There needs to be wholesale changes to the scheduling of representative rugby league in Australia. That much we can all agree on.
The system in place at the moment isn’t working, and recent attempts to fix things have been short-sighted and ill-advised.
Case in point? The Representative Round. What a mess. Ja Rule could have organised a more cohesive festival of rugby league.
The games themselves were entertaining, but why were we watching them? What was the purpose of staging one-off Test matches ten weeks into the season? The timing didn’t make any sense.
State of Origin is the problem. Let’s not beat around the bush. Every season, the NRL is held hostage by this much beloved and highly anticipated contest. We sacrifice almost a third of our regular season to placate this $100 million behemoth.
I’m not trying to trash Origin nor suggesting we should scrap it. Like every other self-respecting New South Welshman, I love the concept and look forward to it every year. But Origin is to rugby league what the Board of Cricket Control India is to cricket; an arrogant bully throwing its weight around to the detriment of the entire game.
So how do we fix things? Well, here’s my suggestion – and I’m the first to admit that it has more holes in it than the South Sydney defensive line.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
It all starts with State of Origin. If this annual series is truly the centrepiece of our game, then let’s treat it as such. No more mid-week fixtures. No more bye rounds, weakened club squads and lopsided draws. You don’t see the Bledisloe Cup or Champions League final played on a Wednesday evening, and there’s a reason for that. It’s a dumb idea.
I am proposing the NRL schedules three representative rounds each season, during which no club football takes place. In order to fit these three weekends into the schedule, the regular season would need to be reduced from 26 weeks to 23 weeks.
Through eliminating the byes, clubs would still play 23 regular season games, which is one fewer than they are currently playing.
Along with State of Origin, each stand-alone representative weekend would be a feast of rep football to cater for even the most discerning fan. This would include a round-robin Pacific Test series between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea, a three-game Trans-Tasman women’s series, and in the mold of Origin, a best of three series featuring two New Zealand regions (eg North Island v South Island).
The weekend would look a little something like this:
• Friday – NSW v Queensland, NSW Residents v Queensland Residents
• Saturday – Tonga v Fiji, Jillaroos v Ferns
• Sunday – North Island v South Island, Samoa v Papua New Guinea
This would all set the stage for an international tournament held at the conclusion of the season. The teams involved would be Australia, England, New Zealand and a Pacific Nations team formed in a similar fashion to the British and Irish Lions.
There are a bunch of advantages to this approach. First, State of Origin is given the time and focus it deserves. Secondly, staging a similar contest in New Zealand will build the profile of rugby league across the ditch and strengthen their international squad. The same logic applies to Test matches featuring the Pacific Island nations.
Thirdly, each game throughout the three representative rounds would have genuine meaning, making them much more attractive to both players and fans. And finally, clubs are not disadvantaged by their star players withdrawing from regular season games.
The biggest hurdle to this approach is money. Broadcast dollars keep the game afloat, and broadcasters need content. The NRL regular season rates like the lovechild of Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, which keeps the torrent of advertising and pay-television dollars flowing.
So the key to making this idea a success is to convince the broadcasters that the content on offer is worth investing in. And the best way to achieve this is through leveraging off the existing media hype generated by State of Origin. A constant stream of cross-promotion should do the trick. Channel Seven does it all the time.
In the end, it’s all about balance. We need to find a way to keep State of Origin as the showpiece of rugby league, maintain the NRL as one of the world’s premier domestic sporting competitions, and build the international game at same time. This solution ticks all the boxes.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Cooper’s blooper: Is there any room left for Cronk?
Cooper Cronk recently announced that he plans to leave the Melbourne Storm at the end of the 2017 season. After 14 years at the club, the halfback pulled a Bob Day, and put his family first. His fiancé is based in Sydney and Cronk is moving North for the sake of his relationship, earning more brownie points than Adriano Zumbo in the process.
In the days following his announcement, Cronk was inundated with questions around his future. Is he planning to sign for a Sydney club? Is he retiring? Is he moving into broadcasting? When is he getting his nose fixed? The standard media beat up.
