NRL - Too many games?

[Loudstrat]

Can someone take a not of how many rep players will play in trials? Mostly, the established rep players don't.

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

The problem is that playing rugby league exacts too high a toll on those that play the necessary number/type of games to fund and sustain it.

The evolution of the game's playing rules under the 10m rule and one-sided play-the-balls/scrums has been carried on without any regard for the capacity of the code to pay for it, and the reality of a self-imposed salary cap that seeks to extract more and more from the same finite resource i.e. a small group of players.

It is no good rugby league being "the greatest game of all" if the code can't afford to sustain it.

The number of games isn't the problem. Playing less games isn't a solution. Killing rep football isn't a solution, any more than killing 7s & pre-season & mid week cups & 3-Test in-season series was a solution (all of which robbed an additional $ value/product from the game's bottom line).

The playing rules and present nature of the on-field game are the problem. They need to be changed so that playing a longer & more varied season is more viable for the players.

But that won't happen. We will all stand around smugly patting ourselves on the back that we have "the greatest game of all", blissfully unaware and/or indifferent to the fact the game is unaffordable in its present form, and against the code's own long term interests and benefit.

This x 1000000000000000000000000000

 

[VictoryFC]

Season isn't long as is. Btw, if you want to play less games, be prepared to earn less money. That's how it works. Less games for more money is some warped logic.

 

[Easts R #1]

I'm a fan of a slightly shorter club season in favour of a longer rep season.
Postpone the NRL 3 times mid-season for rep weekends. If PI countries played matches on the same weekend as Origin it would give a decent incentive for Islanders to choose Internationals over SOO. Something like:
Week 1 - in May: Aus v NZ, Pacific Cup Round 1 (PNG, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Isl, USA)
Week 2 - in June: SOO1, Pac Cup R2
Week 3 - early July: SOO2, Pac Cup R3
Week 4 - late July, SOO3, Pac Cup R4

Sync it up with the English/Euro seasons and rep games and you have amazing weekends of rep footy with people hooked on both sides of the globe. Would be huge within a few years. Rep weekends could be so much bigger than SOO alone. It would keep a similar amount of games, be worth more to the elite players, and give a big boost to international RL.

not a fan of scrapping trials. One, they are a necessary evil. If a club disagrees with them, they are welcome to not play them. But they all do. Why? Because it quite clearly is in their best interests. Two, as mentioned early they take games to the bush and to places where the game needs to be promoted without losing a home match.

International Rep footy end of season., Soo midseason during a mid season 4 wk break.[ allows teams to get over injuries and not be penalised by players representing @ soo games..]

 

[King Tigerman]

everybody should play every1 else twice to start with thats 30 rounds

 

[supercharger]

Season isn't long as is. Btw, if you want to play less games, be prepared to earn less money. That's how it works. Less games for more money is some warped logic.

True we wont see an increase in revenue by decreasing the number of games we play
and while some point to the NFL's short season they neglect the fact that the NFL has gone from a 14 game schedule to 16 games and that goodell was pushing for 18 games awhile ago

 

[supercharger]

everybody should play every1 else twice to start with thats 30 rounds

Throw in byes or a break for origin and there's 32 rounds then there is the trials and finals and we're up to 40 weeks
that's before the international programme which would add another 4-5 weeks.
All this would result in the need for bigger squads which would lift the cap.
and because most of the clubs are so poorly run the grant would need to be lifted even further than planned to help make ends meet.
And then there's attendance as it is clubs have trouble with 12 home games how would they cope with an extra 3
the overall attendance would rise but the average would surely fall

 

[Perth Red]

My ideal would look something like this:

Season starts mid Feb with
World 9's Weekend1
All stars game and PNG v NZ weekend2
Season March - September
2 x10 team conferences play your conference home and away, 6 of the other conference teams home or away giving 24 games
SOO stand alone on weekend with NZ v PNG and England v France or Exiles also on those weekends to give Fri, Sat and Sun games
October World Club Challenge
October&November Rep competitions

 

[joshie]

My ideal would look something like this:

Season starts mid Feb with
World 9's Weekend1
All stars game and PNG v NZ weekend2
Season March - September
2 x10 team conferences play your conference home and away, 6 of the other conference teams home or away giving 24 games
SOO stand alone on weekend with NZ v PNG and England v France or Exiles also on those weekends to give Fri, Sat and Sun games
October World Club Challenge
October&November Rep competitions

Yes please

 

[billy2]

If you look at big soccer sides in europe they play huge numbers of games and do so by having big squads and resting players a lot.
Our comp is still in a position where we want to see the best possible side named every week and star players on the field as much as possible.
At the moment we have 26 rounds and expect players to play all 26 if they are fit all year. We could expand to 30 rounds (all sides playing each other twice) without adding to player stress if we increased squads by 3 or 4 players and said no player can play more than 26 regular season games a year.
This would mean coaches would have to rest star players for some games as happens in games like soccer, baseball, basketball etc, but it really just adds another element to the game.
A coach would have to decide when is the best time to rest players - after SOO? - when they have niggling injuries? - when the side is playing a 'weak' opposition? - early in the season?

