If the NRL expands to 18 teams they will be saying that they have an extra game to sell and probably a new time slot as well and will be using this to justify a bigger increase in money. ( this is what the AFL did the last time).
I'm sure the TV channels will be able to determine if this is offset by a potential reduction in the number of weeks of the season...
In respect of Origin being moved to stand alone weekends... I'm skeptical given the success it has mid week now that they will be changing it in the short term...
A lot of people don't want to have only one game a weekend to watch in the middle of the season ( even if it is Origin) and the other codes will target that weekend to have their premier games when there is no NRL competition against it.
There are consequences for every decision, and just because something is changed doesn't mean the outcome will be more favourable.
thats why we have to build our representaive game besides the usual origin. U20s NZ vs Aus, Pacific Island test series, NZ vs England, City Country, U20s origin, womens internationals etc.
I mean you wont pull 150k total attendance on the week like a normal origin week (50-80k plus 50-80k for the few games on) but you can easily pull 100k i reckon. not the end of the world
not to mention, did the NRL really target the AFL when they weren't playing cause of the cricket world cup? didnt make much of a difference imo, i honestly didnt even notice they were starting a month late until a few days before the start of their season.
