Night games should be 7:30 pm kick off at the latest. 7:00 pm would be ideal. Origin is a case in point in how ridiculous a late night kick off time is.
I've been saying this for years. It just shows that the code holds their fans in contempt and are in servitude to the broadcasters by having games kicking off at 8:22-8:23 on a Wednesday night for Origin...
Here's the schedule I'd like to see;
Thursday Night - 7pm kickoff, followed by re-tooled Footy Show that reviews the game just played and previews the rest of the round
Friday Night - 7:30 kickoff
Saturday - kickoffs at 3, 5:30 and 7:30
Sunday - kickoffs at Midday, 2pm and 4pm
Sunday midday kickoff is worth a shot IMO, even in the eastern states of Australia - although not early in the season when it's still the tail end of summer, swicth that fixture to a 6:30pm Sunday slot for the first few rounds. But in the middle of winter, a midday kick off could work, people go to the game and grab a late lunch after the game.
The 6pm Friday slot will go the way of other ill-thought rugby league ideas like those bike pants with the padding in them that the Dagons players used to wear and try scorers kicking off like in Super League 1997... 1 year fads relegated to the annals of idiocy....