WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS...
NRL EDITION
Part One
Christmas may be just a few days away but there is another countdown of sorts for NRL fans around the world that might feel just as important... because they are counting down the days until the Rugby League Season returns.
So what does everyone want for Christmas in the NRL sense?
And no we can't alter time, speed up the harvest or teleport you to the start of the 2011 season.
But we can try to advise the NRL about what we want them to do to try and improve the Greatest Game of All.
Here's the Top Ten Things I want from the NRL in 2011... Christmas Edition.
10. Bill Harrigan to stick to his guns and enforce basic rules in Rugby League.
Bill Harrigan came out swinging in his first press conference as Referees' Boss and said that amongst other things there would be a crackdown on
Sam Perrett--err players in general walking off the mark at the play the ball, that Off-Sides from kick-offs and drop outs would be punished and that the Scrum, yes the SCRUM would be policed.
The two easiest rules to enforce are the
Perrett Rule and the
Off-Side Rule.
For the Perrett Rule simply make the Touch Judges do some actual work and mark the point in line where the player is tackled. If Sam Perrett moves forward after he is tackled then PING him! This could also apply to other individuals in the Premiership but the over/under on times Sam Perrett is penalised for this indiscretion has been conservatively set at 51.5.
The Off-Side Rule is something Harrigan himself imposed on the game in the latter years of his refereeing career and he was very good at it. He would simply stand on the attacking side of halfway, further across to one side of the field and if a player stepped over the halfway line before the ball was kicked - he'd PING him!
So actually enforcing those two rules is not that difficult. Which makes you wonder why these two rules were so hard to enforce last year!
As for the Scrum... well in light of the Tigers-Roosters debacle in the Qualifying Final last year there's only so much that we can ask of Santa isn't there?
9. Seriously look into expanding the game into the West and finally give the Central Coast their Bears.
It really is that simple.
If the NRL is going to expand in 2013 or 2015 or whenever, the two locations that make the most sense are Perth with the
Western Reds (don't even think about changing the names you marketing types!) and Gosford with the
Central Coast Bears.
There are a number of other locations that have a case but as much as I'd love to see a Central Queensland team playing out of Rockhampton, a South Queensland//Ipswich/Brisbane team filling Suncorp Stadium every second week and a second team in New Zealand in Wellington or Christchurch - they are not realistic options right now.
Notice I didn't mention Adelaide?
Well that's because I'm a firm believer in the new Western Reds team being based in both Perth AND Adelaide. The Rams of the 1997 Super League season weren't a complete failure finishing 9th in the ten team comp. Then in the combined 20 team 1998 Premiership they managed to 'improve' to finish 17th. In short the people of South Australia deserve another chance to support a team, given the two years they did get weren't exactly a prime time for selling the game.
Perth offers many positives not least of all the extra TV time slot for live games in the Eastern States. They could share nib Stadium with the Western Force in Perth but what makes the most sense is to split the Reds' home games in a 75% Perth & 25% Adelaide ratio and give the WESTERN Reds a supporter base across two states.
Plus the chance to have a Kangaroo as a club mascot again is too good to pass up.
So bring back the Western Reds!
As for the Central Coast Bears returning... well if you've been to Blue Tongue Stadium for any sporting event you know how good it is and don't think for a second that the Central Coastians who didn't show up to watch the Northern Eagles did so because they didn't like Rugby League.
They didn't like Manly - and who can blame them?
North Sydney got royally stuffed by the elements when trying to build their new stadium in Gosford in the late 1990s and a sudden drop off in quality on the field by the Bears at the same time sealed their fate within the NRL criteria. They were forced into an ill-fated merger with Manly and it came as no surprise to anyone to see their Northern Eagles 'franchise' fall apart the moment Manly saw an opening to reclaim their Sea Eagles' identity.
The northern & north western suburbs of Sydney still remain without a genuine team that feels like their own (although Manly to their credit try to reach out and do support the local competitions). But Manly remain very much the Silvertails to anyone not living on the Northern Beaches, so if the new team was to play out of Gosford they could still attract large numbers of North Sydney fans who grew up with the Bears and hold out hope their team will return. The commute is also quite manageable from a centre like Hornsby or Castle Hill, so it's not a reach to suggest that the fans will travel to Gosford if THEIR team is playing.
Bring back the Central Coast Bears!
V
3rd Test Review
Due to being away for the Christmas Holidays there will not be daily recaps of the 4th Test. There will be 4th & 5th Test Reviews with Winners/Losers, Player Ratings & MVP Votes at the conclusion of the 5th Test Match.
Phil HUGHES
Alastair COOK - 8
