Draw aims to please many masters
BETWEEN an 11-day break from all club games during the Origin period, fewer five-day turnarounds and trying to serve up the most popular clubs on the biggest nights, the NRL has tried to please as many masters as possible in their 2018 draw.
The NRL did not give the small-market teams what they needed with Gold Coast, Newcastle and Canberra receiving just one appearance each in the prime Thursday and Friday night timeslots.
The Broncos, with 13 freeto-air night slots, and the most popular Sydney clubs all get the most free-to-air exposure.
The Cowboys have been rewarded with 10 free-to-air games, home and away, across Thursday and Friday nights.
Despite the NRL having said for so long that it would “take back’’ the draw from 2018 from the broadcasters, the fact remains the league needs to maximise TV ratings to shore up the value of its rights.
The NRL has compressed the fixture into a 25-week regular season, one fewer than in recent years, as a gesture towards player workload, with Collective Bargaining Agreement talks continuing over the next week with the Rugby League Players Association.
Teams will have one bye next season rather than two and all have 11 days off around the stand-alone Origin match on Sunday, June 24 in Sydney.