Rd20: 3pm Parra v Canberra GAME DAY THREAD @ GIO Stadium 19/7/25

[JokerEel]

I'd have set divisions like NFL once it is 20 teams.

Everyone plays each team once (19 games), then you play everyone in your own division of 5 again (4 games). 23 rounds in total.

4 Divisions would be Qld (all 5 Qld teams), Western Sydney (Parra, Dogs, Tigpies, Panthers, Perth), Coastal Sydney (Roosters, Souths, Sharks, Dragons, Manly), Non Sydney (Melbourne, Warriors, Canberra, Newcastle, PNG)

Normal Ladder for Top 8, Top 6 get a week off, Teams 7-10 first week, Wild Card weekend.

I've obviously assumed 20th will be Qld team, but Qld Division could have PNG if 20th was NZ and second NZ to Warriors division.

Ffs merkin great minds think kind of alike!

20 teams 4 pools.

Games Breakdown:Intra-Pool (Division): Play each team in your pool twice (home and away): 4 opponents × 2 = 8 games.

Intra-Conference (Other Pool): Play each team in the other pool of your conference once: 5 opponents × 1 = 5 games.

Inter-Conference: Play each team in the other conference once: 10 opponents × 1 = 10 games.
Total: 8 intra-pool + 5 intra-conference + 10 inter-conference = 23 games.

 

[Chipmunk]

Ffs merkin great minds think kind of alike!

I spotted yours after I posted mine.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

I think the NRL is too scared to try the conference system..

They will likely go with playing just each team once when they get to 20 teams

I reckon they will need a 25 team comp before they agree to that.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

How's that looking for the last 10 year?
I am seeing 8 different champs

You want a smaller sample to prove your point?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

19 rounds won't satisfy broadcasters

ffs

 

[Chipmunk]

19 rounds won't satisfy broadcasters

I would go with 19 rounds, everyone plays each other once. It is 190 games. I believe the current 17 teams playing 24 games is 192 games.

You would get the other 2 games with a 7-10 Wild Card weekend in Week 1 of finals.

I would play 10 rounds in the NRL, then break. I would also break UK Super League

During the break, I would play Origin 3 Wednesdays in a row.

International tournament between all teams other than Australia (i.e. NZ, Tonga, Samoa, England, Fiji, France, PNG, Cook Islands) during the Origin period.

Once Origin is done, Australia plays 3 games against whoever. Other International teams could continue to play other teams.

Commence the Women's competition during this period to.

i would also come up with a new competition. A Knock Out style, with all NSW Cup, Qld Cup and UK Super League teams for more content. Maybe call it the NRL Development Knock Out, but NRL teams can drop back their players for the comp to give those game time whilst the break is on, but limit the numbers if NRL players per game. Alot of players would play Origin or other Rep football, so wouldn't be that many available. I would have a massive first prize...maybe $2m prize money all up, maybe $1m first prize, then prize money for getting past first round to all other teams.

This break would be 8 weeks.

Then after Origin, Rep and Knock out period, Play remaining 9 NRL games.

NRL 19 rounds, NRL Finals 5 weeks, Break Period 8 weeks, 32 week season from 1 March to first weekend of October.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

As much as i want this season end.

I still think 22 or 24 games is going to be range of club games we play every year.

At the end of the day we want content.

Shorten the season means there is less footy on our screens. And we would be whinging how bored everyone is.

Are clubs are going to charge less for memberships or season tickets for less games.

I doubt it.

And are players going to cop less money in exchange for bringing in less revenue?

 

[the phantom menace]

You want a smaller sample to prove your point?

*more current

 

[Poupou Escobar]

*recency bias

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Theon Greyjoy?

I assume he meant balls not dick

 

[Gary Gutful]

I hope we don’t f**k with things by putting in a conference system. F**k that Yankee Doodle bullshit.

I’m also concerned about our expansion agenda and whether we have the talent in the game to sustain it. Great, more games, but they are all dog shit!

 

[emjaycee]

I'd have set divisions like NFL once it is 20 teams.

Everyone plays each team once (19 games), then you play everyone in your own division of 5 again (4 games). 23 rounds in total.

