In a previous post (Letter to the RLIF and How to Fix the Representative Weekend), I stated that the NRL season should be reduced to a twenty-two-round competition, several representative rounds, and a knock-out competition. In this post, I will outline how a twenty-two-round competition would be intertwined with a representative weekend schedule and how that would work. I will also redesign the NRL competition to make each game more important and how that can be done in a sixteen and eighteen-team competition. I will also look at Queensland City v Country and break down if it is possible to have a clash between those two sides. As well as looking at improving third-tier and A-Grade competitions in Sydney. This unique blog post is Rugby League in Australia: State of the Game.
If the NRL is serious about growing the international game, they must implement a twenty-two-round season. The twenty-two-round NRL season would also allow State Of Origin games to be played on standalone weekends. If the NRL does not include stand-alone weekends from 2018 (the first year of the new TV rights deal), the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) will strike. Suppose the NRL remains with a twenty-six-round season and implements stand-alone weekends. In that case, the season will either start in February or end in mid-October, neither of which is an ideal option, with many believing a twenty-six-week season is too long as it is. A twenty-two-week season and five representative weekends, however, would still equal a twenty-seven-week season, meaning the length of the season stays the same. Below I will explain how I would fit the five representative weekends into a twenty-two-round season.
I would play the first eight rounds of the season before stopping for representative weekend one (as usual). On representative weekend one, I would play as many internationals as possible, as well as City v Country and the round of 32 of the NRL Cup (a knock-out competition open to every Rugby League A-Grade club in Australia). I would then play rounds nine and ten before breaking for representative round two. Representative round two would include the first State of Origin game and the round of 16 of the NRL Cup. I would follow that with rounds eleven and twelve before representative weekend three. Representative weekend three would include State of Origin game two and the quarter-finals of the NRL Cup. Rounds thirteen and fourteen will be played before representative weekend four. Representative weekend four would include the semi-final of the NRL Cup, the final State of Origin, and New Zealand State of Origin (to see how New Zealand State Of Origin works, see: Representative Rugby League). I would then play around fifteen to around twenty and then stop the season one final time for representative weekend five. Representative weekend five would include the final of the NRL Cup and several internationals, except for Australia (allowing the players who played in the previous four representative weekends a weekend off). The late staging of representative weekend five is to match it up with the final of the Challenge Cup, played that same weekend. If you are still confused, this spreadsheet 22 Round season shows the round and the round the date would start on (based on the 2015 NRL season).
Under a twenty-two-week NRL season, I would change the NRL from a single sixteen-team league into two eight-team divisions. Under a two-division model, every team plays every other team in their division twice (fourteen games) and every team in the other division once (eight games). Added benefits of a division system include; adding excitement to the end of the season, knowing that fewer spots are available for the finals, and it would also increase the number of local derbies between teams, with teams divided along geographical lines. There are ten teams in New South Wales, so I cannot put all New South Wales teams in one division. Newcastle would move to the other division, leaving the nine Sydney teams. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to move one of the nine Sydney teams to the other division; the only option would be to move St. George Illawarra based on the Dragons being based in Illawarra. I would name the Sydney division after Victor Trumper. Victor Trumper helped start Rugby League in Australia along with Henry Hoyle and James Joseph Giltinan. Unlike Henry (first president) and James (J.J Giltinan shield), Victor is not honoured. I would name the other conference after Arthur Beetson (although it would not surprise me if the divisions have naming rights sponsors instead). The divisions are as follows:
Trumper: Canterbury Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks, Manly Sea Eagles, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, Wests Tigers
Beetson: Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Gold Coast Titans, Melbourne Storm, Newcastle Knights, North Queensland Cowboys, St George Illawarra Dragons, Warriors
Under a two-division system, the same amount of finals games would be played, and the two divisions would have separate finals series until the grand final. The top four sides from each division would battle it over the first three weeks, with the two remaining sides battling it out in the Grand Final in week four.
