Season structure

[mosto]

There's been a bit of talk lately about the issue of not playing each team on a home and away basis. In a perfect world everyone plays each other twice, but with 16 teams (soon to be expanded) you just run out of time. The bigger issue with the current setup, as I see it, is you play some teams twice and others once. Drawing the Sharks twice is better than drawing Dragons twice regardless of where the games are played. I would like to see the season structure overhauled to something similar to the following:

Currently, the season goes for 26 weeks (with each team playing 24 games) plus finals, so you have to keep close to that time frame to satisfy tv deals etc. I would like to see a 15 week comp with each team playing each other once (with home and away reversing each year so you don't always play Melbourne in Melbourne, for example).

I'm undecided on stand alone rep weekends, but it seems to be gathering momentum so set aside a further 4 weeks for the 3 SOO and 1 Test (and City v Country if you want to). This takes the season out to 19 weeks plus finals.

Finally, bring in an AFL-style pre-season comp with a major sponsor to make it worth winning financially. The structure of the pre-season comp would be 4 pools of 4 teams playing each other once each over 3 weeks. The winners of each pool would play semi's the 4th week and a final the 5th week. The other teams could also follow the same format in consolation cup-style comps.

This takes the season out to 24 weeks with each team playing 19-20 games.

This would give the perfect opportunity to offer the game to broadcasters as seperate bundles, ie pre-season, rep games, season proper, and finals.

I'm sure it's not to everyone's liking but this is how I would re-structure the season.

 

[Dan]

no thanks. I would prefer a longer season

 

[MK Eagle]

Personally i hate the off season - so imagine it being way longer!!!
Then theres the major reason a shorter season will not be viable $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The NRL needs this kind of number to support the game.

 

[The Who]

Frankly, I think it has merit.

 

[Stevo]

The season won't get any longer except to accomodate for another team. I'm happy with it the way it is. I'm a fan of stand alone Origin weekends though.

 

[Fluffy]

home and away against all teams

 

[The Eagle]

No,that is all

 

[codewana]

What about playing 15 games (as mentioned), and then having a knock-out comp during rep weeks.

Rep stuff is done in the first 4 weeks.
Week 1 = City/Country and Australia/NZ. Concurrently that week, 8 games of club league.
Week 2 = SOO1 and 4 games of club league.
Week 3 = SOO2 and 2 games of club league.
Week 4 = SOO2 and the Cup Final.

Makes an extra cup for teams at the bottom of the ladder to have a chance (since rep players would most likely be coming from better placed sides).

 

[captainskin]

Has anyone mentioned two different conferences like in American Football / basketball etc. The best of each conference plays each other in the GF. Surely this will help with rep season and playing each team twice (in your conference of course)

 

[The Eagle]

Has anyone mentioned two different conferences like in American Football / basketball etc. The best of each conference plays each other in the GF. Surely this will help with rep season and playing each team twice (in your conference of course)

NO

 

[Ian Martin tragic]

Yes: gould proposed it in his smh column a couple of weeks ago. rationale was also to keep the sydney clubs stronger by having the home and away each year. he also had an idea for a kind of separate mid-season comp during a mid-season rep schedule where the rep players weren't allowed to play for thier clubs. Rationale: give incentive to stuggling clubs to win at least something (+ some cash) in an evened up contest, and produce another 'product' for tv.

 

[Rex]

If we're throwing wild ideas around:
No preseason
Part 1 - Two conferences of 8 teams each = 14 rounds each (playing all sides home & away)
Top 4 teams from each conference enter the A Group, bottom four in the B group.
Part 2 - Groups A & B have 8 teams each = 14 rounds each
Finals - Top 6 from Group A form places 1-6 in final series.
Top 2 from Group B form places 7&8 in final series.

 

[codewana]

That's interesting Rex. But it doesn't do anything for clubs who lose a lot of reps to SOO or country.

 

[Jono]

If we're throwing wild ideas around:
No preseason
Part 1 - Two conferences of 8 teams each = 14 rounds each (playing all sides home & away)
Top 4 teams from each conference enter the A Group, bottom four in the B group.
Part 2 - Groups A & B have 8 teams each = 14 rounds each
Finals - Top 6 from Group A form places 1-6 in final series.
Top 2 from Group B form places 7&8 in final series.

This is sort of what I was thinking.

What we need is a 20 team competition. Add 4 teams, for arguments sake: Perth, Central Queensland, Central Coast and Brisbane 2


You split the 2 into 2 groups. This is how it is done at the moment. However, you are ranked against everyone else. Instead you have the ladder consist of only the teams in your group.

Therefore, if Manly is in Group A, they'll only be ranked against the teams in group A.

Now, you play each team in your group twice home and away (18 games) then you play the teams in the other group once: 5 home, 5 away and this alternates every year (so you play these teams at their ground every 2 years). This gives us 10 games. Therefore 28 games.

