How To Fix the NRL 101

[LineBall]

Always admirable, someone who puts a lot of time, thought and effort in to a post.

# 1 problem with the NRL, as it has been for heck knows how long now is the administration. No decent admin would have gotten us up the crapper with TV in the first place. Chasing the almighty dollar is not the end all and be all. No one does it better than the AFL, for a blueprint of how to run a game (for those short of ideas) just study what they do.

The game is too fast or I should say - the play the ball aspect of the game is too fast. Something needs to be done around this area especially. Can be something as simple as getting the players to actually stand up with the ball in hand before they can then place the ball on the ground to play it. We've tried wrestling in an attempt to slow the play-the-ball, that worked but it can get tedious. Henceforth, if we can't allow the defence to slow the play-the-ball down then the focus surely must fall on the ball carrier. Either way, this is an aspect that needs redressing.

The biggest problem, admin and play-the-ball aside is "continuity" or lack thereof! We now have a bloody fast, less-skilled, stop/start game when we should be aiming for a consistent, quick (but not frantic), skill-full game. Continuity is what separates the most popular team sport - soccer - from everything else. Up until recently, we had a reasonably continuous sport but thanks to the all pervading video interventions plus a gazillion penalties all too often from the play-the-ball area and a few other stupid rule changes we now have a lightning quick, stop/start game that often goes on for ages.

Speed rules in this sport but that is b/s. Continuity should be king, not speed.

A couple of other points I've noticed in this thread:

* State of Origin is not good enough to be a stand alone event and this will especially hold true once NSW finally gets on their own winning run. Interest will wane when such an event happens as it did last time and as it has done on many other occasions before.
* The interchange was brought in to keep the speed of the game solid throughout the entire match. No interchange will equal a drop off of intensity in the final 10-15 minutes of each half. That is not palatable in this day and age.

.

I agree with most of what you have written. I would like to see a more 'fluid' game also.

I disagree with your feelings towards the interchange though. As you say, it does keep the intensity of the game more consistent. However, I feel this is disadvantageous to the game as a spectacle, and leads to a more homogenised experience.

 

[oikee]

Collinwood = 80 thousand crowds.... Melbourne.
Manchester United,= 75 thousand crowds....Manchester
Tigers= 16 thousand Sydney.
Shut up Sydney. Fans on here who are trying to introduce stand-alone weekend for Origin or even Test matches are helping grow AFL.
You put one or two games on a stand-alone weekend , you would just introduce fans to watch AFL that weekend because their will be nothing else to watch.

Can we put a end to these stand alone Origin weekends for good. Your either morons or AFL fans in disguise. Hey Canard.

Look, lets cut the B.S, the game needs to come up with better marketing and planning. They need a 50 thousand stadium out west. Just today we have mention of the Eels probably having to move a 40 to 50 thousand blockbuster, to the big white elephant because their piddley 20 thousand stadium is too small.
How much longer does the game have to suffer because Sydney forked the whole thing up, shut up Sydney.

I gave the best idea for Origin over 3 weeks, Start on the Monday, so the game still has a Monday night game, second game 10 days later on the wednesday, last game a blockbuster 10 days later on the Friday.
We dont lose any airtime to other codes, and we introduce a Friday night Origin game which will draw a crowd.

Now, here is another awesome crowd from out make-believe heartland.
Heritage round blockbuster. Penrith Canberra, 7 thousand.

Just shut up Sydney.

 

[Canard]

LU is the only place in Australia where interest in Origin is "waning"

Meanwhile in the real world it's the 3 biggest rating TV shows of the year and the equivalent of 3 grand finals in media interest.

 

[oikee]

LU is the only place in Australia where interest in Origin is "waning"

Meanwhile in the real world it's the 3 biggest rating TV shows of the year and the equivalent of 3 grand finals in media interest.

Well thats not quite true either.
Origin 1 and 3 at Suncorp has not sold out for the first time in a decade.
Ticket sales are slow. Sydney game 2 which has been on sale for nearly a year, is still not close to sold out.

NRL crowds , down.
NRL tv viewers, down. I just finished reading a report someone put up a day ago.
All down by 9%, which was down on the year before dont forget by 8 or 9%
So we are down 9% on 2013.
2013 was down 9% on 2012.
We are now coles, down down, double down.

 

[Canard]

Well thats not quite true either.
Origin 1 and 3 at Suncorp has not sold out for the first time in a decade.
Ticket sales are slow. Sydney game 2 which has been on sale for nearly a year, is still not close to sold out.

