A ten-point plan for the NRL to make 2015 the best season ever

I am Solomon I like refereeing Nrl I would like the pounch ups in the Matches and the old Nrl rules back.

God help us only having RU to watch imagine , people would only have one choice of boredom to watch , people could relieve their boredom by waiting for a bus , I am sure that would be more exciting than watching R U. RL drop the scrum

I agree maybe the people on microphones need more training, a good example of someone who needs lots of training is Bret Mate Mate Finch, where did they get him from? must have known someone in high places. If we want to improve the game lets get people who are more professional

they should have 2 subs in additional to the 4 player interchange bench - if a player is injured and not able to continue they are subbed out of the match - teams have a 18th player why not 2 as subs used to replace injured players who cannot continue in a match - if say two players are ruled for concussion due to illegal play put on report why should that team then be disadvantaged as a result - they should be able to call on 2 subs same if a player was injured and not able to return. The comp should be 22 weeks 2 groups of 8 - 5 team finals in each group with the winner of the two groups playing off for nrl trophy- like the super bowl- this will mean a 30 week comp - 22 regular seasons games . 4 week group finals series and 1 week super bowl (2 group winners play off) and 3 byes during origin. Should be at least 3 live games per week - friday night/saturday night and sunday afternoon. Get rid of the grapple/chicken wing use the sin bin for these - 10 minuites players would soon stop doing these tackles Get rid of golden point for premiership rounds - if a draw it stays a draw- for finals play extra time if still a draw then golden point.

Is this guy serious??? Surely the video ref idea is a laugh, for one thing? Maybe it's hard to stay in touch with the game from Adelaide.

Scrums must go!

too long, didnt read

He might have an idea, but he seriously needs to practice his commentary delivery. I cringe when he tries to get a fluid sentence out. Although i think he has improved, he does seem to regress when he's commentating with Fitler around. There like two schoolboys with microphones. They need to be more professional.

Whatever happens it will be the best SOO ever and the biggest rivalry in the world with the biggest audience...

The bomb is not a new phenomenon- it started in the 70's or 80's with John Peard at Parramatta and quickly spread to other clubs. You are right about the romantisising of the 80s and 90s game. There were as many problems then, which is why we have salary caps, non contested scrums, etc to try and fix the issues. They just created ne issues.

I wonder what percentage of tries from kicks there have been this year? I think I have seen less this season than years gone by. It was a lot worse a few years ago. Remember that year the Panthers scored what must have been about 95% of their tries from bombs and they finished 2nd on the ladder? I haven't seen any teams that bad this year. The game is far from perfect but all the complaints I hear seem to be from people who romanticize the 80s and early 90s version of the game, which was rife with its own inconsistencies and problems.

Agree 100%. And if the scrums went back to being contested, all we would hear is more complaints about feeding the second row, the ref is biased etc Even in Union, the halfback puts the ball under the hookers feet.