Cooper was characteristically coy with his responses, and followed the Craig Bellamy doctrine to the letter. He divulged nothing, and shifted the focus back onto the Melbourne Storm’s current premiership campaign. The details, he said, could be sorted out later.
But can they? Or has Cooper overplayed his hand? Cronk refused to partake in the game of halfback musical chairs going on between the Sydney clubs. But now the music has stopped, and the Australian halfback has nowhere to sit.
So let’s examine Cronk’s options, limited as they are. St George Illawarra is out. They have already committed astonishing money to Widdop and Bent Hunt. The Tigers, Bulldogs and Eels have also opened up their chequebooks to Josh Reynolds, Kieran Foran (probably) and Mitchell Moses respectively, so they no longer have a need at halfback or the means to afford one.
Cronulla are set in the halves. So too are Manly and the Roosters. Penrith are in all sorts of salary cap pain, and already have Nathan Cleary on their roster. South Sydney? Maybe, but with Adam Reynolds playing a very similar style to Cronk, it doesn’t make much sense.
So that just leaves… Newcastle? It’s not such a crazy idea. The Knights have a couple of million dollars burning a hole in their pocket and no real options in the halves. Cronk would be an ideal mentor for the young Newcastle playmakers, bringing a level of preparation and professionalism not seen in the Hunter since Danny Buderus retired.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to Cronk and where his priorities lie. He remains one of the top players in the game, and still has plenty to offer a club like the Newcastle Knights.
But after achieving everything the game of rugby league has to offer, you could never hold it against him if he opted to hang up the boots and join Michael Ennis on the couch.
5th Tackle Option
Here are five quick thoughts on the action from Rep Round.
1. No matter how many times I watch it, I never tire of the Haka. The passion is mesmerising. Shame it doesn’t seem to translate into their performance on the field.
2. That was an insipid display from the Kiwis. With so much talent across the park, their fans deserved better than the lukewarm porridge dished up in Canberra on Friday evening. Australia played well, but the Dapto Canaries would have given New Zealand a run for their money.
3. Where was Jordan Rapana? The NRL’s leading try scorer and most dynamic attacking weapon was barely sighted. Perhaps he thought it was still Marvel Round, and showed up dressed as the Invisible Man.
4. I am a big fan of City-Country and am sad to see it go. While it isn’t a genuine NSW selection trial anymore, it’s still a worthwhile concept. The NRL shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss a fixture with over 100 years of tradition. I would take City-Country over the All-Stars concept or the Auckland Nines any day of the week.
5. I thought white line fever was something you got when you walked onto the field…
Nanco
Guest
So what - the RL "internationals" were only on Fox and the AFL games were on FTA TV as well and in the only country in the world where RL is in front of RU the difference in numbers was small.. In fact they are very low numbers for Saturday RL so thanks for bringing them (despite their deliberate deceptive incompleteness) to my attention.
Nanco
Guest
Worse still they let Tonga get away with 2 illegal tackles in the last 5 minutes without penalty to allow them to score the winning try. Cummins for SOO
WittyReference
Guest
I've been thinking about this for a few years too (pilfered some of it from other people) and think something similar could work but would also suggest: NRL reduced to 22 rounds. Rounds 1 to 15 each team plays each team once. The next month after round 15 is for International Rep rounds and Origin etc. Wayne Bennett suggested going Friday - Wednesday - Friday for Origin with a week and half between games. He has also suggested each NRL team would play two games in that month to keep TV happy. Not sure myself. A month without the Broncos could be painful though. The last 7 games are determined by the ladder after round 15 - Team 1 on the ladder plays all the even teams from 4 to 16, Team 2 plays all the odds from 3 to 15. I've seen some people suggest that for the second part of the year you could split the comp in two like they do in the UK, where the bottom half has their own comp, and the top half has theirs. Don't know how I feel about that one either but it would give the bottom teams something to play for. I worked with a Kiwi and he always said that the population and talent isn't evenly enough spread across the Islands for them to have their own Origin. The other idea would be to play the NRL for 22 rounds straight, then play finals for 4 weeks, then play origin for 3 and then internationals get picked from Origin but that seems no where near complicated enough....
