The previous draw used by Super Rugby was my favourite for the sole reason of its fairness. For the uninitiated, a team played everyone once.
The following year they played everyone once, with the home grounds reversed.
If you played the Waratahs at home in ‘08, you would be heading to Sydney to play them in ‘09. Simple.
I make note of this exceptional draw because I am sick of the shambles that is the NRL draw. The NRL draw is a self-serving mess, helping no one other than Channel Nine.
26 rounds, random bye weeks, some teams playing the Storm twice but Eels once. Maybe your team will strike it lucky and play the Broncos during the Origin period? Maybe your team is the Broncos and you play anyone during Origin?
Maybe your team is a constant feature on football-unfriendly Monday nights? Friends are in town in two months, maybe I can show them a good time at the footy if we play that day? Maybe, maybe, maybe…
The draw is as predictable as the video ref, when the fans are crying out for Queensland winning Origin levels of predictability. These issues are not new and here is my solution, along with a few ideas on international league.
18 teams for 17 rounds of club rugby league. Of course, the scary word ‘expansion’, that many are afraid of, must be confronted here. Perth, Central Queensland, Central Coast, Papua New Guinea a second New Zealand team?! I don’t care.
For those that argue the depth isn’t there I suggest you watch the NSW cup grand final. 13 players had over 300 combined games of NRL or Super League experience. The Queensland cup grand final had six players with NRL or Super League experience for over 400 games experience. They are just the four teams in the respective grand finals. The Toyota Cup also featured players with NRL experience.
Only 18 rounds? Where will the TV networks get their money from? The All Star game.
Great game, and a great way to whet the appetite that a long season of cricket and tennis just hasn’t been able to satisfy. I would love to see a rugby player come over for the All Star match, as it would generate great interest and add another dimension to the game.
I sure know I kept tabs on the Barbarians games that Sam Tomkins and Willie played in. Of course I know the possibility of the ARU releasing any of their players is slim to none, but definitely worth a try.
ANZAC test stays, split round of course. The ANZAC game has been around since the dark days of 1997 and was one of the few good concepts to come out of ‘the war’. However I believe we can tweak the concept to include an under-20s Test too.
I believe an under-20s Test could be a tiny step to alleviating some of the confusion around eligibility. Had Tamou and Papalii been playing for New Zealand in under-20s, perhaps they would have embraced the team and as a result be lining up in black and white on Saturday night?
City Country stays. I think with the reduced length in the regular season, the game may develop into a genuine selection trial, with more players willing to prove themselves and not succumb to suspicious injuries. Michael Ennis and the ever injured-around-country-selection-time Matt Cooper, that was aimed at you!
Split rounds for State of Origin. This may be tricky, as league will be virtually surrendering to other codes on the TV and the grounds, except of course when it is game time. So, in conjunction with Origin, we stage a New Zealand Origin, Auckland against the rest of the country.
If both games were played at 7:30pm and with the time difference, this could be top pre-game entertainment for Australians or a great post match game for the Kiwis to enjoy. This New Zealand Origin concept has the ability to help players torn over allegiances, being paid handsomely helps too.
The grand final format can stay as is, bar the entertainment. Three games of footy, what more could you ask? How about some entertainment that appeals to the masses in the crowd! Good Charlotte appeals to 12 year old girls. While I encourage all ages and gender to support rugby league, 12 year old girls probably account for less than 5% of league fans.
With that proposed draw, the broadcaster(s) would be receiving 153 games of club rugby league, with no players missing throughout the year due to representative commitments. This year, they were given 180. I would argue that the difference of 27 games featured many watered down games, with players being rested after Origin or missing because of it.
With a full strength product and the added international and New Zealand Origins, this draw is worth just as much as the current one, except it’s fairer and more functional.
International eligibility rules and scheduling are frustrating to say the least. It may smack of double standards, but players that have represented Australia, New Zealand or England should be able to represent countries outside the top three, under one condition.
If a player like Uate decides to represent Fiji, he cannot play for Australia for two years. While that may not seem like the wisest move for Uate, a player of immense experience like Tuqiri could pass on so much knowledge to the Fijian team. Someone like Tuqiri could give the game great exposure and get more Fijiians into League.