I think the worst change made to the game in the past 50 years has been the interchange rule ! I would love to see it scrapped altogether. It has made the game totally one dimensional based around size, speed & power and very little smarts or guile ! Every team plays the same with a bunch of big powerful boppers hitting the ball up for 4 or 5 tackles and then up goes a bomb ! Defences are maintained by constant rotation of "10 minute boppers" leaving little room for the speedy little guys to find a gap against a tiring defence. Every game is a battle of physical attrition, which you don't mind generally , but occasionally some variation of a clever move or a skilful deception might be interesting for a change .The problem I see is that certain types of players can no longer play the game and it begins right back at the grass roots of the junior teams, where the little clever kids are being bashed out of the game and it is becoming the survival of the biggest powerful kids only ! Any little guys to make it through to the top level are simply smaller but tough clones of the rest of them ! Not sure we will ever see smart players that brought the crowds to their feet like Peter Sterling, Greg Alexander, Phil Blake, Steve Mortimer, Slippery Morris, Steve Ella, Monkey Mayes,,etc as they are never allowed to progress through the game unless they can make 40 tackles a game on rampaging front rowers aimed deliberately at them ! So instead we get the durable but less skilled players to run the team and survive the "modern" style. I would love to see the interchange rule dumped and we go back to 4 x replacements only. Once you come off, you stay off ! Then we can see the focus on those fit 80 minute players again, and give the nimble little guys a chance to take on those tiring defences with their speed and agility , perhaps we may even see a full backline movement ! The way the game is progressing the emphasis is all based on the assumption that speed & power should = entertainment ! Problems we have is that it is also rife with a boring sameness, higher rates of injuries, and the depletion of many skilful players not robust enough for todays style, so we have fewer smart playmakers ( like a Mortimer or Alexander) to run the variations and read the game for opportunities, and every club now just hopes & prays that they can one day find a tough nugget like Joey Johns or Alfie Langer to play as their halfback and on field general. Until then , they will stick to the script of bash, barge & bomb ! The game is looking more like the NFL every year. What's in store next year ? Separate defensive teams and offensive teams ? More referees with yellow flags to throw around for video reviews ??? Time to rethink our game !

1 Point Plan to make 2015 the best season ever: Market the game! Last night I saw on ad on TV advertising cheap tickets for Bulldogs v Parramatta and I almost fell off my chair. The NRL actually promoting the game? I adjusted my set, but no, it was true. An ad for footy on TV.

Just to add, given SBW hinted that he would do a third spell in the NRL, that if they returned to union, to get the full discount again, every year away from the game would add back one year to the discount, ie go to union for one year, you get a 20% discount on your return etc. Could also help players become better known overseas, thus increasing the prestige of our competition.

Given the SBW experiment with the Roosters, I think adding something along the lines of a concession on Union players coming across to add more star power to the game would be a good thing. It would also help clubs like Canberra who have the money, to become competitive. Something along the lines of 50% first year, 30% second year, 20% third year. Even if clubs only use them as 3 year contracts before letting them go elsewhere.

"RL has become so boring, monotonous, and same old same old every tackle. Bring back the contest in possesion." No need. Choose not to watch RL and watch the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday night and the National Rugby Championship starting next week. ;-P

10 & 8 keep the scrum and make it competitive at the same time make the bench substitute no interchange. Good. 9 Go back to one ref and make the touchies earn their keep, see what they do in park and country footy. Allow video ref to rule on forward passes, it works in rugby. 7. Couldn't agree more. A home and a clash jersey. 6. Not much you can do here unless someone folds (totally against relocation, it is only moving the problem) 5. Agree to a point. Some players have come good after a club has released them in June These transfers are generally where a club wants to offload players. 4. Agree but Nine and Fox won't. 3. Combine salary cap and draft. get rid of third party sponsors. Remember that's why Gasnier left. Agree with your comment on the Titans. The Suns and GWS were both given special considerations. 2. Hate the gambling adds, maybe only have them for on air after 8.30pm. 1. Expansion, agree but with 20 teams the competition would be cumbersome. Divide it into two divisions of 10 with the top 4 from each division making up the current finals format of 8 teams. 0. I only watch Nine when I have to. Prefer to catch Fox Sports delay when they cut out most of the rubbish. Never been a Rabbs fan. I always thought Hughes was great when Ten had it and the ABCs Warren Boland was another goodie. The Fox Sports crew are far better than Nine's.

100% . Maybe the adage that 'pride goeth before the fall' will apply to him as it has to many others.

Plus the game cannot support the costs involved in running that many teams around the country ! We don't have a big enough population to support it, and you are fighting all the other codes for funding ! Better off reducing the number of NRL teams ( maybe relocating some) and increasing the quality ( like has eventually happened in A-League Soccer which is now thriving). Then with the future aim of running a 2nd division & perhaps eventually a promotion & relegation system at some point in then future ?