The NRL wants to introduce a magic round, where every game is played at the one stadium
David Riccio
The Sunday Telegraph
February 22, 2014 10:00PM
NRL chief executive Dave Smith is planning to schedule an entire NRL round of the season over one weekend at the one stadium next year.
The concept is similar to the Magic Weekend which has proven a stunning success in the English Super League.
The festival of footy would allow fans to watch as many as four NRL matches in one day at the same stadium.
While planning around the concept remains in its infancy, Smith has spoken to several leading NRL officials about the concept with the feedback overwhelmingly positive.
And proving the NRL are serious about the concept, NRL head of football Todd Greenberg met with the chairman of the English Rugby League, Brian Barwick, last Friday to discuss how the Magic Weekend could work in the NRL.
An example of how the 2015 NRL Magic weekend could work is: two games played on Friday night, three on Saturday and three on Sunday.
Depending on the flexibility of current TV broadcast deals, there is also the potential that four matches could be played on both Saturday and Sunday - the popular model used by the English Super League.
The Magic Weekend could also be slotted specifically during the State of Origin period, when fans historically find the regular season falls into a slump.
Super League use a ticketing model that gives fans the choice of paying for individual days or a cheaper two-day package.
The NRL Magic Weekend would most likely be held at either ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park or Moore Parks Allianz Stadium.
However, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane could also be an option. The football extravaganza could also open the door for the event to be played in Melbourne offering the rare opportunity for the NRL to go head-to-head with the AFL over one weekend.
The event would also follow in the footsteps of the hugely successful Auckland Nines tournament where fans were treated to a carnival atmosphere where kids activities, entertainment, food stalls and bars operated within the stadium precinct.
Following his meeting with Barwick, Greenberg confirmed the NRL would continue to work towards making the Magic Weekend a reality.
We spoke at length about the Magic Weekend so for me it was a bit of learning so we could actually understand how it works and how it works in their competition, Greenberg said.
The game continues to look at innovative ways to try new things and its clear from our discussions today that theres lots of positives in that and well go away and do a bit of work and do a bit of assessment on it.
Parramatta assistant coach Peter Gentle, who returned to the NRL this season after two years coaching Hull in the Super League, said the Magic Weekend was a highlight on the rugby league calendar in the UK.
Its a great concept, Gentle said.
From the first game on day one to the last game on game two, it didnt matter which team you supported the supporters came to watch a rugby league festival over two days.
It was a fantastic atmosphere.
I had De-Ja -Vu last week at the Nines. Because like the Nines, the Magic Weekend had that carnival atmosphere and it also ran like clockwork.
You have allocated dressing rooms, you have no cross-over of teams or hassles warming up. I cannot see any negatives.
Gentle added that the concept would prove a tourism coup for whichever city hosted the weekend.
Over there (UK) you would see supporters grab the draw at the start of the year and plan their weekend around it, Gentle said.
If we were to do it, youd have country people coming down for the weekend, Queensland people coming down for the weekend. People would come from all over NSW for it.
Cronulla Sharks five-eighth Daniel Holdsworth, who spent four years playing with Salford and Hull in the UK, gave a players point-of-view, describing
The ones Ive been involved in were unreal. The atmosphere was awesome for the fans and the players, Holdsworth said.
You go out for two whole days of footy and its just a great weekend.
We played at Manchester Citys Etihad Stadium and they were getting 30 to 40,000 a day, which is just huge especially for the clubs that dont usually get those crowds.
The NRL will meet this week to begin planning the entire 2015 schedule.
