Wayne Bennett's Origin Proposal in this morning's Telegraph

[gbrussell]

Surprised that no one has mentioned Bennett's thoughts on condensing the origin series to 4 weeks as published in this morning's Telegraph.

Basically the three games are played on 3 successive Wednesday Nights, with both states allowed to pick squads of 22 players, 9 days before Origin 1. During the period from the round before Origin 1 to the round after origin 3, all clubs will get 2 byes, with only 4 club games scheduled per round. This seems quite a bit fairer than at present where some clubs get two pre-origin byes and others have to play club football on all the pre-origin weekends. The 5 players in each squad who don't make the final 17 are allowed to play for their clubs during the 4 week period, but all players selected are not, and all players in each squad are not allowed to play for their clubs until 9 days after origin 3.

There possibly some faults that I have not been able to determine as yet, but I think at this stage it seems the best system we have heard for a while. I have emailed the NRL saying that I feel it is worth a go.

Any thoughts.

 

[CroydonDog]

I do think that at present, origin is stretched out way too far. Teams are disrupted for almost 2 months.

Also, we should scrap the byes, unless they can be properly distributed between the clubs.

 

[Papa Emeritus]

If the NRL is unwilling to suspend the NRL entirely for 3 weekends, then this is a far superior option to what we have going on now.

 

[Ecca]

if you scrap the byes and simply do split rounds, you would have

Weekend 1 - 4 Matches
Wednesday 1 - SOO 1
Weekend 2 - 4 matches
Wednesday 2 - SOO 2
Weekend 3 - 4 Matches
Wednesday 3 - SOO 3
Weekend 4 - 4 Matches

ALL ORIGIN PLAYERS CANNOT PLAY THESE CLUB MATCHES.

this way, each club is impacted for 2 matches only due to origin players being out, it is wrapped up in 2 rounds over 4 weeks, and we can get back to the Dogs winning the comp

 

[gbrussell]

I do think that at present, origin is stretched out way too far. Teams are disrupted for almost 2 months.

Also, we should scrap the byes, unless they can be properly distributed between the clubs.

On the surface the Bennett plan seems fair. All clubs play twice and get 2 byes in a 4 week period. Presently the draw makers have to anticipate who might get picked and thus which clubs are likely to be disadvantaged, and it is easy to get it wrong, particularly with the NSW Team. This system removes the guesswork and gives all clubs a fair crack.

 

[Psycho Doggie]

This is a fairer system than at present. Its still not as fair as it ought to be, but at least some people with names in RL are putting ideas forward that attempt to improve the present situation.

 

[Nano]

Bennett has been in the business for a long time and has been very good at it, the NRL should listen to him on a few issues he had noticed that are still around from his earlier days

 

[DoggiesUtd]

Bennet knows the game and like the article says...he has been telling the people in charge for about 4-5 years...the players are crying out for help over the origin period...the fans feel disadvantaged (and we are) but still the hierarchy wont change it up...
either way...until every team plays eachother twice home & away...it will never be a fair and even comp

 

[blueyedsamurai]

A problem would be if you get injured there is no way you could come back and play like you can in the current origin fixture.

Also what if in the first game nsw or qld got flogged 50-0, you wouldn't have any club games to judge replacements on form. You would either have to take a risk and keep the same side or drop most of the players.

 

[chris_e_fresh]

It's not fair to any of the teams that have a few players in s.o.o
It's an outdated concept that doesn't allow any internationals to play either

The NRL is stuck in the past no wonder the afl is taking over

It's needs to change and change quickly

The only reason it's been hyped the last few years because qld have dominated if that wasn't the case no one would realy care that much about it

 

[gbrussell]

One thing I thought of is that the draw will have to be set up, so the 8 teams who have the bye in week 1, have the bye in week 3, and those who have it in week 2, have it in week 4. Therefore the comp will have to split into two halves so your second game is against a team that played their first game in the same week as you. Otherwise you would end up having a bye two straight weeks, which has to be avoided. Draw can be easily programmed. Teams play each other on the same day every year, ie Souths V Dogs at Easter, Saints V Roosters and Melbourne V Warriors on Anzac Day. That is not co-incidence, draws can be rigged.

 

[gbrussell]

It's not fair to any of the teams that have a few players in s.o.o
It's an outdated concept that doesn't allow any internationals to play either

The NRL is stuck in the past no wonder the afl is taking over

It's needs to change and change quickly

The only reason it's been hyped the last few years because qld have dominated if that wasn't the case no one would realy care that much about it

NRL, the ARL and the NSWRL have always been behind the times when it comes to forward thinking and many of the ideas such as McIntyre finals system, and the finals system we have now, were invented by AFL and Rugby League borrowed them. This is why the solution to Origin is difficult, because no other game has this problem. While I am not a fan of "Happy Joe Happy" Bennett as a person, his idea is the best I have heard in a while, and his experiences with Origin players is something the NRL top dogs don't have. Thus they should listen to him. I support his idea, but I think the biggest impediment to it being brought in, is co-operation from TV. Over the years they, (particularly Ch 9) have shown scant-regard for player welfare with their game selections, forcing teams to backup 2 days after Origin, and even worse forcing teams to play in the Sunday heat in March and then backup on Friday Night. The NRL needs to do what the AFL did and tell Ch 9 what is expected of them. The AFL did that and 9 took a hike after 2 years because they thought they were in charge and clearly weren't. 9 has to be on board with this or nothing will change.

 

[chris_e_fresh]

NRL, the ARL and the NSWRL have always been behind the times when it comes to forward thinking and many of the ideas such as McIntyre finals system, and the finals system we have now, were invented by AFL and Rugby League borrowed them. This is why the solution to Origin is difficult, because no other game has this problem. While I am not a fan of "Happy Joe Happy" Bennett as a person, his idea is the best I have heard in a while, and his experiences with Origin players is something the NRL top dogs don't have. Thus they should listen to him. I support his idea, but I think the biggest impediment to it being brought in, is co-operation from TV. Over the years they, (particularly Ch 9) have shown scant-regard for player welfare with their game selections, forcing teams to backup 2 days after Origin, and even worse forcing teams to play in the Sunday heat in March and then backup on Friday Night. The NRL needs to do what the AFL did and tell Ch 9 what is expected of them. The AFL did that and 9 took a hike after 2 years because they thought they were in charge and clearly weren't. 9 has to be on board with this or nothing will change.

i agree 100%