NRL’s longest season: The radical plan to start competition even earlier
The NRL is set to play its longest season ever by starting next year’s competition a week earlier and giving each club three byes over the course of a gruelling 27-round regular season.
Under an NRL proposal, the first match of the season could start as early as March 2, with the competition running until the traditional grand final held on the October long weekend.
The introduction of the Dolphins, the NRL’s newest franchise, has created scheduling complexities for next season and according to sources familiar with the situation, League Central has floated the prospect of starting the season just days after the end of summer.
The potential new start date would be the earliest the NRL has ever kicked off its season in recent history – coinciding with the start of a new broadcast rights agreement which will run through until 2027 – and be a fortnight before the AFL competition begins.
It comes with the NRL still exploring the viability of the 2023 season starting with a historic fixture played in the United States, likely to feature Manly and South Sydney.
If the NRL were to follow through with plans to have its opening game in Australia on the first weekend in March, it would mean the American game would have to played the week beforehand, in February. Both clubs would then be given a fortnight before their next game to allow them to travel back to Australia and recover.
Panthers star Dylan Edwards is one of the most durable players in the game.Credit:Getty
The controversial 27-round plan is being underpinned by each club being given three byes throughout the year, meaning all will still play 24 games during the regular season. It is not the only format being discussed, but has been shared with clubs before the NRL takes feedback.
The current 16-team competition features a 25-round regular season, with each club having one bye while a standalone representative weekend – which includes the second State of Origin match and Pacific Tests – features no club football.
But Origin’s return to three Wednesday night matches from next year means the representative round will be scrapped and NRL games will be played every weekend.
The Rugby League Players Association is already lobbying for NSW and Queensland players to be automatically stood down from club duties after Origin matches following one of the fastest – and most brutal – Origin matches ever played in the recent series decider.
The Panthers rested all seven of their Origin contingent the following weekend, but other stars such as James Tedesco and Daniel Tupou opted to back up less than 72 hours later with their team scrapping for a finals spot.
The NRL’s plan for three byes per team is designed to ease the workload on players, in particular Origin stars, but will have the regular season nudging closer to the hottest part of the year. The NRL will schedule a greater concentration of byes around the Origin period to alleviate the toll on clubs.
The proposal has been spoken about by several clubs, which are already contending with a crowded pre-season and the late return of players from the World Cup.
The annual All-Stars fixture is usually played in the second week of February, and the NRL has considered shifting that a week earlier too. But the idea is expected to be met with resistance given the shortened summer training bloc for clubs to have all players available.
The World Cup final will be played in the United Kingdom on November 19 meaning players from both teams will not return to their clubs for pre-season training until mid to late January.
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