‘More blockbusters, more competition’: Buzz’s radical revolution to change NRL forever

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‘More blockbusters, more competition’: Buzz’s radical revolution to change NRL forever
NRL PREMIERSHIP

• May 3, 2021 1:25pm
• Source: FOX SPORTS
• 
  The Bulldogs are struggling this season. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
• 
  
• While debate around conferences and expansion rages on, a new alternative to revamp rugby league into the future has been floated.
  The Daily Telegraph’s Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield put forward a controversial promotion, relegation system which he believes will lead to a superior product.
  Writing a column for the Telegraph, Rothfield recommended relegating two clubs to have a streamlined 14-team NRL premiership and 10-team Championship, which would work as a second division.
  https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/match-centre/NRL20210908
  
  
  
  
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  One team would be promoted and relegated every year with the bottom-two teams on the leader to initially drop down to the Championship on its introduction.
  Rothfield recommends traditional clubs like the North Sydney Bears and Newtown Jets could play in the Championship, with a potential chance to return to the NRL.
  They could then be joined by the second Brisbane and New Zealand teams.
  Rothfield also adds a NSW Country team based out of the Riverina could play a role, with home games in towns like Dubbo, Bathurst, Mudgee, Tamworth, Armidale and Coffs Harbour.
  
  He joined the Big Sports Breakfast on Monday to argue why he believes such a change is worth discussing, stressing it would not be immediately implemented but a potential long-term solution for the future of the game.
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  “If you have two conferences, you’ve really got to bring another two teams in. That’s 18 teams,” he said.
  “I don’t think we’ve got enough players for 16 teams from some of the football and blowouts I see each week. It is affecting the quality of the competition.
  “I love promotion and relegation in European soccer and would love to see it happen in the NRL. I think we should have a 14-team NRL competition with a $10 million salary cap.
  “More blockbusters, more competition each week, not as many blowouts and then we have a 10-team Championship second-division competition where you could reintroduce the North Sydney Bears, Newtown Jets - you could have a NSW Country side.
  “There’s the talk about the second Brisbane team, a Wellington team, why can’t they be introduced and get their taste of football through this second-tier competition? What I particularly like is the games at the end of the season with the bottom-four clubs will be blockbusters. Now they’re dead rubbers.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Rothfield argued a promotion and relegation system could address a key issue that he believes is “holding the game back.”
  “I don’t like struggling clubs holding the game back. I watch every game every weekend. Some of the games I struggle to get through because they’re blowouts,” he said.
  “I know who is going to win well in advance. It’s not edge-of-your-seat sport. The NRL is an elite competition. It’s the toughest sport on the planet but there are teams that turn up every year and get automatically into the competition.
  “Wouldn’t you like to see the Bears and Newtown back in the Championship. Can you imagine the excitement?”
  League legend Laurie Daley was not convinced though, adding he believes grassroots rugby league should be a priority.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  “I’d love to see them but not at the expense of some of the other clubs,” he said.
  “I’m not [happy with blowouts] but all I want is to see how we can reconnect the game at all levels and take the game forward for the next 50 years.
  “I worry, not about the top end because we’ll always have a game of rugby league at the top end. My biggest fear is the grassroots and particularly country rugby league. I think we need to do a lot more in those areas.”
  Rothfield replied that is where the NSW Country team comes in.
  “What I love about this Championship competition, the 10 teams. Can you imagine the NSW Country side based out of Wagga Wagga,” he said.
  “It is a satellite side so they play games around the state at Armidale, Tamworth, Dubbo and Parkes but mostly at Wagga. Every kid in the bush would grow up with a dream of wearing that jersey.
  “You know what, if they were a really good footy side and did get their act together, they could become an NRL club. This would be the biggest shot in the arm for country football ever. I just want to see it discussed.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Fellow Big Sports Breakfast host and cricket great Michael Clarke though was also sceptical of Rothfield’s proposal.
  “I don’t think it’s [NRL] broken so I don’t think it needs to be fixed,” he said.
  “I think the new rules have separated teams a bit more than the last few years. I know it is a competitive world and market.
  “Even things like Origin we have had conversations on who should and should not be allowed to play Origin and maybe the viewership is not exactly what it used to be.
  “But Origin is unbelievable and awesome, it’s not broken, I don’t think it needs to be fixed either. I look forward every single January for cricket season to be over, to watch rugby league.”
  Rothfield replied that he at times could “lose interest after 20 rounds because there is half-a-dozen teams who can’t make the top eight”.
  “But that’s always been the way,” Clarke responded.
  “That’s what I’ve grown up with.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Rothfield though pointed out that Clarke’s own sport had benefited from unconventional ideas and discussions.
  “What would have happened if cricket just sat with Test matches and didn’t do something bold like, originally, Kerry Packer introduced one-day cricket under lights,” he said.
  “What would have happened if Channel 10 didn’t get the television rights and said: ‘Hold on. We’re not interested in Test cricket, we’ve got a prime time TV product at night and along came the Big Bash, the IPL, the World Cup, the women playing T20 and putting 80,000 bums on the MCG.
  “We’ve got to think outside tradition. It is worth discussing.
  “My argument is this, too many times this year on the TAB we’ve had sides starting at $1.06, $1.08 and $1.10. That is not elite sport.
  “Clubs are always going to go through cycles and not be as strong as they should but this will put the onus on clubs to start getting their houses in order, start managing like the Storm and Roosters and better management will ensure their survival.”