4 Divisions would be Qld (all 5 Qld teams), Western Sydney (Parra, Dogs, Tigpies, Panthers, Perth), Coastal Sydney (Roosters, Souths, Sharks, Dragons, Manly), Non Sydney (Melbourne, Warriors, Canberra, Newcastle, PNG)

Normal Ladder for Top 8, Top 6 get a week off, Teams 7-10 first week, Wild Card weekend.

I've obviously assumed 20th will be Qld team, but Qld Division could have PNG if 20th was NZ and second NZ to Warriors division.

I initially put together a conference model based on 2 geographic divisions back in the days of the ARL/Superleague war. Moved away from that in more recent times due to the strength of a few clubs over the last 20 years as I recognised there needs to be a way to minimise one conference providing the premiers year after year. Hence my idea of changing the teams in each conference based on where they finish overall the previous year.

 

[Jez]

in reality we already have a quasi conference system. Each year now you have to play 8 teams twice, and in Parra's case they are always Tigers, Dogs, Manly, Penrith. it would merely formalise what is already happening.

 

[JokerEel]

I initially put together a conference model based on 2 geographic divisions back in the days of the ARL/Superleague war. Moved away from that in more recent times due to the strength of a few clubs over the last 20 years as I recognised there needs to be a way to minimise one conference providing the premiers year after year. Hence my idea of changing the teams in each conference based on where they finish overall the previous year.

Every 2 seasons it should be changed especially if you play every team once home 1 year away the next.

 

[JokerEel]

in reality we already have a quasi conference system. Each year now you have to play 8 teams twice, and in Parra's case they are always Tigers, Dogs, Manly, Penrith. it would merely formalise what is already happening.

That's true but some teams get to play dog shit crap ass sides twice a year while another only plays them once and then they are compared on the ladder.

 

[JokerEel]

I hope we don’t f**k with things by putting in a conference system. F**k that Yankee Doodle bullshit.

I’m also concerned about our expansion agenda and whether we have the talent in the game to sustain it. Great, more games, but they are all dog shit!

It's not about the talent it's about the coaching resources at the clubs and not just coaches all the staff at a club.

Titans have a pretty good side but are a basket case and are running dead last.

Tigers well let's not bring them up...

 

[Jez]

That's true but some teams get to play dog shit crap ass sides twice a year while another only plays them once and then they are compared on the ladder.

that would be for example Cronulla who only really have St George as a natural rival and drawcard match up.
I do not think that would change as we would always demand to play Dogs, Penrith, Tigers etc. twice and vice versa.

 

[hindy111]

That's true but some teams get to play dog shit crap ass sides twice a year while another only plays them once and then they are compared on the ladder.

Sydney clubs should only play Sydney clubs twice. Better for crowds and fans. And let's fix this play the same side twice in 5 weeks crap.

 

[eels_fan]

Once we get to a 20 team comp there will only be 19 games a season. Rotate home/away every 2 years

 

[emjaycee]

I initially put together a conference model based on 2 geographic divisions back in the days of the ARL/Superleague war. Moved away from that in more recent times due to the strength of a few clubs over the last 20 years as I recognised there needs to be a way to minimise one conference providing the premiers year after year. Hence my idea of changing the teams in each conference based on where they finish overall the previous year.

Here is how this idea could have looked over the last couple of seasons:

2023 Result	2024 Conferences		2024 Result	2025 Conferences
	Conference A	Conference B		Conference A	Conference B
Penrith	Penrith	Brisbane	Melbourne	Melbourne	Penrith
Brisbane	Melbourne	Warriors	Penrith	Roosters	Cronulla
Melbourne	Newcastle	Cronulla	Roosters	North Qld	Bulldogs
Warriors	Roosters	Canberra	Cronulla	Manly	Newcastle
Newcastle	Souths	Eels	North Qld	Canberra	Dolphins
Cronulla	North Qld	Manly	Bulldogs	Dragons	Brisbane
Roosters	Dolphins	Titans	Manly	Warriors	Titans
Canberra	Bulldogs	Dragons	Newcastle	Eels	Souths
Souths	West Tigers	BYE	Canberra	West Tigers	BYE
Eels			Dolphins
North Qld			Dragons
Manly			Brisbane
Dolphins			Warriors
Titans			Titans
Bulldogs			Eels
Dragons			Souths
West Tigers			West Tigers