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What will the NRL look like in 50 years time?

Mr Angry

Not a Referee
Messages
51,764
It will be AFL.
No such thing.

You have already fallen for the propaganda of Victorian Football.

The womens game will have taken over VFL in 50 years. Men will not play anymore, only women.

Men and women will play touch footy.
 

taipan

Referee
Messages
22,402
Gallop returns and runs the show from the NRL's Nursing Home( known as Nick's).

He now uses a megaphone so his umms and aasghs are clearly audible.He negotiates another mind blowing TV deal, well under market value.The Telegraph think he is doing an amazing job.

ANZ still in the throes of construction.The SFS capacity reduced to 10k ,as Clover Moore wants a velodrome nearby .
Manly is privately owned by the Turbo Bros ,because they can.
The Sharks celebrate the arrival of their 100th CEO, who promises to do what the 99 preceding him couldn't.
Gould has extended his 5 year plan with the Panthers, a 7th time.
The Storm now have 3 local players(brothers) in their team, all born in Tasmania ,after their parents migrated from Kempsey, which is in Queensland.
 

gerg

Juniors
Messages
2,235
Southwalesrabbit will run the game and multiball and apex will revolutionise topball.
 

Springs09

Juniors
Messages
1,903
There will be 16 teams in the NRL, with expansion 'on the horizon'
Titans will be on their 26th coach since 2020, which is also their 'last chance' to get it right.
Players will be sacked for audibly swearing on the street or having sex with their partner in the privacy of their own home
Australia won't have played since 2044, having been reduced to one game every 8 years for 'player welfare reasons'
State of Origin won't have been played since 2021, with Mal Meninga declaring Origin officially dead after NSW wins a 4th straight series.
The mens and womens comps merged in 2035 in the name of equality, resulting in the deaths of 3 women in the first round of NRL 2036.
Tackles are outlawed, with 'holds' replacing them. Tackles around legs, bending backs or using shoulders at all are banned, with any contact to the head resulting in permanent retirement.
Souths will be on a ten year premiership run after medically retiring 5 members of their squad each year to sign the 5 best up and comers on $15m per season.
Footy outside the NRL will be non-existent, with the biggest and fastest 10 year olds of NSW and QLD being drafted into NRL clubs' recruitment drives.
Games are played in fifths of ten minutes, with a ten minute ad break between fifths. This happened after the NRL listened to the dumbest portion of the rugby league fanbase and stopped the clock whenever the ball wasn't in play. resulting in 4 hour games and scorelines of 62-46. To combat this they reduced games to 50 minutes, while introducing breaks to spread the game out for the length it used to go for.
Average crowds of 2,300, after the state governments stopped supporting stadium upgrades and used the money to upgrade everyone's TVs and couches at home, at the behest of the NRL. TV ratings are announced instead of crowd figures.
 
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Springs09

Juniors
Messages
1,903
Football broadcasts/league shows will be beamed directly into our brains via implanted microchip. Rothfield Jnr and Ikins off spring for you 24/7.

'What player was seen evading a SpaceX fare before the Andromeda Galaxy vs Kangaroos match'?

Andromeda are a bunch of cats. Can't even beat the Kangaroos let alone the Milky Way Baby Yodas.
 

Mader45

Juniors
Messages
664
The NFL will buy the NRL with change they find in their sofa as a way to increase their brand globally. Rule changes will slowly take place over a few years until the game actually becomes NFL.
 

The Rosco

Bench
Messages
2,867
Parramatta will be the power house club with most premiership wins

Panthers, Tigers and bulldogs will all be extinct
Sharks would of relocated to Perth in 2026
Isn't that the mental picture you use to stroke yourself to sleep every night ?
And when I say "stroke yourself",let's be totally clear.
 

BennyV

Referee
Messages
22,441
Mary will be Dragons CEO
Mary enters his 58th year of coaching (highest finish 7th, average 11th) when an extensive review conducted independently by Euan Aitken (who holds the club recordS for most games and highest turnover of wing partners) and Jake Marketo (part of the 2022 9th placed team) found that the attack, defense, strategy, high-performance, fitness, meditation and nutrition coaches were to blame for the 2069 season, where we finished 13th after leading the comp in Round 6.