 

[no name]

My ideal would look something like this:

Season starts mid Feb with
World 9's Weekend1
All stars game and PNG v NZ weekend2
Season March - September
2 x10 team conferences play your conference home and away, 6 of the other conference teams home or away giving 24 games
SOO stand alone on weekend with NZ v PNG and England v France or Exiles also on those weekends to give Fri, Sat and Sun games
October World Club Challenge
October&November Rep competitions

So you play some teams twice and others none? No thanks. You should play every team at least once.

 

[bobmar28]

I would like to see a longer season. The EPL goes for about ten months a year. We have NFL to fill in the summer but the off season is too long.

 

[Pierced Soul]

gotta realsie the NRL is the toughest of the league codes and probably one of the most physically demanding games in the world. yes it would be nice to have a 40 week season plus tests etc but physically players cant cope with it. we could have 40+ games like SL but the quality difference is huge and even the english players admit it lacks the consistent intensity of the NRL

I would rather quality than quantity myself.

 

[juro]

I think the mid season does tend to drag on. Reducing the number of regular season matches would make each game more important, increasing spectator interest. Cumulative crowd totals would be down, but average crowds would be up, leading to improved atmosphere at games. Media attention would be a lot more focused too.

Aiming to play every team twice is just absurd. What happens if and when the comp expands? I would prefer a 22 week regular season. With 16 teams, that would mean 2 groups of 8 teams, playing their own group twice plus the other group once (2 x 7 + 8 = 22). With 18 teams, that would mean 3 groups of 6, playing own group twice plus other groups once (2 x 5 + 6 + 6 = 22).

The extra weeks should be used for expanding rep football. A bit of effort there could lead to massive dividends. I like the idea of having the NRL and SL rep seasons aligned. That way, you would end up seeing a similar number of games on rep weekends as on normal mid-season weekends.

 

[adamkungl]

I would rather quality than quantity myself.

Agreed. Look at the drop in crowds around Origin time when the stars are out. And people think we should rest stars for a longer season? Bugger that, no one gives a f**k if the side is made up of reserve graders.

 

[VictoryFC]

If you look at big soccer sides in europe they play huge numbers of games and do so by having big squads and resting players a lot.
Our comp is still in a position where we want to see the best possible side named every week and star players on the field as much as possible.
At the moment we have 26 rounds and expect players to play all 26 if they are fit all year. We could expand to 30 rounds (all sides playing each other twice) without adding to player stress if we increased squads by 3 or 4 players and said no player can play more than 26 regular season games a year.
This would mean coaches would have to rest star players for some games as happens in games like soccer, baseball, basketball etc, but it really just adds another element to the game.
A coach would have to decide when is the best time to rest players - after SOO? - when they have niggling injuries? - when the side is playing a 'weak' opposition? - early in the season?

There's only so much a player can take. League is just much more demanding physically than all of those sports. But you're right, I don't think we've reached the limit yet. I think players generally could go a bit longer.

But it would also require a lot more money. Even adding a few games sends wages spiraling up. That'd be the biggest problem.

 

[seanoff]

you are all high.

sometimes less is more. economics has a term for it.

"diminishing marginal returns" both for the fans and the players.

too much of something is too much. there is far too much NRL at the moment. the middle of the season is a wasteland for everyone. the games have no meaning, no one goes to watch, no one cares.

17 games, 3 SOO stand alone, 4 weeks of finals. 24 weeks. that's it.


the players aren't robots. by the end of the season many of them are barely operating and you guys want more. do any of you care that these guys can barely walk at the end of their careers, are chronically sore, are aged early. No, you don't a f**k. as long as they kill themselves for your entertainment.

find something else to do. watch another sport, there are many, at the top level many of them very entertaining. get off your couch, play a sport, join a gym (this can be a good perv) take up knitting. but find something else.

 

[POPEYE]

Get rid of the pissant end of season cup, all teams play each other twice and first past the post is the winner.

International games are a joke so if overseas players are good enough let them show it in the NRL.

If some players are rugged and good enough to play more games ask them if they want to play SOO

 

[gypsy]

Get rid of the pissant end of season cup, all teams play each other twice and first past the post is the winner.

First past the post wouldn't do the code any favours whatsoever. Rugby League fans are the most fickle fans ever. It's not like the Premier League where people show up every week regardless of having no hope.
Imagine say a Souffs v Raiders game towards the end of the year, with both sides out of contention...you'd be lucky to get a few thousand.
The top 8 rewards mediocrity sure, but it keeps fans of even the worst teams coming to the games. If you introduce a first past the post, a lot of teams will be out of contention at the mid year mark, and clubs that are already struggling financially will fold completely.

 

[Canard]

Sounds like Popeye is a fan of a team that won the minor prem one year and got bundled out of the finals that and its he is an obvious troll, but.....

Yes lets get rid of the Grand Final, it never seems to get any support, TV ratings etc who cares about tradition?

Whilst we are at it get rid of all the finals. The new re-valued price of the TV contract is $300M and meaningless games towards the end of the season are to be shown on 6hr delay.