Forget the USA market try India, they have the 700 million people & the cricket fields to play on.

Choppy

Um no ! I would prefer to watch paint dry.

Couldn’t agree more 11 rounds + 4 weeks Rep + 11 Rounds then finals sounds good

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.

What about Perth Dirty Reds

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.

Hi Adam
I agree with you, I would like to see the State of Origin played over 3 weeks in a row midseason that still could be played on a Wednesday night with the weekends being a combination of a Challenge Cup and Internationals. Here is what I’ve been working on. Hope you like

Round 1 (example)

Wed 6pm NSW U20’s v QLD U20’s Melbourne – Perth – Adelaide
Wed 8pm NSW v QLD Melbourne – Perth – Adelaide

Fri 7:30pm NSW v QLD (WNRL) Bank West Stadium/ CBUS Stadium

Sat 2pm Challenge Cup Quarter Finals Allianz Stadium
Sat 4pm Challenge Cup Quarter Finals Allianz Stadium
Sat 6pm Challenge Cup Quarter Finals Suncorp Stadium
Sat 8pm Challenge Cup Quarter Finals Suncorp Stadium

Sun France v Scotland Euro Cup
Sun Wales v Ireland Euro Cup
Sun Mexico v Jamaica Nth America Cup
Sun Canada v USA Nth America Cup
Sun Lebanon v Greece Belmore Oval Mediterranean Cup
Sun Italy v Spain Belmore Oval Mediterranean Cup
Sun Tonga v PNG Bank West Stadium Pacific Cup
Sun Fiji v Samoa Bank West Stadium Pacific Cup
Sun Vanuatu v Cook islands Henson Park Pacific Cup 2
Sun French Polynesia v New Caledonia Henson Park Pacific Cup 2

I’m with you, I never liked golden point during the regular season. During state of origin & finals should be 10 min X 2 extra time then I’m fine on golden point if scores are still locked

I think your ideas are very ambitious I’ll give you that.
I’m not an AFL man but I like to do this sort of thing myself except with Rugby League. I’ve only looked into the AFL a bit so I’m pretty amateur on the subject however for expanding, I think Tas & the ACT could be the next two teams to enter the competition, both teams have a stadium ready maybe not up to AFL standard but if these stadiums are being filled then it’s a better argument to have for a push for new stadium. I think 20 team competition would probably be the max AFL will have.
When it comes to international it’s a hard one for AFL as most countries around the world build rectangular stadiums because of Soccer, Rugby or NFL. The only country that I see that AFL has potential would be India because they have around 750 million people & one of the fastest developing nations in the world, they only have cricket as their main sport & AFL or IFL (Indian Football League) would fit into their stadiums nicely in the cricket off season. Just repeat I don’t think any International team should compete in the AFL that’s just silly and very costly. Having International players playing in the AFL from being scouted from overseas is the best scenario for the foreseeable future.

What about a challenge Cup or Knockout Competition in the Preseason involving 30 teams from the VFL, SAFL and the WAFL + the 18 AFL teams with the top 16 from the previous season playing the winners from round 1. Two AFL teams or any team under the top 16 from the previous season will play in round 1. There needs to be 5 rounds + the final top 2.

Big deal ! Two friends having a little fisty cups non of my business.

Illawarra – St George Dragons is the fairest in my opinion. They could wear their Dragon’s jersey at away games & when they play at Kogarah while wearing the Illawarra Steelers jersey when the play at Wollongong. A new name change doesn’t necessarily mean a new logo the one they have now is sufficient enough.

NRLW

Nth QLD Cowgirls
Brisbane Fire Hawks
Gold Coast Titans
Newcastle Knights
Sydney Seals
Western Sydney Wild Cats
Illawarra St George Dragons
Canberra Raiders
Auckland Warriors
Wellington Wolves

Two games on Wednesday night FTA 6:00pm & 7:30pm. 8pm game played in NZ = 6pm in Australia’s east coast

Why can’t the NRL have a two conference system with Super League & the winner of each conference plays in the RL Super Bowl 2 weeks after the NRL/SL grand final

I think most of the 80’s early 90’s were the best designs.

Rosie

Nice article BTW, my plan is more a 20 to 30 year plan but a lot could be achieved over the next 10 years

“I never can quite get my head around why people think a PNG NRL side will work.”

Out of the expansion teams I suggested, PNG would be last on the list, there are a couple other options you could go as well but I think over the next 20 years depending on the stability & economics of the country it might be hard to ignore a population I think of 9 million Rugby League fans.

