V’Landyball and the Return of the Hill-Mongerers

As you’re no doubt aware if you follow NRL media, whether casually or intently, there was a stunning announcement, nay, assertion, by ARLC boss Peter V’Landys that not only would there be a return to the halcyon days of rugby league with all three grades (Jersey Flegg - or U21, NSW/QLD Cup and NRL) to be played consecutively on gameday at the same ground, but anyone who opposed the initiative would be “run over”.

The return to the glory days certainly does raise plenty of interesting points about not only the viability of the change, going back to 3 games of rugby league one after the other, but also of the priorities of the ARLC in general.

I recognise that there is an emotional attachment, especially for older fans of the game, to spend a chilly Saturday afternoon down at Panthers Stadium or WIN Stadium watching the lower levels go around. I myself remember many weekends arriving at Leichhardt Oval approximately 3 hours before the game just to watch guys like Watson Heleta and Junior Roqica run rampant against a poor old Newtown Jets side featuring approximately two fringe first graders. It’s a great day out, a real family affair, but I question, in this current climate, whether the timing is right to return to such an arrangement.

Logistically speaking, and especially in an always tentative “post-COVID” climate, with information changing day by day and society seemingly always on the brink of a second, third, or fourth wave and eventual lockdowns and quarantines, is it really pertinent to have what is effectively 6 rugby league teams playing at the same ground? The realities of the NRL bubble, if it is indeed necessary again for season 2021, would surely place this in a precarious position. As a cautious estimate, considering players, staff and other relevant personnel, any one side could be bringing at least 30-40 people to a ground. While the issues of shared facilities and biohazard requirements can easily be mitigated at large stadiums with multiple rooms like ANZ, AAMI or Suncorp, you can’t tell me a small ground like Campbelltown, Brookvale or Kogarah can handle that demand.

The 2020 NRL Bubble meant the NZ Warriors couldn’t even play at home. Source: NRL.com.

Speaking of the grounds, how often over the last few years have we heard commentators, fans and even players complain about the state of the playing surfaces? This isn’t even an issue confined to the smaller grounds, with complaints being made about the surface at a venue like ANZ in recent times. Often, the wear and tear of a field is caused by multiple events over the same weekend. For example, a ground like ANZ could realistically have three codes of football (Giants in the AFL for a bigger game, Sydney FC in the A-League, and any number of NRL sides) on any one weekend. While three is quite rare, two is a common occurrence and does have an impact on the field quality, and that’s spread over the course of a weekend. How is a ground going to fare with 6 hours of non-stop rugby league with little to no chance to do any field maintenance between games? My guess is we might be seeing a few threadbare paddocks in the winter months.

Brookvale Oval has bared criticism for its playing surface in the past. Can it handle three grades of rugby league regularly? Source: Mark Evans.

Of course, the issue of three grades is that not every club has a direct lower grade affiliate. Every NSW team plus the Canberra Raiders does have a direct association/feeder club, but for the teams that use the Queensland Cup (all three QLD teams plus the Storm and NZ Warriors), things are more muddled. The Storm and Cowboys, for example, spread their fringe players across multiple QCup sides, so who gets the designation of the curtain raiser fixture? Do the Mackay Cutters get the privilege of playing at Queensland Country Bank Stadium? Or do the Townsville Blackhawks? Or do the Northern Pride? Plus, as Darcie McDonald appropriately pointed out in a Fox Sports article earlier this week, fans of foundation clubs the Newtown Jets and North Sydney Bears could be robbed of games at their spiritual homes to accommodate playing as preludes to NRL fixtures.

Finally, and this is perhaps my biggest criticism of this announcement, is that, to me, it shows the ARLC and Peter V’Landys have got their priorities wrong when it comes to expanding the game. Presumably, and I don’t pretend to have any knowledge of the workings of the financial side of a venture like this, but there is going to be significant cost spent making the logistics of this all work. Is this really one of the number one issues holding rugby league back in 2021, whether fans can watch all three games consecutively at the same ground? Yes it gives great exposure to younger players and fringe first graders, plus the chance to play in front of a crowd is something a lot of these guys wouldn’t experience regularly, but my feeling is this should be further down the list of actions that need to be implemented to grow rugby league.

Take the NRLW, for example. The women’s competition is now three seasons in and showing little signs of expansion from the current original four teams. Or the standard of refereeing in the game, and how money could be used to invest in referee training and development, both at the elite level and in pathways. What about the current scheduling of a standard NRL round? The early Friday kick off is the most unpopular fixture time among NRL fans. What reasonable NRL fan can regularly make it out to see their team kick off at 6pm on a work day? Permanently removing the early Friday kick and replacing it with an extra Sunday game would see more fans through the gates. You can’t dangle the carrot of playing on Friday night when maybe 20% of your regular attendance figures will be compromised consistently.

The NRLW has had three seasons of no expansion. Source: NRL.com.

Don’t get me wrong, if there is a way to effectively, safely and logically deliver a trio of rugby league games at the same ground every weekend for the majority of fixtures then sign me up. It’s a great opportunity for fans to see the next generation and for the players to get a little extra attention. But I’m just a little sceptical of the timing and functionality at this current point when there are several other issues that could be addressed first.