Week 1
Key: T= Trumper, B = Beetson
Match 1: T1 vs. T4
Match 2: T2 vs. T3
Match 3: B1 vs. B4
Match 4: B2 vs. B3
The highest-ranked winner from each division progresses to week 3. Lowest ranked loser from each division eliminated
Week 2
Match 5: Second highest-ranked winner vs. highest-ranked Loser (T)
Match 6: Second highest-ranked winner vs. highest-ranked Loser (B)
Week 3 (Division grand final)
Match 7: Highest Ranked Winner from week one vs. winner of match 5 (T)
Match 8: Highest Ranked Winner from week one vs. winner of match 6 (B)
Week 4 (Grand Final)
Winner of match 7 v winner of match 8
When the NRL expands to eighteen teams, I will change the structure from two divisions of eight teams to three divisions of six teams. Again I would base the divisions on their geographical nature. Manly would move from the Trumper division to the Beetson division. I would add the fourth Queensland team to the Beetson division. Cronulla would move from the Trumper division to the newly created Gasnier division, along with Canberra, Cronulla, Melbourne, St. George Illawarra and the Warriors, who would all move from the Beetson division. I would also add Perth to the Gasnier division. Under the three-division model, every team plays every team in their division twice (ten games) and plays every team in the other two divisions once (twelve games)
Trumper: Canterbury, Parramatta, Penrith, South Sydney, Sydney, Wests
Beetson: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Manly, Newcastle, North Queensland, fourth QLD team
Gasnier: Canberra, Cronulla, Melbourne, Perth St George Illawarra, Warriors
The finals would work entirely differently, with teams from each division playing other divisional teams throughout the finals; however, the same amount of games would exist. In this finals mode, the two highest-ranked teams from each division would enter the finals, as would two wild card teams (who are the next two best-ranked from any division)
Week 1
Match 1: Highest-ranked division team vs. 2nd Wild Card Team
Match 2: Second highest ranked division team vs. 1st Wild Card team
Match 3: Third-highest division ranked team vs. 3rd-best rated second team.
Match 4: The highest team ranked 2nd in any division vs. the 2nd Best team ranked 2nd in any division.
The two highest-ranked winners progress to week 3. Two Lowest ranked losers are eliminated.
Week 2
Match 5: Highest-ranked team not advancing to week 3 vs. Lowest ranked team remaining.
Match 6: Second Highest ranked team not advancing to week 3 vs. Second lowest-ranked team remaining
Week 3
Match 7: Highest-ranked team from week one vs. Winner of Match 6
Match 8: Second highest-ranked team from week one vs. Winner of Match 5
Week 4 (Grand Final)
Winner of match 7 v winner of match 8
During the current representative weekend, City (Sydney) takes on Country New South Wales, with the match being played in rural New South Wales Queensland players get the weekend off, with many believing that the majority of players are eligible for QLD Country and not enough would be eligible for City (Brisbane). I decided to do what I did to figure out the teams for New Zealand Origin (to see how I selected those sides to see: Representative Rugby League); I used the 2015 NRL Season Guide to see who fell in QLD City and who fell in QLD Country. Players, who played in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League, fell into QLD City and players who did not fell into QLD Country. Based on my figures QLD City (Brisbane) has thirty-five players, compared to QLD Country, which has fifty-nine players. Kirisome Auvaá, John Folau, John Green & Korbin Sims were all born and played junior football outside Queensland, so they could not be placed in either team. To see which player falls into which side, also a top 17 based on current representative teams and injuries, see below this blog post.
In 1963 the NSWRFL introduced a completion which was called the Inter-District competition. Its objective was to provide competition for larger clubs in each district to compete against each other. In 1964 the competition was renamed Second Division. In 1966 the NSWRFL decided to expand the ten-team first-grade completion and include two new clubs. The league decided that the two teams would come from the Second Division competition. One of the spots was guaranteed to the Cronulla Sharks, and the other was between competition heavyweights the Wentworthville Magpies (who had won the previous two competitions) and the Penrith Panthers. Wentworthville was the favourite; however, Penrith was chosen due to them winning the 1996 competition and Wentworthville’s proximity to the Parramatta Eels.
After the 1973 season, the NSWRFL reorganised the Second Division, and the competition would become the Metropolitan League. Wentworthville Magpies (who had won 8 out of the 11 titles) believed that the Metropolitan League was inferior and left for the Illawarra Rugby League. In Wentworthville’s absence, the Ryde-Eastwood Hawks would dominate the competition, winning every year until the demise of the competition in 1976.
The NSWRL would re-introduce a third-tier competition in 1990. with the Metropolitan Cup. The Metropolitan Cup would feature clubs who had featured in the old leagues, such as the Wentworthville Magpies and the Ryde-Eastwood Hawks. Clubs who would play in the Metropolitan Cup over the years included: The Bankstown Greyhounds, Cabramatta Two Blues, Guildford Owls, Hills District Bulls, Kellyville Bushrangers, Moorebank Rams, Mount Pritchard, St Marys, Sydney Bulls, UTS Roosters, West Wollongong, Windsor Wolves and the Newtown Jets who joined the completion in 1991.