“I don’t like the idea of moving a Sydney club, I know the Central Coast offers a great Rugby League market, I think taking some games to the Central Coast is a much better idea than moving a club there”

I’m not keen on moving Sydney teams out either but I don’t think the NRL have plans of putting an expansion team on the Central Coast however Central Coast is a great market with a good stadium so I don’t know why Manly don’t take advantage of that by starting to take a few home games there & getting hold of their big junior nursery. I just don’t think Brookvale Oval should be redeveloped it has no parking stuck on a main road with industrial area one side and residential on the other. I think over the next 10 years they eventually could play more in Gosford & less at Brookvale.
If WIN Stadium gets an eastern grandstand to make it fully seated Stadium with better crowds it would be hard not to say no to more games at WIN instead of Kogarah.
Having said all that Central Coast Bears could be an option instead of PNG & Brookvale could be redeveloped.

“I am not sold on a second NZ club”

A 2nd NZ team could alternate the 6pm Friday night slot with the Warriors which would be an 8pm game over there & would mean no Australian teams would have to play at that time at home which I think would be good for crowd figures & ratings. The Warriors get a rival & RU look vulnerable with the NRL stating a while ago they want to go to war with RU over NZ.

I chose Wellington because the Canterbury Bulldogs could take a game or 2 to Christchurch ( v the Warriors & Wolves) over the next 20 to 30 years, a possible move depending on financial reason they could be squeezed out, it’s an option however in the mean time they could build a relationship that grows the game in the south Island which is a RU strong hold.

I agree with you about having a 20 team comp within the next 10 years I think could be achievable however Adelaide or Wellington is where I get stuck, Perth & Adelaide need at least a team in the QRL Cup to warrant a NRL spot IMO.
West Brisbane & Wellington have the set up to start by 2025 which I think will be the next 2 front runners for the 18th team IMO however Perth is also a strong case, I think the NRL will have to crunch the numbers, do they want to securer west of Brisbane, take on RU in NZ or take on the AFL in WA or SA ?

22 Teams could be achievable over the next 20 to 30 years however it does depend on a few factors most importantly the talent pool needs to grow with access to pathways for more expansion teams to be a sustainable comp.

NRL
Port Moresby Hunters
Nth QLD Cowboys
Sunshine Coast – Redcliffe Dolphins – Sunshine Coast Stadium (2023)
Brisbane Broncos
West Brisbane Jets – Ipswich Stadium (2025)
Gold Coast Titans
Newcastle Knights
Central Coast – Manly Sea Eagles – Gosford Stadium
Penrith Panthers
Parramatta Eels
Canterbury – Bankstown Bulldogs ANZ or Liverpool Stadium
Western Sydney Tigers – ANZ or Liverpool Stadium
Sydney Roosters – Allianz Stadium
South Sydney Rabbitohs – Allianz Stadium
Cronulla – Sutherland Sharks
Illawarra – St George Dragons – Win Stadium
Canberra Raiders
Melbourne Storm
Adelaide Bulls
Perth Redbacks
Auckland Warriors
Wellington Wolves
NSWRL
North Coast Dolphins (Coffs Harbor)
New England Razorbacks (Tamworth)
Newcastle Knights (2) ALT Hunter Miners (Maitland)
Central Coast Centurions
Manly Sea Eagles
North Sydney Bears (Sydney Roosters Reserve))
South Sydney (2)
Glebe Dirty Reds
Annandale Dales
Newtown Jets (Cronulla Sharks Reserve)
Balmain Tigers
Western Suburbs Magpies
Canterbury Bulldogs (2)
Parramatta Eels (2)
Penrith Panthers (2)
St George Dragons
Illawarra Steelers
Western NSW Rams (Bathurst)
Canberra Raiders (2) – ALT ACT Vikings
Riverina Bulls (Wagga Wagga)
Victoria Thunder
Tasmania Devils
QRL
PNG Hunters
Darwin Destroyers
Cairns Pride
Townsville Blackhawks
Mackay Cutters
Central Queensland Capra’s
Gladstone Gladiators
Bundaberg Polar Bears
Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins
Norths Devils
Fortitude Valley Diehards
Western Suburbs Panthers
Eastern Suburbs Tigers
Wynnum – Manly Sea Eagles
Souths – Logan Magpies
Ipswich Jets
Toowoomba Mustang
Burleigh Bears
Tweed Heads Seagulls
Adelaide Rams
West Coast Pirates
NZRL
Hawaii
Kaiviti Silktails (Fiji)
Pacifique Treize (New Caledonia – Vanuatu)
Nuku’alofa (Tonga)
Apia (Samoa)
Akarana Falcons
Counties – Manukau Stingrays
Waikato Stallions
Bay of Plenty Lakers
Wellington Orcas
Canterbury Bulls
Otago Whalers

