Ivan Cleary proposes severely reduced NRL schedule as expansion talks ramp up

Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has revealed his desire for the NRL to reduce its regular season to 20 rounds as the league looks set to continue the rapid expansion plans.

With the NRL schedule exhausting the current crop of stars across 27 rounds, there have been ongoing calls from not only the players but fans and media to reduce the season, in the best interest of the game.

Several suggestions have been floated to help improve the workload put on the players, including a midseason break from the NRL and the introduction of a several-week representative event that would revolve around State of Origin as the marquee event.

As the NRL pushes towards its goal of a 20-team competition by 2030, Cleary opened up on the optimal regular season schedule once this comes to fruition.

“I feel like as we talk about expansion, I think that’s part of this,” Cleary told SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“If we expand to, let’s say 20 teams, I think 19 rounds should be it, you should play every team once.

“I feel like that’s something we’ve lost in the game, I feel like it’s a little unfair at times the draw, I don’t know if unfair is the right word, it’s just imbalanced the draw.

“I reckon around about 20 games, I think would be about right, I feel like that’s still plenty of games, you still get Origin in there somewhere.

“They can use the Women’s game as it grows for the broadcasters as well, that would grow the girls’ profile and get a different fan base.

“That’s kind of where I see it, around 20 (rounds).”

The latest reports suggest the NRL is set to grant the 18th license to a Perth-based franchise, whilst Papua New Guinea and New Zealand remain in firm contention for the next two expansion bids.