In 2003 after restructuring all NSWRL competitions, the NSWRL created the Jim Beam Cup. The Jim Beam Cup would be a semi-professional competition with teams operating under a points system. Each player has a number worth (based on experience) instead of a salary cap. The inaugural Jim Beam Cup would feature teams across Sydney and four from the Central Coast. Teams taking part in 2003 included: Erina Eagles, Guildford Owls, Newtown Jets, Ourimbah Magpies, Ryde-Eastwood Hawks, St. Marys-Penrith Cougars, South Sydney Juniors (South Sydney feeder team), Sydney Bulls, The Entrance Tigers, Wentworthville Magpies, Windsor Wolves and Woy Woy Roosters.
St. Marys-Penrith Cougars would leave after the first year to focus on the NSW Cup and its partnership with the Penrith Panthers. They would be replaced by the Cabramatta Two-Blues. Guildford Owls, Ryde-Eastwood Hawks and the South Sydney Juniors would all leave at the end of 2004, citing the new poker machines tax. The competition would welcome the Asquith Magpies and the Belrose Eagles, and Ourimbah Magpies would fail to complete the season.
Wy Woy Roosters would leave at the end of 2005, another club falling victim to the poker machines tax. In 2007 Chester Hill Rhinos, Mount Pritchard Mounties and the Seven Hills Demons would all join the competition, and the Newtown Jets bowed out as they concentrated on the NSW Cup. In 2008 the WA Reds entered the competition, seeing it as the first step to entering a team in the NRL. Also joining in 2008 were the East Campbelltown Eagles, the Shellharbour Sharks (a feeder to the St. George Illawarra Dragons) and the Southern Sharks (a feeder to the Cronulla Sharks and in partnership with Southern Districts Rugby Union club). Entrance Tigers, Asquith Magpies and Seven Hills Demons would leave the competition.
2009 would see Bundaberg take over sponsorship, with the competition known as the Bundaberg Red Cup. Penrith Brothers would join the competition replacing the Belrose Eagles. Chester Hill Rhinos and the WA Reds (deciding to put a team in the SG Ball competition) would leave at the end of 2009, leaving an eight-team competition. Entrance Tigers would return in 2010. The Kingsgrove Colts would join the competition in 2011, replacing the East Campbelltown Eagles. The Sydney Bulls would fail to complete the season as the Canterbury Bulldogs formed a feeder with Bankstown Sports. Auburn Warriors (the Bulldogs’ new feeder) would join the competition in 2012, joining in 2012 would be: Blacktown Workers, Burwood North Ryde Wolves & St. Johns Eagles would all join the competition in 2012. 2012 would also see the berth of the Sydney Shield (a reserve-grade competition running a shorter season than the Bundaberg Red Cup). At the end of the season, Bundaberg would withdraw as naming rights sponsor, and with no new naming rights sponsors being found, the competition would be renamed the Ron Massey Cup.
Asquith Magpies & Guildford Owls would return in 2013. Also joining in 2013 would be the Western Suburbs Magpies (after the Wests Tigers merged its NSW Cup sides). New sides in the Sydney Shield were the Belrose Eagles and Hills District Bulls. Kingsgrove Colts would fail to complete the season in Sydney Shield and have only a Ron Massey Cup side from 2014. Entrance Tigers, Western Suburbs Magpies, and Windsor Wolves did not field a Sydney Shield side in 2013. New Sydney Shield sides in 2014 included the return of the East Campbelltown Eagles and Peninsula Seagulls. in 2015, Entrance Tigers would leave the Ron Massey Cup. Burwood North Ryde Wolves would only field a side in the Ron Massey Cup as Concord-Burwood United. Which leads to the current situation.
A-Grade Rugby League in Sydney is at a crucial junction, and unless action is taken soon, it will die. The problem is the gap between the clubs with financial backing (either from an individual or a leagues club) who dominate the so-called “pub teams”. The Cronulla, Manly/Norths, Parramatta & Penrith have all faced this problem and tried different solutions, yet none have worked. Meanwhile, fifteen clubs compete in competitions of a higher standard (The Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield) run by the NSWRL. Yet, there seems to be no incentive or reasoning for clubs to jump from one to the other, and most clubs have abandoned their local A-Grade for greener pastures. Then you have the Sydney Combined Competition [SCC (Balmain, Canterbury, St. George & Wests A-Grade)], which has many problems. The only A-Grade competition, which resembles working, is the Souths A-Grade competition. That only works because the South Sydney Junior League pays for the registration of all players, which eliminates player payments, yet even that is less dominant than in the past years. So how does it get fixed? Will it get fixed, or will Rugby League at the local level be left to die a slow, painful death?