So while the four Nations are on, we could have another tournament running at the same time featuring a sprinkling of NRL and English Super League talent. Presumably this tournament would be featuring the likes of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and, at a stretch, the Cook Islands.
Players available would include Neville Costigan, Lote Tuqiri, Joe Gualavou, the Naqiama brothers, David Mead, James Segeyaro, Paul Aiton and Richie Fa’aoso. I’m sure they would relish representing their countries on a more frequent basis.
I know not all of these ideas are going to be proven viable, but it’s something!
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
And you think all code's don't try to play hard ball at times.if you believe that you are kidding yourself. 4 NRL teams domiciled in the West,have to fit in with a new kid on the block.Any code worth its salt tries to maximise crowd numbers and if that means intruding on scheduling of other codes ,so be it. Poach Folau use him to gain conversions and bend over backwards to assist in scheduling LOL. The AFL in Melbourne could not give a rats re ,the timing of Storm games,and schedule to please themselves. Bear in mind the planning was only 5 weeks ahead in 2012. I don't think NRL programming affected GWS crowds,they are not the Swans.Nor do I think Folau assisted GWS crowds to any extent.. 2013 the draw will be fixed in advance for 16 weeks.
nomis
Guest
It's only fair when the conference system is closed off
nomis
Guest
I agree with more rep games on an origin weekend. It solves the problem of having more than one game + more club teams are equally disadvantaged with players out. Keep City/country, but doesn't need to be a qualifier for Origin. There are other regions to experiment with for other rep teams.
Horatio
Guest
The point is that the NRL denied that the GWS draw was a consideration and when confronted with incontrovertible evidence that the games lined up too readily they admitted the GWS draw was a consideration. Its OK doing it but trying to deny it is bizarre
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
As the 2013 draw will under ther control of a new head body ARLC ,any earlier references to a 50/50 News/ARL partnership are superfluous.How dare the WS teams play in the WS regularly..
Horatio
Guest
The 2006 draw favourse the Storm (Nine were trying to sell the stations), the 2011 draw favoured the GC Titans (because the DC Suns were starting up), the 2012 draw was slanted against Manly (premiers) and had many WS teams playing in WS because the GWS Giants were starting up. So who will the 2013 draw favour???
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
It's never fair no matter what system you have in place. Best player for a team could be injured for half the season, or you get to play teams when all there best players are on origin duty. There are so many other variables in play that the comp will always have funny results coming up
Tommygun
Guest
The conference style system only pleases the weaker sides in a weak conference. It is completely unfair. Rugby adopted the system to promote more local derbies and therefore better ratings, spectators etc... Kiwi's and South African's hate the conference style system which saw the best placed Australian team, the Reds earn a home semi for coming 5th. Also teams like the Reds get to play weak sides like the Rebels and Force more regularly and get cheap points. This is a common theme among the Rugby threads on this site.
Damo
Guest
How about some lateral thinking ? Keep 24 or so rounds (for revenue, entertainment and player welfare) but make them worth only 15 rounds in terms of points (for fairness, so that no strong club can gain double the number of points against a weak opposing club, or vice-versa, by virtue of an "uneven" draw). Like this- During the first nine (1-9) and last nine (16-24) rounds, each club plays nine opposing clubs twice, for 2 points a win as usual. During the middle 6 rounds (10-15) each club plays its remaining six opposing clubs, but for 4 points a win. That frees up the NRLC to schedule the maximum number of twice-annual blockbusters (such as local derbies, and by definition to open and close the season), and the minimum number of lower-interest pairings, because that won't create an unfair draw in terms of points able to be gained and lost. Although it will make those mid-season rounds of one-off matches doubly important, and so need some careful scheduling of the rounds of one-off 4-point matches around State of Origin time when player availability and therefore club strength is most disrupted. The same principle applies whether the number of rounds is 18, 20, 22, 24 or 26, and whether the number of clubs is 16, 18 or 20. Just make each match in a once-annual round, worth twice as much as each match in a twice-annual round, and schedule it mid-season to separate the repeated pairings. It also gets around the bizarre scheduling of two clubs playing each other twice but both early in the season, while others play each other only once yet not until the very end of the season. If it's too controversial, then just first trial it at a lower level in a competition with a similarly "uneven" draw. But is it really that unique, when soccer awards 3 points for a win (but only 2 in total for a draw), rugby awards bonus points for tries and close losses, and Sheffield Shield and Grade cricket award more points for outright wins than first-innings wins ?
