A Scottish plan to tartan up the NRL

I don't think it works with a 16 team comp and only 2 divisions. You really need an 18 team comp to make it work, which would require expansion obviously. Rounds 1-17, all play each other once. After this divide the table into 3 divisions or pools based on ladder position. All teams play a further 5 games against teams in their third of the ladder. Have a 10 team finals series played over 6 weeks. I know that's anathema to some. But I believe it would work if teams are fighting not just for the premiership but also a challengers plate. So week 1, first and second rest. 3 plays 6, 4 plays 5, 7 plays 10 and 8 plays 9. Bottom 2 teams are relegated to plate semi final to be played week 3 Week 2 same as now, 1st plays 4th, 2nd vs 3rd, 5th v 8th, 6th v 7th. Bottom 2 are relegated to plate finals next week. Week 3 winners from top 4 rest, losers play winners from bottom 4 for place in gf qualifier. Losers go straight to plate gf qualifier. Bottom 2 from last week play off for spot in plate gf qualifir against bottom 2 from week 1 Week 4 gf qualifiers plate and premiership Week 5 plate grand final as curtain raiser to premiership grand final This way even the bottom places team after week 17 has something to play for and is a chance of going on a run and winning the plate or the premiership. Plate finals are played as curtain raisers to premiership finals helping with crowd numbers. Have 3 stand alone rep rounds on weekends through the season. Anyway that's my thought about how to keep the season exciting for as many fans as possible right up till the very end of the finals series.

"Daytime footy encourages more free flowing footy". Haha mate not sure if you're tryin to be funny but that's GOLD!! DOn't know what you've been watching Scott but last Friday night's Souths v Manly was pretty darn free flowing. So have been most of the Origins in recent memory. Cows n Broncs pretty much play exclusively at night and they're both pretty entertaining to watch. If you're so hell-bent on watching daytime origin, that's fine - but you'd be very much in a tiny minority there - it'll never happen.

Scott, you say "In the bottom eight they would play for a ‘best of the rest’ plate instead of the premiership, which would act as a brilliant lead-up game on grand final day." You could call it "Festivus for the Rest of Us".

Thanks for the reply Scott. - A cash prize or a favourable draft pick would certainly motivate the clubs to compete, but I don't know that it would motivate fans to be honest. There is also the issue that potentially the 14th worst side in the league could pick up a prize, where as the third best gets nothing. I think that would ruffle a few feathers. A draft is also designed to give the struggling sides new talent, so if the teams were competing for a draft pick, you'd see the better teams getting their pick of the talent, while the worse teams get the worse picks. - "people will find a way to watch origin it wouldnt matter if it was on at 2am in the morning." This only applies to the die-hards. One of Origin's biggest benefits is that it draws in new fans, casual fans and even those who don't like the game. All these demographics would be lost with no real gain, considering Origin already sells out. - I'm actually not in favour of a three-week rep break, but I think League needs a domestic rep concept for NZ. There was talk a few years ago about an Auckland vs the rest Origin game, which might have legs. Maybe a Maori vs NZ All-Stars concept could work too. - I'd actually like to see a WA v Victoria Origin series organised. It probably wouldn't involve any NRL players, but they certainly have the numbers for a decent rep side. Might help to establish a bit of state pride to support the Storm and WA expansion.

I commend you for exploring a new option Scott, however I think there are quite a few problems with this. Despite not outlining what problems you are looking to solve, I also had the following concerns. - With the bottom 8 playing each other for the last 7 weeks, what are they playing for? I don't know that people would be willing to turn up to watch their club play for nothing. - How do you market that draw to the public? "Come and see the worst eight clubs in the league try to outdo each other in awfullness. Who will be the worst team in the league?" - With your six team finals structure, the top 6 get to play off, and the bottom 8 get to play off, but what about teams 7 & 8? They would be the only two teams not getting to compete for silverware, despite finishing higher than 8 other sides who are still competing (including the wooden spooners). - Third place playoffs are notorious for attracting little interest. Even in this years FIFA world cup people were arguing about the point of a third place playoff and the only reason it seemed to draw any interest was because the host nation was playing. Therefore, I find it hard to believe fans would get excited about the prospect of watching two sides from the bottom half of the draw competing for the "Mediocrity Plate" on Grand Final day. Not to mention that fact that players and coaches love trotting out the old "burnout" excuse to avoid using players in games of little consequence. - State of Origin COULD be awesome on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and they would potentially draw a big crowd, but they would be losing far too many viewers to make it worth while. The thing about Wednesdays is that everyone is at home watching TV. There would be far fewer viewers in the afternoon and we would almost certainly lose most of the audience share in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth (where it would be on at 1pm - perhaps the lowest drawing timeslot outside of midnight), not to mention all the casual fans we would lose. This would mean a serious loss of funds for the game and, perhaps more seriously, exposure to new fans! Considering Origin already sells out, what is the point? - A New Zealand Origin Game could work, however considering that 75% of New Zealand's population lives on the North Island, this could be a very one-sided affair. Furthermore, League participation in NZ is concentrated heavily around Auckland, meaning it would be tough for a South Island team to field a competitive team. - Under 20s is set to be scrapped, perhaps representative weekends need to feature more internationals with NRL players released to represent their countries.

I don't think you need to worry about "drawing bigger crowds" for Origin - as it's generally a sellout. I was more talking about the atmosphere for the occasion, that's why I'd always prefer to see it played under lights. It's always been played at night and I think that's a great tradition, just saying personally I wouldn't want to see it switched to a 3pm kickoff. More club games at 3pm, definitely - but not Origin.

Some interesting ideas but the obvious problem is the bottom 8, essentially playing for nothing after 15 rounds. I agree it would kill sponsorship and revenue for those clubs. Also, can't imagine Origin at a 3pm time slot, surely its gotta be played under lights.

I agree that the NRL finals series is a farce. Its too long! We rarely get sellouts in our finals games which is absurd! I blame this on the McIntyre system and top 8. It needs to be just top 6. Why on earth can u lose in the playoffs and still continue?! Ridiculously stupid system. If the current finals system is so awesome then why dont the crowds show up. Top 7, sudden death - solved! And in week 1 only the minor premier gets a bye.

In the spl the earlier points do count actually!

The competition would end up a dogs breakfast.