory after feasting on success for almost four months, and the Cowboys struggled to get back into the groove, losing three on the trot and almost missing out on a top four spot.

Everyone knows the current format stinks. There is simply no way to create a fair and equitable schedule with so many players missing on Origin duty.

My suggestion, based on zero research and minimal consideration, would be to treat the league like a 90s sitcom, and go on a mid-season hiatus to accommodate the Origin juggernaut. Hit the live pause button, play the Origin series in back to back weeks along with the Pacific Island Tests and other novelty fixtures to flesh out the scheduling, and then press play again.

It works in the Super Rugby, it works in soccer, and it can work in rugby league. But as the idea smacks of common sense, you can rule a line through it.

Prepare yourself for Origin Hangover Part II.

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