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For every supporter of expansion in the NRL there are as many opponents. So what is the best way to go?
Are the game’s administrators correct to hold off expansion talks or should we be following the AFL’s lead?
Having assessed the pros yesterday, today we will look at the cons.
A further unequal draw
There are already serious problems with the NRL draw. While the salary cap will try to insist the competition is completely equal the reality is not so.
Put it down to clever recruitment policies, player loyalty, location or whatever you’d like, the roster strength of teams is still extremely varied.
When was the last time you heard a team complaining they’d been drawn to face the Eels twice in one season, or celebrating that they got to meet Melbourne twice?
Adding further teams could potentially enhance this problem. Clubs forced to face teams like the Storm, Souths or the Roosters twice in a year while others face them once – and let’s be realistic here, the incidence of teams having to double up against particular opposition would obviously reduce – would have these unlucky clubs screaming bloody murder.
On the flip side, if, many years down the track, the NRL embarks on a massive expansion policy and we end up with say 24 sides competing, the obvious solution is to make each side play each other once throughout the season. This ‘solution’ however carries with it further issues, namely home ground advantage issues – think being forced to play the Storm at AAMI Park for your only match against them, while others are given the right to host.
Player overload
Players and medical advisors are already complaining our stars play too many games a season. Considering the hefty wages being paid, I think that’s ludicrous, but that’s not my call to make.
In recent years we have seen the push for standalone representative weekends and the ability for teams to pick which weeks they’d like a bye, so imagine the outcry if we were to increase the length of the season to accommodate new clubs, remove a bye week for a team, or even increase the long distance travelling for interstate games. It would certainly take a toll.
Talent dilution
Probably the most viable point is that of talent dilution. To add more sides would require more first-grade standard players. If we are to take a look at the Wests Tigers and the Parramatta Eels the argument rests itself.
The Tigers look atrocious and are languishing at the foot of the ladder, currently missing upward of seven first graders, while Parramatta for better or worse have been forced to hand debuts to nearly half their side for various reasons.
The fortunes of all clubs during the Origin period strongly suggests the talent depth in rugby league is not capable of handling more sides. For every new side there is a minimum of 25 quality players required, then you have to field a further 20 or so for both reserve grade and under 20s. You’re looking at each of these clubs being forced to find a solid 65 or more quality footballers. That’s a big ask.
Still, with junior participation rates in the game at an all-time high, and with some extremely enterprising players languishing in the lower grades (think Dane Chisolm for Manly), the league is set to accommodate new teams in this department.
So with these discussion points assessed what is the best way to approach expansion? Do we follow the AFL’s empirical conquests or do we wait until 2017 rolls around before we ‘consider’ the proposition?
I believe the time is right to admit some new teams into rugby league’s elite competition. The game is at its healthiest level ever in terms of fanship and financial security, and there seems to be a general consensus within the rugby league population that expansion is desired.
Whether that means readmitting the Bears or the Jets, attempting to solidify fan-bases in Brisbane or Melbourne with a second club, ensuring every state and territory has a team, or expanding our horizons into Papua New Guinea, the time is right for expansion.
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