Any player in the Cronulla district who wants to play a decent Rugby League travels to the Illawarra Coal League. The Manly/Norths A-Grade has seen a considerable reduction in the number of clubs in recent years, with most folding because they do not want to compete with the big clubs who have funds to play players and a couple of clubs, having seen the writing on the wall, have headed for the greener pastures of the Ron Massey Cup/Sydney Shield. Parramatta A-Grade has tried implementing a salary cap to stop the more prominent clubs from dominating. Penrith A-Grade tried a similar situation to Parramatta and employed a points system, yet the same clubs continue to dominate. These problems have also affected the Central Coast and Illawarra A-Grades. However, given they are the jurisdiction of the CRL instead of the NSWRL, any change made by the NSWRL will not affect these regions unless the CRL agree to the change.
As I mentioned, the SCC has all sorts of problems at the grade level. Because the SCC is run by the districts and not the NSWRL, referees are from the home team’s district. If a player is charged, he must face the judiciary of the referee’s association because there is no central governing body to fix wash-outs and makeup games; if a match cannot be played at a certain venue, the whole round is cancelled. A problem of the Ron Massey Cup/Sydney Shield is there seems to be no set structure between the competitions, Ron Massey is the top grade, yet some clubs feature only one team in the Sydney Shield instead of the Ron Massey Cup and some clubs’ field teams in both.
I think the best chance of fixing A-Grade Rugby League in Sydney is to encourage the clubs that dominate their local A-Grade districts (big fish in small ponds) to take the step up to the Sydney Shield; then, if the club does well in the Sydney Shield, they progress to the Ron Massey Cup. If a club does field a side in the Sydney Shield, they must keep their A-Grade side in their local competition. As mentioned, I would change the Ron Massey Cup to the main competition and the Sydney Shield to the competition for new clubs. This change would benefit clubs that have teams in both the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield, as most, if not all, were forced to field underage players or play with less than four players on the bench in 2014.
As of the 2015 season, two clubs field only a team in the Ron Massey Cup (Concord-Burwood United & Kingsgrove Colts). Four clubs only fielded teams in the Sydney Shield (Belrose Eagles, East Campbelltown Eagles, Hills District Bulls and the Peninsula Seagulls). The other nine clubs field teams in both competitions ‘(Asquith Magpies, Auburn Warriors, Blacktown Workers, Cabramatta Two Blues, Guildford Owls, Mount Pritchard Mounties, Wentworthville Magpies, Windsor Wolves and the Western Suburbs Magpies). There seems to be no reason why some clubs play in only one completion, not both. The four teams that compete solely in the Sydney Shield are newer clubs, having entered the competition in Sydney Shield as it is considered a lower standard. Out of all the sides listed above, only Auburn, Blacktown, Belrose, Hills District, Kingsrogve and Windsor are the only sides that currently have a side in grade and out of those, Auburn & Wentworthville are the only sides in A-Grade; the rest having teams in lower divisions of grade Rugby League.
For my restructure, I would bring the SCC under the control of the NSWRL and, if possible, find those teams in local district A-Grade competitions to compete in (see below this post to see what matches I move those clubs too. I would use the SCC as a testing ground for clubs to see how they go under a shorter season (same length season as a grade) but with similar rules to the current NSWRL competitions; 12/4 interchange and forty-minute halves. If the CRL agreed, the Central Coast grade divisions would be axed, with teams having the option to join the SCC or the Newcastle Rugby League. The Illawarra Coal league grade divisions would also be axed, with clubs moving to the SCC or entering the Group 7 Rugby League competition. Western Suburbs grade division sides from the current SCC would enter either Group 6 Rugby League Competition or the new SCC. The following clubs have two sides in either A-Grade divisions, a dominant club in their local competition or have been in the completion before so they could handle the move:
Central Coast: Erina, The Entrance, Ourimbah, Woy Woy, Wyong Cronulla: Aquinas, Como, Cronulla-Caringbah, De La Salle, Engadine, Gymea Illawarra: Collegians, Corrimal, Dapto, Helensburgh, Thirroul, Wests
Manly/Norths: Valley United, Narrabeen Penrith: (Brothers, Cambridge Park, Coylan/Mt Druitt, Doonside, Emu Plains, Glenmore Park Hawkesbury City, St Clair, St Marys, St Patricks, Quakers Hill, Western City Souths: (Coogee, La Perouse, R.A.B.) SCC: (Al Saints, Bass Hill Ingleburn, Minto)
One last change I would make is to rename the Ron Massey Cup to the Sydney Cup; the trophy they can play is the Ron Massey Cup; however, if it is renamed the Sydney Cup, there is a clear pathway from Sydney Shield to Sydney Cup to NSW Cup.
