
2014 National Rugby League Premiership
By W D Nicolson - November 29, 2013
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That's nice to know sure, but what if www.wdnicolson.com had a chance to put together the draw for the opening round of 2014?
In short we are looking for games that will draw fans through the gates in their respective timeslots, while also considering the TV value of the prime time games. Something that just makes too much sense to us is why wouldn't you work out your Round 1 matchups and then build the rest of your 26 round draw around that?
Ask yourself this - is it really that hard to build and tinker with your draw based around a blockbuster Round 1 in mind, considering the powers that be have already been tinkering with the initial computer draw to satisfy club and TV requests for the last couple of months?
We'd love your feedback either as a comment below or shoot us a tweet via @NRLTweet
Note: All times are Sydney based - with the theory being it brings the biggest audience for Channel Nine and Fox Sports and thus lines up somewhat with the timeslots they'll likely use in 2014.
Here. We. Go.



Friday Night Football - 8:00pm at Newcastle


Saturday Afternoon Football - 5:00pm at Parramatta/ANZ




Sunday Afternoon Football - 2:00pm (4:00pm local) at Auckland




Sunday Night Football - 6:30pm (7:30pm local) at Gold Coast


Monday Night Football - 7:30pm at Melbourne


So to summarise - Round 1 has 3 games in Sydney (Thu, Sat and Sun - incl. 2 on Channel 9), then a game in Newcastle (Fri - Channel 9), Townsville (Sat), Auckland (Sun), the Gold Coast (Sun) and Melbourne (Mon).
If anything should grab you about how we've structured the Round 1 draw it is this: We are a National Rugby League after all - so scheduling 5 of the 8 games out of Sydney to open the season means you maximise the excitement away from Sydney while at the same time creating a need for people to go to the stand-alone marquee games in Sydney - it makes little sense to ski-double up Sydney games in Round 1 as you are simply cutting down your potential crowds.
The only real downside to our draw is there no game in Brisbane to open the season, but if you Queensland fans are truly the most passionate in Rugby League - you can go watch the Titans down the road on Sunday night you know...
So www.wdnicolson.com's Round 1 Draw features a heavy dose of Common Sense and is truly an NRL Marketer's Dream... care to argue the point?
Do you think we've got the mix right for Round 1?
Do you agree or disagree with the inherent value of just 3 games in Sydney in Round 1 and 5 more spread around the competition?
Let us know what your Round 1 would be by commenting below or replying on Twitter.
James Maloney won the #NRLTweetPlayerofFinals Award and the Grand Final Man of the Match after his Roosters defeated Manly 26-18 in The Decider. You can hear the full voting results and Grand Final cap with Waz and Maria on Episode 145 of NOT The Footy Show - the Grand Final Review Podcast.
You can subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on iTunes - not sure if or when we'll be back on air again, but live in hope okay?
Do you agree or disagree with the inherent value of just 3 games in Sydney in Round 1 and 5 more spread around the competition?
Let us know what your Round 1 would be by commenting below or replying on Twitter.
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Listen to the GF Review Podcast here |
You can subscribe to the NOT The Footy Show Podcast on iTunes - not sure if or when we'll be back on air again, but live in hope okay?