Eels Blogs

Replies

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  1Eyed Eel October 13, 2009 at 10:48am

  I'd actually extend the concept and start every season off with a cross-country competition.
  
  You have the Champions Tournament with the top four teams in each competition (8)
  You have the Finalists Tournament with the next six teams in each competition (12)
  You have a League Tournament for everyone else + QRL + NSW Cup/Kiwi side/2nd division UK (12)
  
  Champions Tournament splits into two pools. Three round-robin games top points scorers play in the final.
  Finalists & League Tournament splits into four pools of three. Two round-robin games, semi-final and then final.
  
  To minimise costs you play the whole competition in one country and alternate year-to-year. So Champions & League Tournament is in Australia, Finalist Tournament in the UK.
  
  I reckon it would be a brilliant way to start the season, and would bring in big crowds and so forth compared to our standard pre-season.
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    Slaytanic > 1Eyed Eel October 13, 2009 at 11:51am

    Good idea Phil, only problem would be you'd need to shorten the NRL season to accommodate I reckon. And the CEO's and coaches probably don't want the stars injured in arguably a secondary competition. Much the same debate they have every year with pre-season trial games.
    
    I'd like to see it just for the purpose of expanding the game and improving the skills. Would be a good spectacle too, and answer the age old debate about UK SuperLeague skill vs NRL skill.
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      1Eyed Eel > Slaytanic October 13, 2009 at 12:17pm

      Most clubs play three or four trials anyway, so I would see it just replacing those. I imagine if it was me running a club, I'd take it seriously but you'd just use more players in your roster - ie you'd mix up the 17 you take in, to give your second-tier players a run and probably have each of your players play two of the three games. It would be actually quite interesting to mandate that you could only use any player in two games before the final, forcing clubs to expose their second tier/junior players to the public.
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        Sunshine Coast Eels Fan > 1Eyed Eel October 13, 2009 at 1:28pm

        I guess any of these from above are great suggestions,especially one-eyes well thought out comp.
        I should explain myself a little clearer,I'd like to see a champions league comp at the end of the season to replace the below standard test matches we see.sure,we still need a 3-4 nation tournament to raise the level of international competition,but wouldn't it be great to reward a greater group of players with a invitation to an international event,just like what's happening at the moment with crickets 20/20 champions trophy. Understanding that a shorter off season would take a toll on the mote seasoned players,it would be a great opportunity to utilize players from the NYC,feeder teams from nswrl and qrl.
        This concept would be great every 2nd year,to alternate northern and southern hemispheres. In the southern hemishere ,games could be played in png,tonga,Samoa.this would be great locations for a working holiday for the boys as well.
        Great concept,but difficult to manage I agree,but is it???
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          1Eyed Eel > Sunshine Coast Eels Fan October 13, 2009 at 3:51pm

          To support your cause I reckon one day in the future they will merge the Super League and NRL competitions the way they have merged domestic comps in Rugby. It won't be next decade but I think its inevitable down the track. What your proposing would be a step in that direction. It would require a shortening of the season, of course. I could perhaps see the following.
          
          A 20 team domestic competition, no byes everyone plays each other once but with weeks off for domestic representative weekends. I know the NRL is worried about televisions rights and so forth, but I think on that weekend they could do a State of Origin for Australian players/perhaps a North Island/South Island thing for Kiwis and then a UK north/south east/west competition which would still ensure you had a friday/saturday/sunday game.
          
          That would then open up the possibility for a month-long champions league tournament. I think an awesome idea would be to use the players who aren't in that competition to run an accompanying sevens tournament like your 20/20s which would act as your pre-game entertainment.
          
          Then we could still end the season with the traditional rep season.
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  Bosanac October 13, 2009 at 7:55pm

  I wouldn't include any NSWRL, QRL or NZ regional teams. The difference in quality would be monsterous... you might as well have the NRL wooden spooners ahead of a random state team...
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    Sunshine Coast Eels Fan > Bosanac October 13, 2009 at 10:40pm

    I guess I was thinking in aligent with soccers world cup,where 4 teams get a birth from south America,and only one from oceania.ie 4 teams from nrl,1 team from qrl(the next strongest league in oz)I guess you would be right in assuming nrl wooden spooners would beat qrl premiers.maybe you promote the top 2 teams from NYC ???they would beat the qrl premiers and most likely the nrl wooden spooners???
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  avday October 14, 2009 at 1:42am

  GREAT IDEA!.... but wont happen.whinging ceo"s,nrl bosses and players already believe they play 2 many games.unlike our soccer stars who play 11 months of the year often twice a week and also hav 2 travel halfway around the world 2 play for there respective countrys many times during the season......u never hear them whinge and they play 90mins plus injury time!
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    Sunshine Coast Eels Fan > avday October 14, 2009 at 6:17pm

    Soccer definitely has less impact on players physically,so they could play 3-5 times a week if they had to.todays standard of nrl couldn't allow players to play more than one game a week,without having a huge impact!
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  ŦōmMýþØΨ-Parra Till I Die! October 14, 2009 at 4:13pm

  i agree with the concept of a club champions league,you could go on step further and introduce it as a mid week comp like the old kb cup