‘More blockbusters, more competition’: Buzz’s radical revolution to change NRL forever

‘More blockbusters, more competition’: Buzz’s radical revolution to change NRL forever

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[CroydonDog]

" Every kid in the bush would grow up with a dream of wearing that jersey. "

No, they wouldn't.

 

[Psycho Doggie]

Drunk bastard stole my idea.

 

[Psycho Doggie]

Drunk bastard stole my idea.

From a post way back in 2014 (click to see original post):

I'd love to see an NRL second division. Four of the teams that are struggling financially or performance-wise (often both) could drop down to that. Add some new teams from all the places that would like a franchise (Perth, Central Coast, Wellington, Brisbane x 2, Adelaide, etc), and maybe give old teams like Newtown and the Bears a chance to be a front line team again, and you can have 2 divisions of 12 teams each. Bottom two teams in Div 1 each season drop down, top 2 teams in Div 2 each season promote.

It would mean we could go back to having every team play each other twice a season again. And there'd be a new level between the state Cups (NSW, QLD) and the top flight.

 

[Psycho Doggie]

I'm not sure what I'm more upset about, that my idea got stolen, or that it was Butt Rotliver that did the stealing...

 

[wendog33]

"will put the onus on clubs to start getting their houses in order, start managing like the Storm and Roosters and better management will ensure their survival.”

Oh good now we can follow their sc somberos and underhanded methods.

 

[Vlasnik]

"will put the onus on clubs to start getting their houses in order, start managing like the Storm and Roosters and better management will ensure their survival.”

Oh good now we can follow their sc somberos and underhanded methods.

Well as they say wendog cheating is a choice not a mistake

 

[wendog33]

Well as they say wendog cheating is a choice not a mistake

Another saying....if you can't beat 'em: join 'em lol

You have to laugh.
Ok those clubs are undoubtedly run well and have good coaching systems but for a bottom club its not that simple (as many on here have explained with overs to attract marque etc)

Slow process for us and hard times but we do seem to be building a competitive squad under the worst of all conditions.

 

[Alan79]

Grogfield has gone into depth over everything except the issues at hand.

I think following this idea is an attempt to alter the whole game in order to cater to the deficiencies created by the administration of the game being poor and clueless.

There are two issues that need attention. First being the salary cap. This concept of top teams being able to offer unders means that it's hard to ever bring them back to the field. In reality I can't help but suspect every player that supposedly takes massive underpayments is actually getting money outside of the cap. If a club can't offer close to what the highest bid is on a player, they shouldn't be able to make an offer at all.

