The NRL should take a game to the bush every round

Forget magic rounds, forget Marvel rounds, forget the gimmicky rounds, if the NRL wants to get fair dinkum about its fans, take a game to the bush each week.

NRL fans crowd the Western hill before the Round 7 NRL match between the Wests Tigers and the Gold Coast Titans at Scully Park in Tamworth, Saturday, April 27, 2019. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY. Picture: DARREN PATEMAN

FORGET magic rounds, forget Marvel rounds, forget the gimmicky rounds, if the National Rugby League wants to get fair dinkum about its fans, take a game to the bush each week.

Now this is an area the NRL does particularly well in, we have the Indigenous rounds, men in league, the women in league and Beanies for Brain Cancer initiatives, which are all well received by the public.

And one must only look at the success in games taken to Bathurst, Tamworth and the Sunshine Coast this year.

I believe it's left fans crying out for more.

Todd Greenberg, Peter Beattie and head honchos should take a leaf out of the Intrust Super Cup's book.

The ISC has been doing a country week round for years, with games taken to all corners of the state.

Already this season fixtures have been played in front of thousands of fans at Emerald and Stradbroke Island - not part of country week.

Nanango, Pittsworth, Cloncurry, Thursday Island and Ilfracombe are set for a taste of their first dose of ISC action later in the year.

Just imagine if all 16 teams pledged to take a game to the country once a year - Winton one week, Orange the next, Longreach after.

It's no secret people in the bush are battling. They're experiencing some of the worst droughts on record. Seeing footballers in the flesh would be priceless.

The fans would go mental and the grounds would be packed to the rafters.

Sure, it would be complicated for the brains of the draw, and suffer teething issues with some suburban grounds not being up to scratch for televised matches.

I understand some coaches are reluctant to send some games to regional grounds as they find issues with the lighting, playing surface or general facilities.

To me, if the playing surface meets the NRL's expectation, then it gets the tick of approval.

Time to make it happen.

Originally published as The NRL should take a game to the bush every round