Matt peterson
Guest
This is ridiculous it sounds more like what you want to see not what be best for the game and would make rep footy better recieved and more of a spectacle I for one enjoyed rep weekend i thought it was great
mattatooski
Roar Rookie
I couldn't work out your comments re Rapana. I thought he was the stand out of the kiwi side on Friday night. He looked dangerous every time he had the ball and did some good stuff in defence as well. Each to their own.
Britexit
Guest
There's nothing wrong with the rep round. There were 10 lead changes in the Fiji v Tonga game with the overwhelming majority of 50-50 decisions going to the team behind on the scoreboard under chief conductor Cummins including the worst a knock on in clear view of everybody and the Fox commentators didn't say a word. As Roy Masters wrote some years ago "But the Fox Sports commentators let the game down with an ignorance of the rules and a failure to educate the viewer on critical decisions" and went to note controversial decisions are often ignored by the Fox commentators
Britexit
Guest
Because under the new eligibility rules for SOO, you have to be born in NSW or lived there before the age of 13. Dugan became eligible before the new rules (before 2013) - look at the NRL website under you guessed it SOO eligibility rules
KillaKanga
Roar Rookie
You're talking to the wall mate. The powers that be at NRL HQ will never listen the people who pay to watch the game, we are always treated as a necessary nuisance
Council
Guest
True, but if you guys started winning the thing you can bet the games would be sell ours.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Clubs know what they are paying for. They are happy to fork out for the big Origin stars because they know they'll bring them trophies, even if they do miss a game. If they were so concerned about players missing for Origin, they wouldn't sign them. But they do...
db
Guest
What makes you think Vaugan is inellible to play for NSW?
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
If the Pacific Island nations are unable to play New Zealand and other tier one nations, how are they ever going to improve and compete with the big three? More big game experience will only help the PI nations, not hinder them. It would be a great opportunity for New Zealand to get some team chemistry together and try out new combinations, I can't see why the Kiwis would turn down the opportunity to play against the likes of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.
Britexit
Guest
How about getting the NSW Origin rules in line with Country Origin rules. Paul Vaughan Canberra raised can play for Country but cant play for NSW so City are disadvantaged.
Albo
Guest
Well Tom I don't know why you would want to fiddle with the schedule at all ! Maybe it is just conservative old me, but I don't see anything broken here ? I see nothing wrong with the season schedule as it is now. Ok , so around SOO time, a few players might have to a miss a game or two or get a bit tired backing up quickly for a few games ! Big deal ! They are getting paid the marquee bucks for their selection. And the clubs with these "cream of the crop" players should be thankful they have them, and duly make allowances within their roster to cater for their possible loss for a few games throughout the season. Options are always available to rest or play their marquee players during this period. With byes and smart roster management the impacts should be limited. Mid week State of Origin dominates the footy media for 6 -8 weeks during the middle of the season and rates the pants off any other TV show throughout the whole year including the AFL Grand Final ! Why would you want to change that ? Once the SOO series is over we then have the gradual build up to the Finals & Grand Final where the game flourishes and rates highly for another month. Throw in the stand alone weekend Rep round which excites those close to the participating nations and is great exhibition value, and I think the season is just fine, thank you. Your other points : I just can't see Cronk going to Newcastle . This would defeat the purpose of his move to Sydney now. He will be retiring at seasons end to take up a lucrative deal off field, I would suggest. 5th Tackle Option: 1. As per my earlier comments, the whole Rep Round weekend is highlighted by the national Pacific passion ( featured in the haka , the choirs , the anthems , and the Test match contests) that then reminds fans and awakes interest for the rest of the NRL season. It is scheduled just right in my mind, before the SOO and the run into Finals. 2. It does seem that all the national fervour and mongrel to succeed is monopolised totally by the All Blacks, leaving their Rugby League cousins devoid of anything remotely approaching Test match commitment. Not sure what the answer is here, but Club form seems to dissipate once that kiwi jumper is put on. 3. I think I agree with Max. High involvement match after match has to take its toll and maybe a few games out with a calf strain might do him the world of good. 4. Well why isn't the City v Country game a selection trial for the NSW SOO side ? Who decided it wouldn't be ? I think it should be played on Rep Round excluding the Test players, and it should count for something for the NSW players whilst taking the game to the bush once a year. 5. Yes ! Just another sign of our modern times where stuff illicit still rocks some big time !