And Another Thing: Congratulations to David Collier on being appointed the new CEO of the RLIF, as well as the first full-time employee of the RLIF Best of luck to David on what is a tough road getting the RLIF set up with more full-time employees and dealing with the uniqueness that is Rugby League.
Quote of the Week: The Great Channel Seven AFL commentator Dennis Cometti, during a Bulldogs v Tigers game, after the Bulldogs’ Robert Murphy took a mark and then narrowly escaped the clutches of Richmond’s Jake Batchelor: “Murphy was just flirting with the idea of playing on and Batchelor let him go. No wonder he’s a bachelor!”
f you want to contact me, you can email me. Remember to like the page on Facebook to find out when new blog posts are available. Also, to find out the latest news, views and opinions from the world of Rugby League. Follow me on Twitter to get all this, plus live and full-time scores from every game in the NRL. As well as full-time scores from; Super League, Intrust Super Premiership Cup, Intrust Super Cup, Kingstone Press Championship, Kingstone Press League 1, Ron Massey Cup and Brisbane Rugby League.
Till next time,
Cheese
| Queensland City | Queensland Country | |
| Gerard Beale | Fullback | Ben Barba |
| Lachlan Maranta | Wing | Cameron Munster |
| William Zillman | Centre | Kyle Feldt |
| Dane Gagai | Centre | Justin Hodges |
| Dale Copley | Wing | Justin O’Neil |
| Corey Norman | Five-Eighth | Michael Morgan |
| Anthony Milford | Halfback | Ben Hunt |
| David Tyrell | Prop | Jacob Lillyman |
| Matt Srama | Hooker | Jake Friend |
| Dylan Napa | Prop | Ben Hannant |
| David Stagg | Second Row | Dave Taylor |
| Corey Parker | Second Row | Chris McQueen |
| Jason Bukuya | Lock | Matt Gillett |
| David Hala | Interchange | Scott Bolton |
| Francis Molo | Interchange | Moses Mbye |
| Kurt Baptiste | Interchange | Chris Grevsmuhl |
| Jamie Dowling | Interchange | Tim Glasby |
Qld City: Kurt Baptiste, Jason Bukuya, Gerard Beale, Will Chambers, Dale Copley, Cooper Cronk, Mitchell Dodds, Jamie Dowling, Dane Gagai, David Hala, Hymel Hunt, Greg Inglis, Banko Lee, Edrick Lee, Ricky Leutele, Dunamius Lui, Lachlan Maranta, Anthony Milford, Francis Molo, Dylan Napa, Corey Norman, Josh Papalii, Corey Parker, David Shillington, Cameron Smith, Matt Srama, David Stagg, Corey Thompson, Jonathan Thurston, David Tyrrell, Daniel Vidot, Aaron Whitchurch, Antonio Winterstein, William Zillman
QLD Country: Matt Ballin, Luke Bateman, Ben Barba, Scot Bolton, Darius Boyd, Daly Cherry-Evans, Gavin cooper, Jordan Drew, Brendan Elliott, Kyle Feldt, Jake Friend, Nathan Friend, Matt Gillett, Tim Glasby, Jake Granville, Chris Grevsmuhl, Aidan Guerra, Ben Hampton, Ben Hampton, Jayden Hodges, Justin Hodges, Valentine Holes, Sam Hoare, Ben Hunt, Felise Kaufusi, Antonio Kaufusi, Martin Kennedy, Brenton Lawrence, Jacob Lllyman, Ben Lowe, Ethan Lowe, Robert Lui, Andrew McCullough, Nene McDonald, Chris McQueen, Kurt Maan, Moses Mbye, Tantau Moga, Michael Morgan, Kieran Mosely, Cameron Munster, Nate Myles, Dane Nielsen, Pat O’Hanlon, Justin O’Neil, Corey Oates, Joe Ofagengaue, Lloyd Perrett, Zac Santo, Matt Scott, James Segeyaro, Chris Sandow, Billy Slater, Ben Spina, Dave Taylor, Sam Thaiday, Ray Thompson, Travis Waddell
SCC restructure
Cronulla: Arncliffe Scots, Kingsgrove, Hurstville, Penshurst RSL, Renown, Riverwood Legion, St. George
Parramatta: All Saints Liverpool, Auburn, Barala, Bass Hill, East Hills, Five Dock RSL, Moorebank, Regents Park, St Christophers, St Johns
Group 6: East Campbelltown, Campbelltown, Ingleburn, Liverpool, Minto