Round 1 everyone has a chance so there is buzz. Imo the top 8 is set so what buzz is there for teams like Parra etc? Big difference
If a team is relentlessly shit, they will probably draw shitty crowds regardless of the week off. Honestly, i even think the bottom teams would benefit from the break...
The pause might shake up form enough to give lower teams a chance (even the prospect of that is a sales point leaving into the post-origin restart) and the fans might forget their shit form just enough to give the team another chance.
If there is even a mathematical chance of teams qualifying, their fans will show some interest in the club. And if they are too shit to attract fans back after a break, i dont think the "momentum" of a lossing streak will help much...
People forget there is reasons why the weekend Origin was tried and failed
Origin could still be on the wednesday even if the NRL is paused. It feels like a missed opportunity not to turn it into a big sundey event. But if these next few years show that Sunday Origin is a no-go, we can still pause the NRL AND hold origin on the Wednesday.
My suspicion would be that we would end up with something similar to what we have now (Wed-Sun-Wed or Sun-Wed-Sun). It would allow some freedom for game scheduling (maybe they like Melbourne games on Wednesday to avoid VFL clashes, etc) and it would give the comp a 10-day turnaround between matches instead of the 7 they would get over 3 weeks.
I wouldnt say the 2001 series was a failure and it DEFINITELY isnt enough information to rule out Sunday games ever happening again....