Comment from McGregor: “The boys are hurting in the sheds. I’m hurting too because I’m all about accountability but we’ve put the last 16 years behind us and having the toughest preseason yet. We are all digging in. It’s easy to dwell on the last 16 years, but people forget we were 85minutes from a grand final in 2018, and again in 2053 we were 136 minutes from a grand final. So we know we are a good team.
 

axl rose

Bench
Messages
4,936
Union will collapse on a professional level in Australia, because money and Europe player drain. NRL will buy it for tree fiddy but keep it 'alive' as a feeder similar to touch footy, as their private schools still produce a star or two.
 
Messages
8,480
Righto – I love the hypothetical question here. So putting the Crystal Ball on my coffee table...and wearing my rose coloured glasses..

EXPANSION & CONFERENCE SYSTEM

I think the NRL will have expanded further into
  • Perth,
  • Central Coast (NSW),
  • a further team in NZ,
  • 2 further Qld teams (I think they'll keep the Titans until/unless AFL fold the Suns - the biggest mexican standoff in sport). Unsure but likely will include Adelaide as well.
  • Some of the Sydney Clubs may have already folded/relocation. But I’ll assume here that all are still in…
  • I cant see a Pacific Island team in the NRL. But many Pacific Island teams will dominate international RL.
Comp format - 20 teams**.

The comp will be in a conference system format (think NFL). 5 teams per conference. Something Akin to this
  • QLD - Broncos, Cowboys, Titans, Brisbane#2 (possibly Ipswich), 5th team (possibly Rocky – Central Qld).
  • FRONTIER – Storm, Warriors, Perth, NZ#2, Adelaide.
  • NSW NORTH - Knights, Sea Eagles, Central Coast, Panthers, Eels, Tigers
  • NSW SOUTH - Dragons, Sharks, Roosters, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Raiders (Yes - I know they are ACT)
Of the NSW Conferences (6 teams), the bottom side in each will drop out of the competition after the home and away rounds (first 10 weeks) and enter the NSW Cup Competition, Thus each conference becomes a conference of 5 teams. There will also be a promotion/relegation system in place. See below…

SEASON FORMAT/DRAW

  • Teams will play home and away games within their conferences
  • Teams play each other twice in the conference (8 games for QLD & Frontier, 10 games for NSW North n South). Then play all the remaining teams in other conferences once. A further 15 regular season games.
  • The bottom side in each of the NSW conferences drop out of the competition. They play in a 2nd-tier competition commencing June/July over 10 rounds plus semi finals series. (eg NSW CUP with the likes of Newtown, Bears, Cutters, Wenty etc etc which will start mid-year). See below.
***Regional Cup..........
  • In the first half of the season while the NRL Conference games are going on There is a Regional Cup with teams will play a separate Regional competition that include Country teams out of the likes of Dubbo, Wagga, Bathurst, Kempsey etc. These will be regional centre teams of country NSW that have (finally) had heavy investment from the NRL.. See below...........****

  • The QLD & Frontier conferences will have 2 bye rounds, to balance up with 10 weekends / rounds of the NSW matches. These byes will also be “compensation” for all the travel they will be doing.
  • Top team in each conference automatically qualify for the semi-finals. The next best 4 qualifying teams (competition points, then for & against in the event of a tie) across all conferences go through to the finals a ranking system.
FINALS
  • First Round Semi-finals are the 4 qualifiers against each other, and 4 Conference winners against each other based on ranking. IE.
  • #1 Conference vs #4 conference. #2 Conference vs #3 Conference. Winners progress to 3rd Round. Losers play winners of Qualifier games.
  • #1 Qualifier vs #4 Qualifier. #2 Qualifier versus #3 Qualifier. Losing teams eliminated. Winners progress to 2nd round.Second Round Semi finals….
  • Highest Ranked Losing Conference team versus lowest ranked Qualifier winning team. 2nd Highest Ranked losing Conference team versus highest ranked qualifying winning team. Winners progress to 3rd round.
  • 3rd Round …. Conference Winners of Round 1 versus Winners of 2nd Round. Winners advance to Grand final.
  • Grand Final…
GRAND FINAL HOST VENUE
  • Here....The NRL will open the GF to play played outside Sydney – with strict guidelines on Stadiums that can host. EG – over 70k capacity, can be “reconfigured” to a rectangular field (ie eliminating the likes of the MCG, but incentivising new stadiums OR redeveloping existing stadiums to increase capacity – eg Lang Park, OR both capacity and shape – perhaps the likes of Etihad stadium in Melbourne).