The Sunshine Coast Stadium is ready to be built to hold 20k crowd, it just needs to be approved. Sunshine Coast – Redcliffe Dolphins play at Sunshine Coast & take a couple of games to Redcliffe. Having two names I think could work like Manly – Warringah Sea Eagles or Cronulla – Sutherland Sharks or the Canterbury – Bankstown Bulldogs.

The NRL do not need to promote it as a round awareness just start by putting recycle bins & food bins at the grounds and sell items that are recyclable in their stadiums. Putting solar panels on the roofs of stadiums, they don’t need to get all preachy about it. Hopefully the rules they implement get some media attention.

17 Sunshine Coast – Redcliffe Dolphins
18 Ipswich
19 Wellington
20 Perth
21 PNG
22 Adelaide

AMD
I thought I read something a while ago about Annandale doing the same as what Glebe are trying to do but can’t find anything about it now.
I probably got confused with the Glebe story & thought Annandale could do the same and over the years it kind of merged as a reality but still not a bad idea for Wentworth Park I think but I don’t like it’s chances with it’s funding though.

AMD
Nice article ! Gave me a little giggle but all jokes aside I had an idea a while ago about turning Wentworth Park into a rectangle field with some old looking stands, like North Sydney oval but rectangle, Glebe & Annandale could use it & maybe a NRLW team could play there. I could see Glebe & Annandale become a NSWRL team in the future so might not be too bad. Having them in the Ron Massey Cup is not a bad option as well.

Mark
Good article ! I’m in the process of doing a SL season structure myself, I can see you have put a lot of thought behind it with a lot of research. I’ve been looking into SL on & off for the past couple of years with mainly focusing on the season structure & how it could align themselves up with the NRL so there can be more internationals & maybe a RL World Super Bowl between NRL v SL at the end of the year instead of a pre season fixture.
I’m still however using the same relegation/promotion system that already exist but I don’t like the idea as there is too much uncertainty in an environment that is uncertain in a country that is dominated by soccer & Rugby Union.
I haven’t looked into a alternative yet because as you mentioned they have changed their structure a few times over the past 2 decades & thought anymore changes might see more people walk away from the game or less interest in viewership.
I don’t think they should have relegation/promotion & should set a criteria’s to have get a license eventually having 22 teams in the ESL with 22 Rounds with a French & Great Britain Conference System below with opportunities to be promoted if they fit the criteria.
12 teams with 22 rounds top 8 finals fits perfect for the moment though because each team only plays each other twice & a top 8 would keep the competition interesting in the bottom half of the comp during the season even if in the finals they are just making up the numbers it would keep the fans engaged.

Week 05 – 9’s + Round 1 1895 Challenge Cup
Week 06 – Round 2 1895 Challenge Cup
Week 07 – Round 3 1895 Challenge Cup
Week 08 – ESL Season Launch
Week 09 – ESL Round 1
Week 19 – ESL Round 11
Week 20 – Weekend off
Week 21 – Internationals + Round 4– 1895 Challenge Cup
Week 22 – Internationals + Round 5 – 1895 Challenge Cup
Week 23 – Internationals + Round 6 – 1895 Challenge Cup finals
Week 24 – ESL Round 12
Week 34 – ESL Round 22
Week 35 – ESL Semis
Week 36 – ESL Semis
Week 37 – ESL Semis
Week 38 – Million pound game or GB Grand Final – French Grand Final
Week 39 – ESL Grand Final – NRL Grand Final – French winners v GB winners pre ESL Grand final
Week 42 – RL World Super Bowl

GB
Perth Redbacks, wearing the 1980’s North Sydney Bears jersey since it looks a bit like cobwebs in the design. The Sydney Roosters could take a home game against Perth to North Sydney Oval once a year since it’s their feeder team. Everyone wins

The chemist
Not much different to when you where born hey.

I would love to see France get the World Cup in 2025, with Catalan making the final & Toulouse making it into the Super League there is some good signs for the future of league in France.