Phil Rothfield: State of Origin in Todd Greenberg's sights, Blake Ferguson still in party mode

THE NRL is finally on the verge of fixing its playing schedule around State of Origin next season, writes Phil Rothfield.

THE NRL is finally on the verge of fixing its playing schedule around State of Origin next season.

Head of football Todd Greenberg wants to reduce Origin from an eight-week series to six weeks, jammed in between rounds 12 to 17 instead of 12 to 19 like it was this season.

That means only 33 NRL games would be affected by Origin rather than 48 this year.

Two full rounds of football would no longer be affected by the Origin series.

“Origin is the greatest thing we’ve got but we don’t want it to influence the season as much as it did this year,” Greenberg said.

“We always have a great start to the year and then Origin hits and there’s no doubt it affects the actual competition.

“For a lot of people, this year’s series seemed to drag on a bit.”

As soon as he arrived at the NRL three weeks ago, Greenberg organised meetings with the television networks to discuss the issue.

Channel Nine, Fox Sports and the RLPA are all involved in the discussions.

The competition would work like this: Round 12 (no Origin players), Round 13 (Origin players back-up), Round 14 (no Origin players), Round 15 (Origin players back-up) Round 16 (no Origin players), Round 17 (Origin players back-up).

The top teams who contribute most players would get their byes during this period. “This is something we are putting out there for discussion and to get some feedback,” Greenberg said.

“It would probably make Origin feel like more of a series if it was condensed with not such a big gap between games.

“It would mean shorter training camps but clubs would get their players back two weeks earlier.”

This year’s Origin series hurt the competition more than ever before.

A grand final replay between the Bulldogs and Melbourne drew only 15,000 fans because the stars weren’t available.

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Fergo still in party mode

BLAKE Ferguson told me he was off the drink three weeks ago. He had since been sighted at the Gymea Hotel (with a tray full of drinks) and at King Cross nightclubs.

On Friday night, he was on the Central Coast at The Entrance Hotel, drinking port. A patron told me he was smoking too and in the company of serial bad boy Arana Taumata.

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Brooks chooses AFL over Tigers

BOOM Wests Tigers star Luke Brooks brushed the Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah career milestones on Friday night to go the AFL.

Fans at the Hawthorn-Swans blockbuster were stunned to see Brooks at ANZ Stadium wearing a Hawks jersey. Earlier he had played Holden Cup for the Wests Tigers at Allianz Stadium.

Brooks showered straight after the game and drove to Homebush, missing Benji’s 200th game, Lote Tuqiri’s 150th and Farah equalling Chris Heighington’s record of most games for the joint-venture club.

In Brooks’s defence, he did purchase the AFL tickets well in advance of the Tigers game being scheduled on the Friday night.

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Price still not secure

ST GEORGE Illawarra boss Peter Doust refuses to confirm the future of embattled coach Steve Price is safe.

When I asked him this week if Price’s job was secure, Doust said: “I’m not prepared to comment at this point of time.”

It’s hardly a glowing endorsement. The decision by boom Australian Schoolboy halfback Jackson Hastings to quit the Dragons doesn’t help Price’s cause.

He chose the Roosters ahead of the Dragons because his minders preferred the career pathway and coaching set-up at Bondi Junction.  

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NRL ratings drop

DESPITE the Essendon doping scandal, the AFL is recording its best television ratings in the history of the game.

Ratings on free-to-air and Fox Sports are up by an incredible 10 per cent on last year’s figures.

At the same time, rugby league TV audiences are down by 10 per cent over the same period.

Does that mean rugby league fans have jumped ship to become AFL viewers? It’s an issue administrators are struggling to explain.

The NRL can’t blame the ASADA scandal because the AFL has been affected equally.

They can’t blame all the blowout scorelines with Parramatta and the Wests Tigers because GWS and the Melbourne Demons get flogged every week, too.

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Fans given a grand invitation

RUGBY league fans and corporate clients will get a rare chance to walk the hallowed turf of ANZ Stadium as part of a grand final spectacular being orchestrated by NRL boss Dave Smith.

Plans are well advanced for a grand final breakfast at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday, October 2 — just four days before the already sold-out NRL decider.

Fans will be served tea and coffee on the actual playing before a function that will feature a panel of experts dissecting the big game.

There are also preliminary plans for a huge grand final festival in Sydney Olympic Park, with a 75m bar in the park next to ANZ Stadium, along with outdoor coffee shops and eateries, plus live bands, DJs and NRL season highlights on the big screens.

More than 120,000 people are expected to flock to Sydney Olympic Park on the Sunday of the grand final, with 83,000 watching the game in the Stadium, and capacity crowds also for the One Direction concert at AllPhones Arena and a video games exhibition in the Sydney Showground.

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Boss darts off and misses milestone

WANT to know why NRL boss Dave Smith wasn’t at the footy on Friday night to watch the Burgess boys, Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah make history? He was at the Masters darts tournament at Luna Park instead. Not a great look, but not a massive scandal compared to former CEO Dave Moffett taking off mid-season to Paris for the Tour de France.

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SAINT - THERE’S no such thing as a politician being popular with everyone. Well, not until Graham Annesley came along as the NSW Minister for Sport and did such a fantastic job. Annesley quit this week to take on the CEO’s position at the Gold Coast Titans. He’ll be a huge loss to the O’Farrell government but a major gain for the NRL, a sport that needs more administrators with Annesley’s ability and standing in the community.

SINNER I - JORGE Taufua has pleaded guilty to spitting on a police officer on the Gold Coast. Manly have conveniently suspended him from the last two inconsequential premiership games. There is nothing more disgusting than spitting on anyone, let alone a police officer. The penalty is a farce.

SINNER II - BRIAN Smith has won nothing in a 556-game coaching career apart from a wooden spoon. His comments on Paul Gallen during the week were about as intelligent as his claim that Jarrod Mullen had a better pass than Joey Johns.

SPREAD-EAGLED - VOLCANO Brookvale is about to explode on the eve of the finals. The boardroom ramifications will be huuuge. More details very, very soon.

PUCKER UP - Our item last week about a former NRL superstar pashing another man created an unbelievable amount of feedback. We can now reveal more … the bloke he kissed is a former NRL front-rower. True story.

SIN-BINNED - JASON Robinson has refereed his last NRL game. He was given the Sydney Cricket Ground match last week as a farewell game. We reported in February that Robinson was off with other referees over a personal issue with Gavin Badger and his wife Kasey.

A TRUE FOOTY HERO - LITTLE Angus Cunningham had his footy season cut short when he was recently diagnosed with cancer. He plays 10A’s for De La Salle and is a mad Sharks supporter. The club heard about his illness and invited him to training. Big Andrew Fifita and all the players looked after him beautifully.