Fixture overload is the biggest pile of cr@p I've ever heard.

A Super league player can play 27 league games, 5 CC games, 4 playoff games and 1 test match maximum before the Four Nations.
Thats 37 games max.

A NRL player can play 24 league games, 4 playoff games, 3 SOO and 1 test match before the Four Nations.
Thats 32 games max.

Now, consider the British player will be playing a test match against France and likely to playing semi-pro opposition in the CC, once, maybe twice or even 3 times. The NRL player will be playing a test again New Zealand, and 3 State of Origin games that nothing in Super League compares to in terms of intensity or toughness. And the average NRL game is harder than the average Super League games. Did the Crusaders fixtures really take anything out of the Leeds players last season?

All things considered, does fixture overload really exist?

I want someone to provide an argument that proves me wrong.

The key to the argument is when the season's both start. We start a full month and a half before the NRL season gets underway. A huge difference. May only be five matches on paper but its over a months less rest and body recovery. We aren't help either by our off season now being in the wet winter compared to their off season which is hot summer. Which climate would you prefer to train in during the off season???

Personally though I'd rather play more games - bring back some midweek cup action!

Perhaps, 2 rounds of fixtures per season could be midweek, each club plays 1 home and 1 away. Thats shaves 2 weeks off the season but retains the same amount of games.

I'd love to see the return of midweek games, however it'd only be possible were squads to increase in size, similar to like they used to be, then the increase in games would be balanced out amongst the players.

I've always been in favor of limiting all players both homegrown and overseas to 25 games a year in all competitions, not only would it limit fatigue but it'd also allow youngsters to get there chance.

Fixture Overload....?

Now this is a Fixture Overload!!!!

Sun 10 Mar Challenge Cup QF: Bradford Home Won 32-2
Wed 13 Mar Hull Home Won 34-12
Sun 17 Mar Rochdale Hornets Away Won 44-16
Sat 23 Mar Challenge Cup Semi Final: Oldham Bolton Won 30-16
Tue 26 Mar Warrington Away Won 26-8
Fri 29 Mar Featherstone Rovers Away Won 24-16
Mon 1 April Oldham Away Won 10-4
Thu 4 April St Helens Home Won 28-14
Sun 7 April Castleford Home Won 24-4
Tue 9 April Widnes Home Won 26-6
Thu 11 April Bradford Northern Home Draw 18-18
Sat 13 April Leeds Away Won 20-8

12 games in a month!

Lancashire/Yorkshire cup return anyone?

Its all to do with the quality and length of the off season.

Firstly the NRL off season is far longer than ours, and further to this a major fatigue factor accumulates over time due to the English games reliance on the same core of players.

In the NRL there is far more competition for rep shirts and a higher turnover of players in the rep shirts, in England we rely on a core of 20 players for around 10 years, these players go season after season after season with little or no off season.

In Australis players like Lockyer are fixtures (but look at his injury record) but most drift in and out of the International team as form dips they come back once they have missed out due to the time they give there bodies to rest. Players like Morley, Fielden, Peacock, Senior, Burrow, Pryce, Wellens, etc etc etc go year after year with no preseason and eventually it takes it toll, but the simple fact is they are still superior to the gash that we could bring in, although with a bit of luck (very rarely in rugby league is it by good management) times seem to be changing as the core pool of players increases.

Increase the salary cap amount, dare I say

I dont think now it would be even possible. We utilised 30 players that season getting at least 1 game each - 15 of them made 19 or more starting appearences, and towards the end of it some where physically falling apart and playing shot full of pain killers. I don't know if anybody could either fit enough players under the cap, or whether it's medically allowed to the same extent either anymore.

Nail on the head. Short off season, smaller group of player, middle of winter. It's not a great combo for preparation for the following season.

The final week was a killer,

Sun 7 April Castleford Home Won 24-4
Tue 9 April Widnes Home Won 26-6
Thu 11 April Bradford Northern Home Draw 18-18
Sat 13 April Leeds Away Won 20-8

Day on, day off, day on day off.

Aye it was madness at the time, but very exciting as a fan during that period.

I was only on about £120 a week then, had to do a borrow from my dad about 3/4 the way through that list



Didn't miss one though.

I'd imagine the extra month of rest makes a big difference though, with regards to fatigue. Not only that, as Jonh said, representative jerseys are rotated a lot more there. Also, I'd imagine the fitness training is of a higher standard there, which makes the higher-intensity games easier to cope with presumably.

Hope you do not mind a Hull fan commenting on this topic, which I read with interest and remembered the fixture backlog Hull FC had prior to the great Hull v Wigan final of 1985. I am surprised that we (Hull) had the energy to stage that late fight back against you in that final 25 years ago. This was Hull run in leading up to the final, noting that you beat us 3 times in about a fortnight. 12 games in less than a month. 3 games in 3 days after the RFL refused to allow Hull to play two games at the same time two different squads of course.

Sat Apr 6. RLC(S/F) Castleford D 10 - 10
Mon Apr 8. DIV. 1 Barrow D 12 - 12
Wed Apr 10. RLC(S/F-REP) Cas W 22 - 16
Fri Apr 12. DIV. 1 Hull KR L 12 - 36
Sun Apr 14. DIV. 1 Castleford W 18 - 8
Wed Apr 17. DIV. 1 Bradford W 24 - 18
Fri Apr 19. DIV. 1 Wigan L 4 - 40
Sat Apr 20. DIV. 1 Workington W 64 - 18
Sun Apr 21. DIV. 1 Hunslet W 58 - 26
Tue Apr 23. DIV. 1 Bradford L 22 - 26
Sun Apr 28. PREM(1) Wigan L 12 - 46
Sat May 4. RLC(FINAL) Wigan L 24 - 28

I've just looked back at the same season to see what Wigan's run in was like(over the same timescale):

Fri 5 April St Helens Home Lost 19-30
Mon 8 April Oldham Away Won 28-19
Thu 11 April Widnes Away Won 6-0
Sun 14 April Hunslet Home Lost 16-19
Fri 19 April Hull Home Won 40-4
Sun 21 April Featherstone Rovers Home Won 12-10
Tue 23 April Barrow Away Won 28-14
Sun 28 April Premiership Trophy Round 1: Hull Home Won 46-12
Sat 4 May Challenge Cup Final: Hull Wembley Won 28-24


9 games to your 12. Now I can see that you had to replay the CC Semi, why were you a further 2 games behind so late into the season? Bad snow/ice in Hull back in 1985?

Yes, Challenge Cup semi replay did not help and I think it was a bad winter similar to the one we have had recently. May be the under soil heating at Central Park (?) got a game or two on when the Boulevard was frozen solid?