NRL crowds , down.
NRL tv viewers, down. I just finished reading a report someone put up a day ago.
All down by 9%, which was down on the year before dont forget by 8 or 9%
So we are down 9% on 2013.
2013 was down 9% on 2012.
We are now coles, down down, double down.

Because of a new pricing structure, it WILL sell out however.

Just like last years whinging about the GF, it doesn't matter if an event sells out in an hour or 6 months, a sell out is a sell out.

Origin TV Viewership is not down, its bigger than its ever been.

an All-Stars match would attract a crowd around 1/3 of any Origin match.

 

[redvscotty]

If you moved Origin to stand alone weekends, I wouldn't get to have 3 Thursday hangovers for the year.

 

[oikee]

Because of a new pricing structure, it WILL sell out however.

Just like last years whinging about the GF, it doesn't matter if an event sells out in an hour or 6 months, a sell out is a sell out.

Origin TV Viewership is not down, its bigger than its ever been.

an All-Stars match would attract a crowd around 1/3 of any Origin match.

"Origin TV Viewership is not down, its bigger than its ever been."

Origin viewing , ? who said anything about Origin viewing, ?

I mentioned NRL viewing, i never even touched on record Origin viewing.

Again, your trying to put your into my words. Leave me alone.

And it does matter that we sellout Origin with-in a day.

Dave Smith being a banker can earn 6% percent on the cash sitting in the bank, of course it matters. Every little saving matters, every early sellout matters.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Dave Smith being a banker can earn 6% percent on the cash sitting in the bank, of course it matters. Every little saving matters, every early sellout matters.

no, it doesnt if its sold out by game day, especially if the average price for tickets is higher

 

[RufusRex]

4 rep weekends with the rep games played on the satruday night

no Monday night football the week before a rep game, announce the teams for the following Saturday during the sunday night games coverage. The rep teams then go into camp for the week to play on the Saturday night. Rep players only miss that weekend.

All teams have 2 byes during the season, these byes during 2 of the 4 rep weekends. That way you play 4 NRL games on a rep weekend (FRI Night, Sunday 2pm, Sunday 3pm and Monday night) leaving Saturday Night for the feature game.

This means that teams will be without rep players for only 2 games each season and is fair across all clubs during the rep window.


That addresses the issues around Rep games, club inequality and the scheduling of BYEs.


The four rep weekends are
1. SOO 1
2. SOO 2
3. SOO 3
4. Aus vs NZ test

scrap City/Country


Alternatively the rep period could be

1. NSW vs QLD
2. QLD vs NZ
3. NZ vs NSW
4. FINAL

takes out the issue of dead rubbers

 

[Canard]

4. FINAL

takes out the issue of dead rubbers

Dead Rubbers aren't an "issue" however, expect for a couple of posters on LU of course.

 

[The Eagle]

Scrap origin it's dead any way

 

[Bengal]

I agree with most of what you have written. I would like to see a more 'fluid' game also.

I disagree with your feelings towards the interchange though. As you say, it does keep the intensity of the game more consistent. However, I feel this is disadvantageous to the game as a spectacle, and leads to a more homogenised experience.

Cheers Lineball...I wish we could do without the interchange but I firmly believe its one of the greatest moves this code ever adopted.

This topic seems to come up often, as such I kinda wish we did ditch the interchange so that the current generation (i.e the generation that wasn't around pre-interchange era) can truly understand what footie was like pre-interchange. I'd like to say that most games back then were intense from go to whoa but I'd be talking through a hole in my head if I did so.

Just to give you some context....as a kiwi I fell in love with the game in 1979...from the mid-80's up until the superleague era I watched and recorded every game available, watched them again many times during the week and watched them many more times in the off season to get my rugby league fix. I could not get enough. Point being, when I say that most games pre interchange era just dawdled into nothing, then believe you me - I am not talking through a hole in my arse.

There are many things wrong with this game, but the interchange is not one of them but I have nonetheless come to understand - speaking in a general sense - that we, society, sometimes have to deconstruct what we have constructed for people to really appreciate what they have. This is a human condition and not just confined to good ole Rugby League.

Cheers.

 

[Perth Red]

In terms of growing the game, give some of the $20mill a year sky TV pay for NRL coverage to the nzrl to help grow the game over there. We are happy to take all these NZ kids, maybe we should be putting something back in?