Perth Red
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BAck when he took on the job he was pretty visionary and unafraid to rattle cages in what he saw the game needed to do. 10 months on and he's been lost in the offices of nrl HQ and gone silent. Has anyone seen him recently?
The NRL season should be cut by at least four rounds and new teams from Perth, South-East Queensland and New Zealand added to the competition, according to new NRL Head of Strategy Shane Richardson.
The former Souths CEO also said there was no guarantee all nine Sydney clubs would survive under his vision for the game.
Discussing his blueprint to improve the NRL, Richardson said the season must be streamlined to reduce player burnout, which was a major concern given the current packed schedule with 26 rounds and three mid-week State of Origin matches.
"Its not about quantity, its quality. Certainly we can reduce it (the season) to 22 games or even 20," Richardson told The Daily Telegraph.
"Then look at State of Origin and stand-alone weekends. We look at the pre-season and control that a lot better.
"Then international football. Weve got to lock in what we want to do then take it to the broadcasters for the next television deal."
Looking ahead to future broadcasting rights, Richardson said adding new teams was critical for the code, particularly spreading the game to the west coast.
"Weve got to expand. Im not so concerned about the number of teams, its the number of fixtures," he said.
"The bigger the expansion the better it is for the TV networks. I think Western Australia deserves a side, we need another team in South-East Queensland and New Zealand is crying out for another team.
"The opportunities there in the next media deal are huge. I think we can make some good decisions fairly quickly."
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8955063
The NRL season should be cut by at least four rounds and new teams from Perth, South-East Queensland and New Zealand added to the competition, according to new NRL Head of Strategy Shane Richardson.
The former Souths CEO also said there was no guarantee all nine Sydney clubs would survive under his vision for the game.
Discussing his blueprint to improve the NRL, Richardson said the season must be streamlined to reduce player burnout, which was a major concern given the current packed schedule with 26 rounds and three mid-week State of Origin matches.
"Its not about quantity, its quality. Certainly we can reduce it (the season) to 22 games or even 20," Richardson told The Daily Telegraph.
"Then look at State of Origin and stand-alone weekends. We look at the pre-season and control that a lot better.
"Then international football. Weve got to lock in what we want to do then take it to the broadcasters for the next television deal."
Looking ahead to future broadcasting rights, Richardson said adding new teams was critical for the code, particularly spreading the game to the west coast.
"Weve got to expand. Im not so concerned about the number of teams, its the number of fixtures," he said.
"The bigger the expansion the better it is for the TV networks. I think Western Australia deserves a side, we need another team in South-East Queensland and New Zealand is crying out for another team.
"The opportunities there in the next media deal are huge. I think we can make some good decisions fairly quickly."
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8955063