Mals
Roar Rookie
Early November
Rixy
Guest
Big issue with this proposal isn't the broadcasters (even though there is no way they would go for it after just signing an agreement), the issue is with the clubs themselves. Your effectively reducing home games for clubs from the current 12 to 8/9. That's a massive amount of gate receipts clubs lose. Also, if you look at the draw now, all derbys and traditional rivalries play each other twice (home and away). With each team only playing each other once, one team is going to miss out each year. While they will obviously alternate years, its hard telling a club that something they are used to getting each year they will now only get every second year. So with the broadcasters against it, the clubs against it, it would take a brave administrator to make it happen.
TK
Guest
Does anyone know when the 2013 NRL draw is released?
Dayer
Guest
I agree, I have no interest also, the concept of NSW club against QlD CLUB will be awesome, it will bring passion within the states.
Dayer
Guest
it won't work ..e.g ... those placed with a super team like the Storm will give storm easy premiership points. It would be unfair. Just play each team once so all teams play for points fairly
Dayer
Guest
I basically agree with most of of what you written but really, get rid of the City - Country games.
GCTiger
Guest
As much as it needs an overhaul. Conferences can also alienate supporters. If you had a NSW, QLD and rest of, like the super 15. I doubt many NSW supporters would even watch the QLD teams and vice versa. Just like the super 15, i doubt many aussies and kiwis watch any SA games and vice versa SA and Kiwis watch very few Aussie games. I like the 18 teams playing 17 Rounds and a challange cup style comp going on as well to fill in the other 39 games needed for the tv rights. definately more rep football.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Just makes finishing the top of your group all that more important then really. Not to mention you have new trophies for being the conference champion rather than the minor premiership trophy. So you get 4 minor premiers in theory rather than the current one. Good for bragging rights as well.
TC
Guest
Southern Conference: Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart, Wagga, Canberra, Illawarra, Auckland, Wellington. Northern Conference: Townsville, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Manly, Parra, Canterbury, Souths, Penrith, Balmain. TC
Boz
Guest
Good article. With eventual expansion, the only fair draw would be teams to play each other once. You could even have the draw made up for teams, and then just reverse the home grounds year after year. That way, everyone knows when their team is playing and who they are playing on what weekend years in advance. This could really build up rivalries between teams, and marketing departments would have a much easier time promoting things that have some sense of continuity. With Origin - I think they need to bite the bullet and suspend the club competition while it is being played. I find my interest in the club football really wanes during that time, particularly being a Broncos supporter, as normally we are scheduled to play Melbourne during that time, and what could be a blockbuster, is often a pale imitiation. To do that though, you need to play the Origin series over a much shorter time frame. Say in an 18 team comp, consisting of 17 rounds of football. After the 8th round weekend, Selectors name their teams, and they play a week from the following Wednesday, as they do now. After that, they should play again in another 10 days, On a Saturday night, then another 11 days later on the Wednesday night again. 3 days later - club football should start again on the Saturday. So in effect, it is 4 weeks from round 8 until the beginning of round 9. During that time that should also have internationals between the pacific nations such as Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, PNG, as well as a New Zealand Origin.
josh
Guest
I like the idea of a conference style system. Even with the existing 16 teams it can work. Based on location have 4 groups of 4, even include rivalries in the conferences. maybe have Northern Zone: Nth Qld, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle; Southern Zone: Melbourne, Canberra, Warriors, Penrith; Eastern: Sharks, Dragons, Sea Eagles, Roosters; Central: Eels, Bulldogs, Tigers, Rabbitohs. That's a 20 game season. Each top team from each conference in the finals the next 4 based on combined home and away percentages. 20 game seasons can still have byes, frees up room for SoO/ representative games.