The definitive solution to the NRL’s Origin scheduling headache
By Troy Dodds - July 15, 2025, 14:57
Rugby league’s State of Origin series is over, Queensland have pulled New South Wales’ pants down again and normality returns to the NRL schedule.
But while Origin may be behind us, debate over how it should be scheduled and its impact on the regular club competition will certainly not go away.
But I have the solution. And I’ll be emailing a copy of this column across to Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo with an
To that in a moment though.
Part of the issue I’ve always had with finding a solution to the Origin conundrum is that I’ve never been totally convinced there’s something to find a solution for.
While clubs do suffer during this period and lose some of their stars for big games, the best team invariably wins the Premiership at the end of the year.
But I’ll accept the standard of club football over the Origin period certainly dips, and our attention becomes too divided.
So, the solution – the schedule the NRL should adopt from 2027 when we have an even number of teams again (only to blow it all up of course when Papua New Guinea enter the comp, though I suspect this will be delayed a number of seasons).
Bear with me on the ride.
Right now we have 27 rounds, with all clubs receiving three byes.
Under my plan, to be further known as Dodds Ball, we move to a 24 round competition with no byes.
All 18 teams play each other once, taking in 17 games, with the remaining seven games in a team’s schedule reserved for marquee match-ups like club rivalries and the like.
We halt the competition for three weeks in July, allowing State of Origin to be played over three consecutive Tuesday nights.
No Origin player is forced to miss a club game because the NRL is not playing in the weekends before Origin I, II or III.
The only back-up comes with players coming out of Origin III and returning to their clubs the following weekend, but moving Origin to Tuesday means the back-up is less intensive.
Broadcasters still get their mid-week sugar hit of Origin football, with the ratings and crowds unlikely to significantly differ from a shift out of Wednesday nights.
This plan gives players not taking part in Origin the chance for a full refresh in the middle of the season, and time to address any niggling injury concerns.
It also gives each Origin game clear air in terms of media presence and build up.
But what, I hear you say, about those three weekends with no football?
Surely it’s a free kick to the AFL? Surely the broadcasters won’t cop it?
Here’s where the next element of the plan comes in.
We launch the NRLW competition on the first weekend of July, giving it stand-alone status across marquee timeslots on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
And we continue that for three consecutive weekends, giving the women’s game a huge push and dedicated rugby league eyeballs across the weekend.
On the third weekend we could even move forward the NRLW Magic Round, to add more excitement around the competition.
The NRLW has increased enormously in popularity in recent years but the launch of the competition is mixed in with the NRL regular season plus Origin.
This would give the NRLW centre stage for three consecutive weekends, the biggest possible push we could give the game.
At a stretch, we could also schedule a mid-season Pacific test in that middle weekend, but I’ll leave that for Pete and Andy to sort out.
Keep in mind the broadcasters here are still getting the same number of games they were before (in fact, one extra game a weekend given the arrival of Perth).
The removal of the byes means the number of games delivered is not impacted.
Now the Dodds Ball plan isn’t finished yet.
We take advantage of this three week period to also create a dedicated trade window.
Sort out all those player swaps that happen at random times, ensuring they can only happen during this three weeks.
Top-line Origin players are rarely involved in such swaps so the representative period won’t be impacted by that, and clubs and players alike will have time to sort out all the bits and pieces that go with transfers.
It will stop the months of speculation we often deal with around player transfers and the wayward timing of some departures.
And there you have it.
Dodds Ball.
The season still starts the same way, and ends on the same weekend.
Fans are not robbed of seeing their favourite players turn out for their teams, the competition is not fractured by odd weekends and a flurry of byes.
There’s a bit of structure around who you play twice, and both Origin and the NRLW win out of the situation in having more focus with the main club competition put on ice.
Right, I’m off to solve the war in the Middle East. See you next week.
Troy Dodds
