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Bencher
Superstar fullback Tom Trbjoevic and the Sea Eagles have emerged as the NRL’s ‘hottest property’ after being awarded 12 free-to-air games in 24 rounds next season.
By Dean Ritchie
Welcome to Turbo TV.
Manly’s Tom Trbojevic has been identified as the superstar behind an extraordinary NRL decision to award Manly a staggering 12 free-to-air games in 24 rounds next season.
News Corp has been told the 12 games on Channel 9 will be watched by 15 million viewers and be worth an estimated $3m in exposure and value. It was a bold decision from 9 based around the brilliance of Trbojevic and his free-flowing Sea Eagles.
Manly chief executive Stephen Humphreys has predicted around three million additional fans will watch Sea Eagles games next season compared to 2021, when the club finished inside the top four.
An NRL insider described Manly as “hot property.” It is the first time in Manly’s history the club has been assigned 50 per cent of free-to-air games in a single season.
The Sea Eagles had four games on the high-rating Thursday and Friday timeslots last season. The club will have 11 in 2022. Those Thursday and Friday night broadcast audiences are around 30 per cent higher than the Sunday afternoon time slot.
Manly’s massive boost comes after the NRL released its 2022 draw on Tuesday with the major discussion topics being:
^ Penrith being allocated just one Sunday afternoon home game.
^ St George Illawarra having to travel to Queensland four times throughout the season.
^ Canterbury playing a game at its spiritual home, Belmore Sports ground, after a two-year hiatus.
^ Manly having just one Sunday afternoon home game at 4 Pines Park, Brookvale.
Parramatta, Manly, North Queensland and Wests Tigers drifted in premiership betting after the draw was released with Melbourne, Sydney Roosters, Souths and Cronulla firming, according to TAB bookies.
Penrith remain premiership favourites at $5 with St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers being equal $51 outsiders.
Trbojevic, meanwhile, ignited the NRL last season, posting 28 tries, 31 try assists, 32 line breaks, 45 line break assists and busting 131 tackles – all in 18 games.
“We have half of our matches – 12 – on free to air. That’s the most anyone at the club can remember having. That many games on free-to-air shows people are enjoying our brand of footy. That is why the broadcasters have picked us,” Humphreys said.
“We had a successful 2021 where we played an open, attacking brand of footy. We’ve got some real stars of the game including, of course, Tom, the reigning Dally M Medalist. That would all have all been factored into that schedule.
“The Channel 9 schedule - with so many marquee Thursday and Friday night games featuring the high-flying Sea Eagles - will result in an estimated three million additional viewers tuning in to watch Manly play in 2022.
“We only have one Sunday afternoon match. That is probably the sting in the tail, if you like, of being successful and popular. Our first game at 4 Pines Park on a Sunday afternoon is against the Bulldogs in round three. That’s it for Sunday but we do have five Saturday games at home in good timeslots. We have six Thursday night games and eight Friday night matches across the year.”
While comfortable with the draw, Penrith has been issued just one Sunday afternoon home game – a 4.05pm game on April 24 against Ricky Stuart’s Raiders.
It continues a lean run of Sunday afternoon home games. The Panthers have enjoyed just one Sunday afternoon game in two years – a round 10 match against North Queensland in 2020.
And that was played before a Covid-restricted crowd of just 2891. Next year’s solitary match will mean only two Sunday home games for Penrith in three years.
“People do like Sunday games and, yes, another Sunday would have been nice for the locals and the kids who want to attend,” said Panthers CEO, Brian Fletcher. “We have a big leagues club across the road from BlueBet Stadium which we’d packed after the game.
“But we have a lot of Friday night games and that means Channel 9 coverage, which is great for our sponsors, so you can’t have it both ways. The way we have played the last two years, it probably wouldn’t matter what day we played or what night because we would still get a good crowd. We’ve got no problem with the draw.”
St George Illawarra is also content with the draw although club chief executive Ryan Webb pointed out his club would travel to Queensland four times through the season.
“The only challenge is we have four trips to Queensland – that would be at the high-end, I would have thought,” Webb said.
“Magic Round, the Warriors (at Sunshine Coast Stadium in round one) and we’ve also got the Broncos and Cowboys.
“But with everything that has happened in recent years, it’s not something we can worry about – the guys have got pretty used to travelling and being flexible. We don’t want it to be something we get too worked up about. It is what it is – you’ve just got to attack it head-on.”
Canterbury has a tough start to the season but will play a one-off game at Belmore in round 12 against St George Illawarra.
‘It’s obviously a tough draw early on. We get to play a lot of the top teams, but that will also give us a chance to see where we are as a football team,” said Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton.
“From an overall perspective we get the chance to play a match in Bundaberg for the first time and thank the local community for their support, as well as seeing football back at Belmore Sports Ground after a two year gap.”
Asked for his opinion on the draw, Souths chief executive Blake Solly said: “We’re happy with our draw - we just can’t wait for the footy to roll around again.”
