Thank goodness Clint Gutherson made it onto the field for four minutes during Wednesday’s State of Origin fixture; because if he didn’t get to play there may have been mutiny from Parramatta fans after missing the game against the Warriors because of Origin commitments.
Perhaps I exaggerate just a little, but I’m strongly of the view that it’s come to a point where we need to consider the rugby league calendar as a whole and how representative fixtures fit into the context of the season.
The current situation impacts the competition far too much and essentially means we have almost six weeks of footy where some teams hold on for dear life as they lose their best players.
Whilst we do get to see some of the next generation of players come through too, the quality of the footy we watch deteriorated significantly.
In terms of scheduling, we have regressed. Up until last year, at least there was a representative round where every team had a break and was not impacted during Origin. That does not take place anymore and some teams bear the brunt more than others.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
But when thinking about what the season looks like, there’s an opportunity to take a big picture approach, think creatively and also think about where internationals fit in.
The ongoing dispute between the Rugby League Players Association and the NRL is still raging on.
This dispute has turned even uglier so I would be concerned by any approach which would pause the season in its current form during State of Origin for three weeks as this would extend the length of an already long season.
With the proposed expansion plans by the NRL, the season will just get longer and longer.
But given the NRL’s keenness to expand, could an option be to reduce the length of the season so each team plays each other once, with a three-week pause in the middle of the season during State of Origin.
Given the demand for content, there may even be an opportunity to start the NRLW a bit earlier and give that competition clear space to start off with a bang or you could put the focus on representative type fixtures, featuring internationals during this time too.
There is an argument that I’m being precious and that State of Origin or not, the cream rises to the top. There is truth to that.
The Penrith Panthers still sit on top of the NRL ladder despite missing so many players during the State of Origin period and having players out through injury.
But the Eels and the South Sydney Rabbitohs have faced challenges during this period and it may mean they miss out on a top-four spot. We know how important that top-four spot is if you have aspirations of winning a premiership so why should this period have such a big impact?
Back to reducing the length of the season so each team only plays each other once, this would get rid of another inequity in the draw and that’s the decision about which teams play each other twice.
As a Parramatta fan, I clearly have a vested interested in this because their draw has been tough on a number of levels.
They are the only team to face three consecutive teams coming off a bye. Arguably this could be seen as an advantage or a disadvantage (sometimes teams come back stronger after a rest and sometimes the team takes their foot off the gas), but given the number of rounds it’s unclear to me why this has happened at all.
You never know which teams are going to be top-eight contenders over the season and there are always surprises (like the Canberra Raiders and the New Zealand Warriors).
But there are teams that are consistently strong and Parramatta play those teams twice, likely because they aim up for these fixtures and it is a ratings bonanza.
Bradman Best celebrates scoring a try. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
This year Parramatta play the Panthers, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys and the Broncos twice. The one small mercy is that we only had to play South Sydney once.
Then during the State of Origin period, Parramatta was the only team who did not get a bye in the week their team would be missing Origin players. This is despite Parramatta being a team that is impacted by Origin (and in particular for Game III where two new players were elevated to the NSW squad for a dead rubber).
It’s not just the players that it impacts, but the fans and members as well. Parramatta’s first three home games consisted of two Thursday night fixtures and one Friday night fixture at 6pm.
This absolutely impacts the money that comes in at the gate and for members, especially those with children, it makes it extremely difficult to get out to the game.
This is not an excuse for Parramatta’s season. The team started poorly. There have been injuries. Dylan Brown’s suspension hasn’t helped either.
There is never going to be complete equality when it comes to the draw, but surely we can do a bit better than what we have seen in 2023.
Mick Holland
Roar Rookie
Choppy Um no ! I would prefer to watch paint dry.
Mick Holland
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more 11 rounds + 4 weeks Rep + 11 Rounds then finals sounds good
Rosie
Roar Rookie
Could SOO be run in consecutive weeks? Weekend before game one is a bye and then every weekend in between and finally the weekend after the final game. Three games over three weeks with each team having two byes.
Emcie
Roar Guru
No need for apologies, I haven't taken issue with anything you've said. If I come across as being blunt it's just me struggling to find a compromise between word counts and a lifetime of being told to "show your working Emcie!". I just have doubts that the "feels" are legitimate. Eg, the Eels were 5 from 12 pre origin yet are 4 from 5 during Origin, but they've still been hard done by. It never seems to be the teams with heavy representation complaining about Origin. It just comes across as an easy catch all excuse. Rabbitohs were complaining deluxe about Latrell pulling up sore in blues training, a week later cody does his quad in rabbitohs training and not a peep. Was the standard of games that high before Origin? What was the reason for poor games then? I think it's probably spread out too long, but that was at the players request iirc. The draw overall has plenty of issues that impact the game, I just think that Origin's specific contributions to that are overblown. There's 24 games in a season, if the Eels have an unsuccessful season it's probably not from one loss during origin
Mick Holland
Roar Rookie
Emcie My apology I have seen a few articles on here about this state of origin issue and have only seen two using the Eels however I don't get to read every day, so I'll take your word for it. Don't get me wrong I'm not disagreeing with you, I know other teams have had it tough over the years during SoO, it's just that this year the Eels "feel" like they are getting a raw bargain. My argument is that this issue has gone on for "too long" and every year SoO disrupts the season for too long and the fans are getting frustrated with players from their team missing. It just feels like over the past 6 or 7 weeks the season is just not the same and only now that the SoO is over we can get back to the season.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yep. It’s also not about nine having a “tanty”. It’s about them reducing the next deal by a few hundred million because of the reduced content they’re getting
The Barry
Roar Guru
I’m all on board for Blursday Night Football…
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Well, maybe we could watch the Wallabies?