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
The problem with it is, that its really hard to make out what is a genuine selection trial. If the QLD City/Country concept had started 10 years ago, it would be on its last legs already as so many of the positions were locked in for a number of years. Seriously is a City/Country match really going to knock Cameron Smith from the hooker position for example?
Matt
Guest
Below is a draw that could work with the current 12 home and away games that clubs play. It involves playing Origins and Pacific tests with also the Kiwis playing a Great Britain Exiles team made up of players from the NRL. The dates for the Rounds are all Sundays and the dates for the representative games are the day that they are to be played on. The Origins are played on Friday, Wednesday and Monday. Round 1 25/02/2018 Round 2 4/03/2018 Round 3 11/03/2018 Round 4 18/03/2018 Round 5 25/03/2018 Round 6 1/04/2018 Round 7 8/04/2018 Round 8 15/04/2018 Round 9 22/04/2018 Round 10 29/04/2018 Round 11 6/06/2018 Round 12 13/06/2018 18/05/2018 SOO1 NSW QLD 19/05/2018 PC TON SAM 19/05/2018 PC FIJI PNG 20/05/2018 NZ GB Exiles 25/05/2018 PC TON FIJI 26/05/2018 PC PNG SAM 27/05/2018 NZ GB Exiles 30/05/2018 SOO2 QLD NSW 1/06/2018 PC TON PNG 2/06/2018 PC SAM FIJI 3/06/2018 NZ GB Exiles 8/06/2018 Jillaroos Ferns 9/06/2018 PC Win NZ / Exiles 10/06/2018 NSW Res QLD Res 11/06/2018 SOO3 NSW QLD Round 13 17/06/2018 Round 14 24/06/2018 Round 15 1/07/2018 Round 16 8/07/2018 Round 17 15/07/2018 Round 18 22/07/2018 Round 19 29/07/2018 Round 20 5/08/2018 Round 21 12/08/2018 Round 22 19/08/2018 Round 23 26/08/2018 Round 24 2/09/2018 Finals Week 1 9/09/2018 Finals Week 2 16/09/2018 Finals Week 3 23/09/2018 Grand Final 30/09/2018
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Having NZ and the PI nations play is ia great idea. The likes of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and PNG sounds great. I would like to see these countries claim their own either born there or heritage. Look at the players from Fiji" Tuquiri, Civonaceva, Hayne, Radrada even the Sims brothers. That is just one PI nation. Obviously this will never happen because the likes of these and Kiwis look at the glamour of SOO. This is how to strengthen the international scene.
matth
Guest
He could probably get a private chopper for the amount of coin he'd be on.
Tom Rock
Expert
Geoff, perhaps we have been a bit spoilt with Rapana. He has produced at such a high level for the last 18 months, so I was hoping he could translate this into the International game. Not a fan of staging the rep games in the pre-season. Players are under-done, form is impossible to gauge, and everyone is still watching the cricket. There just wouldn't be enough interest. The same goes with State of Origin after the season has concluded. Interest is waning by that point, and people are starting to get into cricket mode. Players have switched off and looking forward to the break after a long season. Origin must be played in the middle of the season, but it is difficult to strike the right balance between club and representative footy.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Your probably right Steve - but it could sustain our interest in league for a bit longer. I reckon blokes who were still in the squad would still be busting a gut to play origin.