You have 3 weeks off for SOO and 4 weeks for the finals. This equals a 35 week season (5 more weeks than currently). If you want, take out trials completely and run a Sevens comp. on the 3 bye weekends. Whatever works.

The groups will be allocated geographically so that the costs are even:

Group A:

Perth*
Brisbane 1
Cowboys
Newcastle
Penrith
Manly
Parramatta
Sharks
Eastern Suburbs
Central Queensland*

Group B:
Warriors
Brisbane 2*
Melbourne
Central Coast*
Canberra
Wests Tigers
Bulldogs
St George - Illawarra
Souths
Gold Coast

*Expansion teams

This would make the cost even and travel times shorter as it wouldn't be fair on the Warriors or Perth for example to travel to each others grounds every year. What you can also have is the "local cup" once a year. For example, the one game the Central Coast and Newcastle play in the year can be called the Hunter Cup, the one game the 2 Brisbane Teams play each year can be called the "Wally Lewis Shield". It would bring more value to these titles as you will get to keep them for the year. At the moment, if we play the Sharks twice in the year, we have fight for the Steve Rogers Trophy 2 times that year.

Finals:

What happens is the top 4 from each group go to the finals. 1st in Group A plays 4th in Group B and so on as the system is now. GF between the final 2 teams.

You would have 2 games on the Friday (730pm and 930pm), 4 on the Saturday (330pm, 530pm, 730pm, 930pm), 3 on the Sunday (2pm, 4pm, 630pm) and one on the Monday (730pm).

SOO played on Mondays. Australia/New Zealand and City Country don't get a stand alone weekend, which is the only one but I would play these actually on ANZAC Day because people won't be at work anyways.

Therefore, the winner plays maximum 32 games to win the title (currently 28), we get 4 more teams, stand alone weekends for SOO, fairer traveling for teams and a fairer competition overall (because every year during the regular season you are competing against the same teams for a finals birth and these teams played the exact same teams)

 

[Stevo]

I like it Jono. But i think it would be a better idea if the local derby teams were grouped together. Ie Manly-Parra. The two Brisbane teams etc. I also think we'll be waiting a long time for the inclusion of 4 teams.

 

[eagles2win]

Here's mine:

9 Tourny (this leads into the Allstars)
Allstars

Pre Season knockout comp

NRL Season Rounds 1 - 11
Origin
Test Match
NRL Season Rounds 12 - 22

Finals

WCC

4 Nations/World Cup

Just to give the NSW Cup teams, the QLD Cup teams and Bundy Red Cup teams more exposure, they also play a knockout comp between each other Winner and Runner up get a place in the Pre Season Cup

 

[The Eagle]

7s tourny used to be epic

 

[Peter C]

As there is to be no expansion until at least 2015, then this is what I would prefer.
A full home and away series, this can be achieved by eliminating the trials and starting the season a few weeks earlier, and perhaps finishing a week or so later. Due to the extra games clubs will have an increase in gate takings, and possibly the NRL will have more revenue from the TV rights due to the extra games televised.
The grant to the clubs will have to increase to accomodate a squad of about 26-30 players[ up from the current 25],this will offset the workload on the players and the players will have an increase in payments due to the extra money flowing in.
The only problem is the State of origin series, I doubt it if it will ever be a stand alone week because, [a] TV prefers it on a week night the public demands league on the weekend, so I think it will or should stay the way it is, sure it disadvantages some teams during this time,but it gives some teams a chance off knocking off some of the teams brimming with SOO stars.
A knockout series of any description is a waste of time, no one will have an interest in it once their team is eliminated.
For me it's the competiton that is my interest, then SOO, and then any Test match. No interest whatsoever in City V Country

 

[jjai]

Its a **** setup they have, when you play a team in round 2 & by round 7 you have already played them again..

they could do it(play every one twice home & away),if they just added wednesday & thursday to the playing time table.. how do they do it in the EPL

i`d love it if we could have wed,thurs,fri,sat,sun & mon footy ..also one or two of them days needs to have more than just two or 3 games playing has to be like 5 games in that 1 day, see thats the problem they space the games out too much

---

Its a s**t setup they have, when you play a team in round 2 & by round 7 you have already played them again..

they could do it(play every one twice home & away),if they just added wednesday & thursday to the playing time table.. how do they do it in the EPL

i`d love it if we could have wed,thurs,fri,sat,sun & mon footy ..also one or two of them days needs to have more than just two or 3 games playing has to be like 5 games in that 1 day, see thats the problem they space the games out too much

But i know the players would burn out too quick & its done this way because its all about money they lose out my way i suppose in revenue..

 

[Biscuits]

saints have been blessed with their draw this season. i think we all agree there are the top 5 and then the rest this year. Saints only have to play the other 4 teams once each whereas we have to play all bar saints twice.

manly 7 games against the other 4 teams
Broncos 7 games
cowboys 6 games
storm 6 games
dragons 4 games