REGIONAL/NSW CUP

  • In the first half of the season while the NRL Conference games are going on The NSW Regional Cup will take place that include Country teams out of the likes of Dubbo, Wagga, Bathurst, Kempsey etc. Teams play each other once in regular season then finals series from the top 4 teams. Week one is 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3. Winners progress to Regional Cup Grand Final in Week 2.
  • Top 8 teams of the Regional Competition and the 2 relegated NSW Conference teams play in the NSW CUP Competition - playing each other once in regular season then finals series from the top 4 teams. Week one is 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3. Winners progress to NS Cup Grand FInal in Week 2.

PROMOTION/RELEGATION SYSTEM

  • The Kicker of the above competitions.. - a team that wins BOTH the REGIONAL AND NSW CUPS will be promoted to be the 6th NSW Conference Team the following season, while one of the relegated NSW conference teams will be further relegated to the Regional/NSW Cup competition the following season.
Scenario… As an example lets say..

  • The Sea Eagles and Sharks finish 6th in their conferences and drop to NSW Cup.. The Sea Eagles are the lowest ranked team.
  • The Dubbo “Rangers” win the Regional Cup.
  • In the NSW Cup – The Dubbo Rangers and Cronulla Sharks go into the grand final...
  • if Cronulla win – they and the Sea Eagles automatically go back into the NRL next Season
  • if Dubbo win – they get promoted into the NRL next season. AND… The Sharks And Sea Eagles then play each other – winner re-enters the NRL next season, loser is relegated to Regional/NSW Cup competitions….
  • Should different teams win the Regional and NSW Cups – no relegation of NRL teams applies.
REPRESENTATIVE FOOTBALL

  • International Football shall supercede State of Origin as the primary arena for Rep Football
  • State Of Origin will be a singular game each season – moving between Sydney & Brisbane each year for hosting rights.
  • Tonga Samoa and PNG will remain/progress to Tier 1 Rugby League Countries – joining Australia, NZ and England.
  • The Representative Rounds shall take place Mid-Year – in conjunction with the Semi-final series of the NSW Regional Cup. The NRL Competition shall have a 2-week season break during this time.

RULE CHANGES

There will be a thousand rule changes from now to then….there always each each season and nothing will change

But major ones will be..

  • Interchange will be back to 12 per game however each team can choose from any players in their club. Eg they have a bench of 12 players to choose from. Players can sub-in and sub out multiple times, once, or not used at all.
  • Contact with the head from the arm – automatic substitution of the tackler or ball carrier– 10 minutes for first offence, the full game for 2nd offence. Send off for 1st offence if deemed serious enough. And for any other dangerous play involving the head/neck, or serous misconduct.
  • Player suffers concussion during game - Automatic Stand-down of 2 weeks. Must receive medical clearance to play again.
  • There will be 4 referees. One to monitor the ruck, one to monitor the defensive side, and one to monitor the attacking side. Video Ref will remain.
  • Referees will use a “flag system” similar to NFL – for an offence, flag will be dropped by the referee and play allowed to continue until the next tackle or point-scoring play.
  • There will be a draft system in place for all player movements.
  • No Judiciary. Sendoffs automatically sent to an NRL panel who determine suspension length after each game. Ie no lawyers or players needing to go to represent themselves.

There we go – that’s an a few hours of my life well/poorly spent. The competition was vastly different in 1970 to what it is today. Whatever it looks like in 2070 – I’m sure the changes from now to then will be just as vast, if not more so.

In the current age of objection and outrage – I won’t be surprised if any/all of these get a cynical response. Be my guest..
 
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kdalymc

Bench
Messages
4,312
i can honestly see nothing happening expansion wise,
shit in 20 years our comp has gotten 25% smaller...
 
Messages
722
Every week will be the "Cameron Smith Round", while the Grand Final winners will hold up the Cameron Smith Trophy, replacing Provan-Summons-Trohpy in 2025..

The SFS will still be waiting for a tender.

The Wests Tigers will have 8 home grounds - Bankwest, ANZ, Leichhardt AND Campbelltown (once a year), Pratten Park Ashfield, the new Concord Stadium, Kogarah Oval and the SCG.

The Sharks, Sydney FC, NSW Waratahs will play at Kogarah Oval fulltime, while the Bulldogs, Tigers and Roosters will play their part-time, while the Dragons will play their once a year (a trials match...)

Erin Molan will be brought back to try revamp the new Footy Show.
 

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