Clubs on move as NRL affected by World Cup
The NRL has copped the full brunt of the Fifa Women’s World Cup in their draw, with 13 games moved and another two still needing to find a venue due to stadium clashes.
The league unveiled the biggest schedule of the NRL era yesterday, with 204 regularseason matches beginning with Parramatta hosting Melbourne on March 2.
Penrith will play the Eels in a grand final rematch in round four on March 23, while the NRL is still working on the finer details of a two-week pre-season event.
The season will run over 27 rounds, with each team receiving three byes, with more games moved to Sunday nights from the Friday 6pm timeslot after State of Origin games.
But the most notable factor is the havoc caused by the Fifa World Cup.
With several major stadiums out of action for up to two months, Melbourne’s games against Penrith and Parramatta, in rounds 18 and 22, respectively, are currently marked as TBA.
The most likely result is that the fixtures will be moved to Marvel Stadium, but that would depend on clashes with the AFL who own the ground.
Brisbane will play three games at the Gabba, the Sydney Roosters will turn out twice at
the SCG and a double-header will be held at Perth with the Dolphins playing Newcastle and South Sydney hosting Cronulla.
One place teams will not be taking matches en masse is New Zealand.
After all the talk of repaying the Warriors and New Zealand NRL fans after two- and-a-half years of no home games, only the Tigers will take a match to Waikato.
The Warriors have also been largely forgotten when it comes to free-to-air TV matches, receiving the least with just two.
Melbourne, Brisbane, South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters each have 13 games on Channel Nine, while Gold Coast are next worst off with four before Canterbury and Newcastle on seven.
The Knights will also miss out on playing at Magic Round, becoming the unlucky side to cop the bye in round 10.