Emcie
Roar Guru
Over the last two weeks there’s been at least four separate expert articles using the Eels example to propose changes and multiple mentions in other articles about how tough they’ve had it. Honestly I think this has less to do with “inequality” and more to do with the club getting a taste of what it’s like to be a top side. Storm, Roosters and Bronco’s (during the Bennett years) have had to deal with playing the top sides twice, depleted teams over Origin (for more then one game) and regular Thursday/Friday night games for decades. All the while being told these were massively unfair advantages. In comparison Parra have had it pretty soft this year. Parra and South’s combined had 8 players selected in Game 3 (double their first two games) , Penrith and Cowboys had games with 7 selected each. Pre 2006 it wasn’t unusual for the Bronco’s to have 11/12 players selected. There were also 32 byes over Origin this year compared to the usual 8, the period has never been easier to navigate. Parra made it to one GF and now we have to make sweeping changes for their benefit.
Mick Holland
Roar Rookie
Emcie "I still can’t wrap my head around how it’s the Eels that are being used as the justification for these pieces." It's just been 2 Eels fans complaining about something that has gone on for too long in this game that needs to be rectified. Mary is just using her team to justify the inequality some teams get during this period. I agree with her that there should be a pause mid-season for clubs so it's more equal for everyone. The problem is, if SoO is played over 3 weeks on a Wednesday night and clubs have a pause, the weekend has no content so that's got to be filled in with something else.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
This idea is chock full of common sense and therefore will not even be considered by the NRL. The simple equation for NRL house is more games = more tv product = more money. Player wellbeing, and even the integrity of the competition, are irrelevant to them as an issue in this debate.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Well they can’t for next year because they’ve already sold them to nine & Fox.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
That’s hardly a valid assessment since the three Origin games are routinely channel 9’s three highest rating shows every year. To suggest that fans care more about their clubs than Origin is simply not true.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Poor old Parra always getting the rough end of the pineapple during Origin, in fact all the time really. I do agree the competition should pause for three weeks, play the games on the weekends and stop the complaining.
dogs
Roar Rookie
I don't mind the midweek origin, it's kind of another equalisation tool, like the salary cap. The better teams have more rep players, so more likely to be down a few stars for 3-6 weeks. Brings them back to the pack a bit. Not perfect obviously, QLD teams suffer more due to smaller pool of QLD players. e.g. Gold Coast are a middling team at best, and yet had 3-4 players selected. But overall I think it helps hold the top teams back a bit, and everyone is saying how the crowded table is a good thing.
Rellum
Roar Guru
It's garbage and lacks knowledge on the full impacts of any change away from the current system
Emcie
Roar Guru
I hate Thursday night games, but unfortunately they're better then Monday games were. I know the article wants to reduce the season, but surely the obvious answer is to introduce an extra day into the week and have a three day weekend. Same amount of games but it isn't impacted by the work week and keeps businesses happy. Surely everyone can get behind that
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Thursday nights are a dud. Short turn arounds, poor crowds , to late for schoolkids. Thought the RLPA would have jacked up by now ? The clubs should grow a set and all 17 tell PVL not playing Thursday nights next year. "Nine" will have a tanty, But PVL needs to put the players & the fans before Thursday night revenue.
Emcie
Roar Guru
I still can't wrap my head around how it's the Eels that are being used as the justification for these pieces. Their highest position pre origin was 12th... And correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't they Grand Finalists last year? Meaning every team they play twice also had a "hard" draw? If anything, the top teams from last season playing each other twice is fairer then the alternative. And not getting byes for Origin impacted rounds means playing teams that are affected by impacted right? Sounds like a pretty good result for a team that only had two players selected prior to Game 3, I wonder if that's reflected in results...
Emcie
Roar Guru
Why would expansion plans make the season longer? Going to 18 teams would just replace existing byes. Parra were impacted by origin for one game and it was unfair on the fans and Thursday night sell less tickets, so the solution is to scrap a third of the season? Does by playing each other once make it fairer or does it just replace "who do we play twice?" with "who do we play away?"