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As I sat down to write this piece, it occurred to me that I’ve rarely been less engaged in a round of NRL than I was on the weekend.
I watched the last 10 minutes of Friday night’s western derby between the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels, along with parts of the second half of Sunday afternoon’s game featuring the Manly Sea Eagles versus Brisbane Broncos.
That’s it.
Sure, I ended up watching some highlights, reading game reviews and looking at a few stats, but if I’m honest it was out of need rather than want.
At first I thought it was an emotional comedown from Wednesday’s brutal Origin encounter. Then I figured perhaps I was slightly uninterested because my Bulldogs weren’t playing. I eventually put it down to just being busy, and simply not having time to watch a lot of NRL on the weekend.
The only issue with that excuse is that I still managed to squeeze in two full games from the dramatic NBA playoffs, the Waratahs versus Chiefs game in Super Rugby and a healthy sprinkling of AFL action.
It then dawned on me that the real reason I watched very little rugby league on the weekend was because if, at this time of year, the NRL isn’t going to take the NRL seriously, why should I?
There were only five games of rugby league over the weekend, and a large number of the competition’s best players weren’t playing. Both of these facts helped to render the round of NRL football underwhelming.
Let’s face it, State of Origin eclipses the NRL from late May to early June. It’s not exactly news that it adversely affects the NRL.
With all the focus on the interstate battle, the NRL sadly becomes an afterthought. That’s especially apparent this year, when you consider the drama and excitement generated by the close competition this season.
However, it’s not just the spectacle of Origin that overshadows the NRL, it’s the player drain.
Any player selected for Origin is ruled out of their club’s game the weekend before, while a number of players understandably fail to back up the weekend after. The flow-on effect is that many fans, and even the media, suspend their interest in the NRL during this period.
It’s less than ideal, and though there is no perfect solution, allow me to offer an alternative.
Over four weekends – not necessarily consecutively – we’ll have three State of Origin games, and then the Test Match between Australia and New Zealand, with all NRL clubs having a bye on those weekends.
On the first weekend, we’ll have a NSW A versus Queensland A State of Origin match on the Friday night, before the main Origin game on Sunday. This will give selectors from both states a chance to look at some younger or fringe players, and help those players adjust to the difference between NRL and Origin football.
On the second weekend, the Origin game will again be played on Sunday night, while the 9s Tournament, involving all NRL teams, will take place over Friday, Saturday, and leading into the big game on Sunday.
On the third weekend, Origin will again be played on Sunday, but the NRL All Stars will play the New Zealand national team. Though Origin and the Kiwi team will obviously put a drain on the All Stars team, there would remain plenty of exciting talent to choose from. This year’s team could still choose from the Burgess brothers, Luke Brooks, Gareth Widdop, Ben Barba, Anthony Milford, Todd Carney, Josh Dugan and James Graham.
On the fourth weekend, Australia – with a team picked on Origin form, making the series even more important for the players – will play New Zealand, who will have finally been given a proper warm-up game, having competed against the All Stars a couple of weeks earlier.
The other matches played that weekend will be City versus Country on the Friday night, ensuring rural NSW is not forgotten in the representative period. Then perhaps the Indigenous All Stars taking on a combined Samoa and Fiji team on Saturday. If that’s not going to work, then we keep it simple and have the Samoa versus Fiji Test Match.
Now, I’m sure this proposal is far from the panacea that rugby league requires, and already I can see a few issues with my plan.
Firstly, there is usually a long casualty list following an Origin match due to the intensity and speed of the games. Realistically, there is no way around this. If Origin injuries affect the NRL, then the only solution is to hold the series at the end of the season, and that’s just not going to happen.
Secondly, despite my best attempts to have as much football played in that four-week span as possible, there will still be a limited number of games on most of the weekends. However, I’m wagering on the scale and importance of those games being enough to satisfy the fans’ thirst for footy.
Though you could argue that this plan doesn’t address the media vacuum that Origin generates, it at least attempts to limit the amount of club games that the competition’s best players currently miss, which can only help address the media issue.
What do you think Roarers? A plan worth considering? Absolute madness? More holes than Swiss cheese? Is the existing calendar simply the best we’ve got? Or even better, do you have your own suggestion?