Secondly. The referees are absolute shit these days. Rules shouldn't have massive grey areas. You know that when coaches are fined for being critical, that admin is covering things up in hopes that the fans don't get pissed off. You know that refs are fucked if they have to introduce ref challenges. And most of all this six again bullshit just let's refs make calls without even offering explanation.

The one thing from grogfields article I agree with is that I have largely lost interest in the game. But that's largely because of the fact that the cap and referees are useless in making this competition a level playing field.

 

[chisdog]

First thing you do if you want an even competition is have a real salary cap. Al the ad-ons have destroyed it like Cooper Cronk's $50k bonus educational expenses. Add a points system to even it up.

The sencond thing you do is have referees officiate honestly & not on expectation, you know like they did in the old days until Bill Harrigan @#$%ed it up.

 

[chisdog]

Grogfield has gone into depth over everything except the issues at hand.

I think following this idea is an attempt to alter the whole game in order to cater to the deficiencies created by the administration of the game being poor and clueless.

There are two issues that need attention. First being the salary cap. This concept of top teams being able to offer unders means that it's hard to ever bring them back to the field. In reality I can't help but suspect every player that supposedly takes massive underpayments is actually getting money outside of the cap. If a club can't offer close to what the highest bid is on a player, they shouldn't be able to make an offer at all.

Secondly. The referees are absolute shit these days. Rules shouldn't have massive grey areas. You know that when coaches are fined for being critical, that admin is covering things up in hopes that the fans don't get pissed off. You know that refs are fucked if they have to introduce ref challenges. And most of all this six again bullshit just let's refs make calls without even offering explanation.

The one thing from grogfields article I agree with is that I have largely lost interest in the game. But that's largely because of the fact that the cap and referees are useless in making this competition a level playing field.

I think we were typing at the same time. Yep, the administrators are the ones who have ruined things talked into changes by Gould & Johns & Co.

 

[TwinTurbo]

The problem with the relegation system is that it makes it almost impossible for the lower teams to recruit quality players. Think about it, how hard is it for the bottom NRL teams now to attract players away from signing with the top teams, and that's with one combined competition. Start threatening the players with getting stuck in a 2nd tier competition and imagine how much harder it will be to recruit them. The teams in danger of being relegated will be paying overs on top of overs, on top of overs, and that's just for "maybe" players.

Another, are the 2nd tier teams going to have the same Salary Cap as the top tier teams? I hardly think so, which means they will have even more problem recruiting players.

Have another bottle of scotch Buzz and think about it some more.

Go Dogs

 

[Disposable Hero]

Drunken fuck only loves it because it is his idea. Drunken Dumbass

 

[alchemist]

relegation only really works if there is a proper pyramid of clubs of 2+ national levels and then regional leagues below that then allows for a trickle down in money and thus, development of the game at a grass roots level and upward mobility for lower league clubs rewarding success with promotion

it cannot work here in rugby league... and I say that having watched European football all my life

the biggest issue in the game is money and junior player involvement

 

[Bazildog]

From a post way back in 2014 (click to see original post):

I'd love to see an NRL second division. Four of the teams that are struggling financially or performance-wise (often both) could drop down to that. Add some new teams from all the places that would like a franchise (Perth, Central Coast, Wellington, Brisbane x 2, Adelaide, etc), and maybe give old teams like Newtown and the Bears a chance to be a front line team again, and you can have 2 divisions of 12 teams each. Bottom two teams in Div 1 each season drop down, top 2 teams in Div 2 each season promote.

It would mean we could go back to having every team play each other twice a season again. And there'd be a new level between the state Cups (NSW, QLD) and the top flight.

Mate, the dero Drunkfield probs read it on here and then made it his own. Drunks dont think, they just try to remember...

 

[Psycho Doggie]

Mate, the dero Drunkfield probs read it on here and then made it his own. Drunks dont think, they just try to remember...

It's insulting is what it is. It would be like discovering your new favourite song was actually written by Justin Bieber.

 

[Caveman]

Gotta fix the salary crap before you can even think about implementing something like this.

 

[Raysie]

No one talks about relegation until we're in last place.

 

[Scoooby]

Drunkard !!

 

[James zac]

Can’t work not enough players not enough money not enough juniors