28th of May!

[bondi.boy]

So they are saying 15 games each. With the 2 losses and 13 to play I say Easts need to win atleast 10 games for a top 4 spot????

With our policy of "start slowly, build momentum as the season progresses, and explode in the finals"...the shortened season doesn't suit us at all.
If we could make the finals that would be good.
"Finalists in 2020".
Then see what happens.

[bondi.boy]

Having watched tv news bulletins all day and at 6pm today, it sure seems to me that there is a lot of medical/health
opposition to the NRL starting again at all.

[Mad_Rabid_Rooster]

It won't be the NRL's decision, but the Government's (a combination of state and federal) and health authorities'.

[bondi.boy]

Is there something going on in our society that we're not being told about?
Are there thousands of people with the virus they think they don't know about?
Is there going to be an explosion in numbers like overseas?
They've started talking about a shortage of ventilators again, even though more are now being made here. Why, if everything is sweet and the curve is being flattened?
"We're buying time". Buying time before what?
They've started talking again about prioritising people for ventilators. Why, if everything is sweet?
Also "Wayne Bennett is over 70"...a hint about NRL?
Our virus death toll keeps rising. The number of new cases is still rising every day...although at slower pace.
Now Gladys has started talking about relaxing some of the restrictions. 85% of people say no.
They need to tell us exactly what the truth is.
If they think there's going to be an explosion in numbers, then tell us and lock the whole place down for a month.

[Mad_Rabid_Rooster]

I find the whole situation very disturbing. Now the NRL has not appeared to have consulted with Government about relaunching the season. I am less convinced that it will get off the ground than I was previously. I hope I am wrong.

Gladys is now talking about relaxing some of the restrictions. I cannot believe how careless and ridiculous that would be. We are not over this yet, not by any means. We should be watching the European and UK experiences with strong caution. Unfortunately, the idiots out there (and there are plenty of them) will see this as a signal to continue doing the wrong thing, creating more clusters and leading to a re-acceleration and an eventual second wave. Both the political and medical authorities need to wake up to themselves and properly take heed of all the warnings.

It is quite surprising, really - the conservative side of politics does not seem to be handling things all that well, and yet the lefties - particularly the socialist Daniel Andrews in Victoria - are showing some backbone and leadership during this crisis. He is the only premier I am aware of talking about stage 4 restrictions. I wish the others would follow his lead. People talk about the economic consequences, but the priority needs to be containing this first, before the economy.

[zac]

without players you don't have rugby league. you see people playing in a park without anyone watching but you don't see fans going to a stadium to watch nothing. but it is the fans that are going to save rugby league by supporting it now and into the future. if everyone who supports a club became a member of that club and went to more games and watched more on tv then the future would be rosy.

the nrl needs to put the fans at the centre of any decision they make now. i'm not sure the game could survive a super league type disillusionment under the current circumstances. what putting the fans at the centre of any decision means is up for debate but they need to get it right. aussies like their sport and if the nrl could give us a couple of games of league a week for a few months that would be a pass mark in my book. they need to have a plan that is realistic.

[bondi.boy]

MRR,

Rather than quote your whole post, I'll just add that on tv last night I saw Wayne Pearce say that he has the govt forms [he seemed to be saying approval] in hand.
Who knows what will eventuate.
The meeting during this coming week should reveal all.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

I'm not getting the fans who don't want the NRL to do everything possible to get the game back.

Do they know better than the authorities?

If it goes ahead brilliant let's get behind it....if not disappointed but out of our hands.

MRR....we need our own solutions and approach not a cut n paste what they might be doing os.

[Mad_Rabid_Rooster]

I'm not getting the fans who don't want the NRL to do everything possible to get the game back.

Do they know better than the authorities?

If it goes ahead brilliant let's get behind it....if not disappointed but out of our hands.

MRR....we need our own solutions and approach not a cut n paste what they might be doing os.

I agree with your points JFC. The NRL should be doing everything possible, as long as they consult with, and be suitably guided by, the authorities. With overseas, I am saying that we should take note of their experience and not blindly follow what they are doing. We should take our own approach, yes, but that approach should be stricter and more effective than what has been done overseas to date. I don't want to see a death toll in the hundreds or thousands like in Europe or the UK. The UK has three times the population of Australia, but a lot more than three times the number of tragic deaths. Such an outcome is truly shocking, but I wonder if it could have been avoided on such a scale. I realise that hindsight is an easy thing, but you have to ask the question.

[Mad_Rabid_Rooster]

MRR,

Rather than quote your whole post, I'll just add that on tv last night I saw Wayne Pearce say that he has the govt forms [he seemed to be saying approval] in hand.
Who knows what will eventuate.
The meeting during this coming week should reveal all.

Perhaps BB, but I can only go on what I read and hear in the last 24 hours (across a range of media outlets). True, the meetings this week should reveal all. I am happy to reserve any further judgement until we get some clarity on the situation.

[ism22]

With our policy of "start slowly, build momentum as the season progresses, and explode in the finals"...the shortened season doesn't suit us at all.
If we could make the finals that would be good.
"Finalists in 2020".
Then see what happens.

Agreed. 15 Games and we've already lost 2 of them. Can't see us being contenders this year, unfortunately. It'll be the swansong that Smith 'deserved' last year and he won't even have to play a full season of footy to get it.

Pretty much over the season. You can't have anything but a full season and then call it a valid title.

Perhaps BB, but I can only go on what I read and hear in the last 24 hours (across a range of media outlets). True, the meetings this week should reveal all. I am happy to reserve any further judgement until we get some clarity on the situation.

For them to announce a date, I dare say they've already got government approval. There's no 'form' other than the NRL CEO writing to ScoMo (and/or relevant state premiers) seeking confirmation that they won't stand in the way.

[bondi.boy]

Agreed. 15 Games and we've already lost 2 of them. Can't see us being contenders this year, unfortunately.

Pretty much over the season. You can't have anything but a full season and then call it a valid title.

.

Exactly.
Especially having a team not as good as last year, at this stage.

[bondi.boy]

Taiwan baseball is back on.
No crowd, no worries for them.
Mannequins make up the crowd.

[Johnny Tobin]

I'm not getting the fans who don't want the NRL to do everything possible to get the game back.

Do they know better than the authorities?

If it goes ahead brilliant let's get behind it....if not disappointed but out of our hands.

MRR....we need our own solutions and approach not a cut n paste what they might be doing os.

For people psychologically it’s a sign that things are returning to normal. Extremely important.

[zac]

For people psychologically it’s a sign that things are returning to normal. Extremely important.

Agreed. Aussies like their sport and it would lift the mood.

But if they start it again and then can't finish it it might be worse than not starting it at all (for the same psychological reasons).

It's a tough one and I don't know the right answer but the NRL can't come across as re-starting the comp against best medical advice for the purpose of getting the TV revenue.

i'd go for a less ambitious comp. desperate times call for desperate measures. four groups of four (Qld teams plus Warriors in one group to get around border restrictions). each team plays each other once in the group for a total of 24 games all up. play 2 games a weekend with flexibility about dates to cover for possible virus outbreaks. winner of each group makes into the top 4 (placing within the top 4 to be determined by the current NRL table after those first 2 rounds). 2nd place team fill out the bottom half of the top eight. then you have a normal finals series. winner wins the premiership for 2020 (yes, there will always be an asterisk about that, but it ensures that each and every game means something).
that way we'd get four months of watching 2 games of footy a week and there's no reason they couldn't play the first game Friday week.