{"id":286429,"date":"2025-11-15T15:41:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T15:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/286429\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T15:41:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T15:41:08","slug":"nrl-set-to-reduce-season-as-bigger-international-window-sought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/286429\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL set to reduce season as bigger international window sought"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A drastic reduction in the length of the NRL season is being considered, with a bigger international window sought after, according to a report Down Under.<\/p>\n<p>The fixture list for the 2026 NRL campaign was revealed earlier this week, with the elite competition Down Under currently spanning 27 rounds.<\/p>\n<p>All 17 teams play 24 matches across those 27 rounds, with three byes apiece \u2013 otherwise known as weeks without a game.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the NRL is set to grow in size over the coming years with the addition of Perth Bears and the PNG Chiefs already confirmed for 2027 and 2028 respectively.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s the topic of expansion which has brought about this new consideration of a reduced schedule from the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), according to <a rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.codesports.com.au\/subscribe\/news\/1\/?sourceCode=CSWEB_WRE170_a_TWT&amp;dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.codesports.com.au%2Fnrl%2Fbyes-scrapped-19round-nrl-draw-origin-window-arlc-exploring-biggest-scheduling-overhaul-in-40-years%2Fnews-story%2Fd999badb85241b93a8449e07dfa2c471&amp;memtype=anonymous&amp;mode=premium&amp;v21=GROUPA-Segment-2-NOSCORE\" target=\"_blank\">Code Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>NRL set to drastically REDUCE season to accommodate bigger international window<\/p>\n<p>The Australian outlet have reported that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loverugbyleague.com\/nrl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> season could be cut from 27 rounds to as few as 19 as part of a pathway towards a 20-team competition Down Under.<\/p>\n<p>This move, if it comes to fruition, is expected to be in place by the time the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane comes around.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the ARLC\u2019s reported plans, no byes would be in place during the campaign. Instead, there would be more flexibility in a 20-team competition, with a conference system being considered \u2013 much like we see in American sports including in the MLS.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s believed that a conference system would allow the NRL to maximise its games between rivals, and in turn that would aid both attendances and revenue streams for clubs.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, under the proposed format, State of Origin would be expected to become a standalone series.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, NRL games take place around the series, worth around $100 million AUD (circa \u00a349.7 million) each year. But if the shortened NRL schedule does come into play, the series would take place separately to the league season annually.<\/p>\n<p>According to Code Sports\u2019 report, the proposed shortening of the NRL season has been put forward as a way to allow the international calendar to expand.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s believed that the powers that be within the ARLC wish to capitalise on the success of both the Ashes Series between Australia and England and the Pacific Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A drastic reduction in the length of the NRL season is being considered, with a bigger international window&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-286429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}