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The NRL is dwindling from the after-effects of constant refereeing blunders, poor administration and free-to-air coverage, terrible crowd numbers and an ongoing ASADA investigation.
The NRL offseason is a massive snore fest often filled with ‘Chris Sandow is training the house down’ and ‘Dave Taylor is in the best condition of his life’ stories that eventually go nowhere.
Excitement is needed!
The NFL meanwhile, despite a short season of 17 weeks, manages to have stories and intrigue on a year-round basis and continues to thrive worldwide.
Here are five elements the NRL should steal from the NFL:
1. Overhaul the jerseys
The NRL jerseys are an eyesore; they have way too many advertisements on them.
On the Melbourne Storm jersey last season you could not even see the lightning bolts properly due to a giant ‘Crown Casino’ logo.
I for one do not want to be walking around advertising multi-billion dollar companies. And it seems many agree, as the most popular jersey sales in the NRL are the throwback uniforms which are often a simpler format of the current jerseys.
The NFL jerseys have zero advertisements and have an exclusivity contract with Nike. A simpler format and a potential endorsement with say Nike, Adidas or Reebok would make more wearable NRL jerseys.
Like the NFL, player names and numbers would give fans a chance to wear the jersey of their favourite players.
Players should also be able to choose any number they like, making jerseys far more unique and collectable.
2. Introduction of a fumble rule
The strip ball or knock on rule was never officiated clearly in one game last season. One ref calls it a knock on and the other called it a strip.
How many games’ momentum were changed from a terrible call?
A modification of the NFL’s fumble rule should eliminate the inconsistency. Here is how:
As soon as contact is made with the player carrying the football it is active and when the ball hits the ground it is a fumble and the ball is up for grabs by any player.
If the team in possession recover it, they get up and continue playing and when they are tackled it is the next tackle in the set. If the other team recovers it, it is a turnover and that is tackle zero.
It will not be a fumble ball if the player’s elbows or knee are touching the ground (just like the NFL), as that is a completed tackle. If the player drops the ball before any contact, it is still a knock on and a turnover. If the ball goes out of bounds, similar to a kick or bomb, whoever it touches last (playing at it) the other team gets ball.
The rule does not only apply to one-on-one tackles, players must be responsible for carrying the football properly; if you want to carry it loose it make cost you.
This rule has some flaws and may need some tweaking but why not give it a go in some trial games?
3. Time stoppages
The game clock says 80 minutes but how often is there actually 80 minutes being played? Games could be much more exciting without blatant time wasting when kicking conversions or scrums.
I for one would love to see a team down by two receive the ball with 1:30 on the clock rather than watch the other team slowly kick off and give them 15 seconds.
I am not saying stop the clock as much as the NFL but when play is dead (when the ball has gone out, when a penalty is given, when a scrum is needed, when there is a turnover or when a try is scored) the clock should automatically be stopped by the official timekeeper in the box.
It will make the game a lot longer, fairer and – as much as people hate it – allow for more advertisements which gives the game more revenue.
4. A free agency period and trades
A draft would be incredible but it is very tough in the structure of the NRL. The college system in America for sports such as the NFL is incredibly unique and brilliant. The NRL is unfortunate in that it cannot replicate that.
They can however do a free agency period for players off-contract or even their reserve grade or junior players who think they could land a starting gig elsewhere.
Players should not be able to sign to play for another team while still contracted at their current club; all players should wait until the conclusion of the season to sign for the following year.
It would also give other clubs the chance to evaluate their team, drop players and go after free agents.
5. Sunday football
Yes, I know there is already live Sunday football at 2:00pm on Fox Sports and delayed telecast on Channel Nine at 4:00pm but the whole day should be dedicated to live football.
There should be three live games, back-to-back, all day. The first starts at lunch time, the second at 2:00pm and the third at 4:00pm.
The NFL is built around Sunday football and they start it with many pre-game shows and countdowns, such as NFL countdown, something Channel Nine should learn from – especially on Friday Nights (enough with ‘The Big Bang Theory’ re-runs, actually give us a decent pre-game show).
If people aren’t actually going to the games give them a decent pre-game product to watch and show the game lives.
It’s 2014, get with the times.
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