SOME commonsense has to override the rugby league draw and television scheduling, if the NRL wants to find an answer to dwindling crowd numbers so far this season.
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You don't have to look far. Take this last week's round seven. Didn't anyone notice when the computer spat out the draw that not one of the nine Sydney teams was set down to play Easter Sunday?
Or that neighbours the Dragons and Sharks were both playing Easter Saturday, at Kogarah and Woolooware, starting just two hours apart? Or that the two games scheduled on Monday both involved three of the four competing western Sydney sides, at Homebush and Penrith?
Firstly, families are not only divided about sports and weekend activities, and the money they can afford, many also are split on NRL team allegiances — and more so in Sydney.
So the Saturday NRL scheduling, also up against the Swans-Fremantle AFL clash at the SCG, the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium, and the championships race meeting at Randwick, was always going to affect crowd numbers, with just 10,500 turning up to Kogarah and 12,000 at Woolooware. On a fine Saturday and night. A simple answer, some time after looking at the draw, would have been to move one of the Saturday games to Sunday, and move one of the Monday games back to Saturday.
Then league followers could chose one southern Sydney game and one western Sydney game on Saturday, one southern Sydney game on Sunday and one western Sydney game on Monday. And it satisfies Fox Sports television coverage.
Sunday was fine and cool in Sydney, perfect for any contact sport like rugby league and supporters. And the only NRL game on? In a much colder Canberra, which didn't attract more than 11,000. Combined with the early season referee/video decision controversies, league has a bit of work to do.
One-man band
MIGHT have thought the move of Mark Webber from Formula One might have paved the way for a more conciliatory Sebastian Vettel with new Red Bull teammate, Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
Not so.
In Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, Vettel was instructed by his team to let his younger — and this time faster — team-mate pass him, for the second race in a row. Instead, Vettel initially fought off Ricciardo's attempts to get by, and when told by his team both were running on "medium" tyres," Vettel responded: "Tough luck."
It took until lap 26 before Vettel let him through, with Ricciardo eventually missing out on third place on the podium by just 1.2 seconds.
Mark's forgettable record
RETIRED Socceroo Mark Schwarzer, 41, became Chelsea's oldest-ever Premier League player when he ran on for his 501st Premier League game (the most number by a player outside Britain) on Saturday. Unfortunately two goals went by him in the 2-1 upset win by strugglers Sunderland. Chelsea's first loss at home under manager Jose Mourinho also means they slip further behind league leaders Liverpool.
Do you think more NRL games should be played at Kogarah?
