This could help make the Peter McDonald Premiership competition better

We know this.

And at ACM, we've covered it extensively already.

From pre-season when the draw was announced and we looked at how first grade and the lower grade fixtures just don't work together, to round one when we picked the minds of those involved in crossover matches, through to earlier this month when we told you why the current finals system isn't working.

But what can we do about it?

Here's a few possible options NSW Rugby League could look at to make things easier for everyone involved.

If you want a fair competition, then let's make it the fairest thing possible.

Let's throw all 12 teams into one big competition with no conferences, where everyone plays each team once home and once away.

That would equate to 22 games for each, which is quite a jump from the current 14 games teams are playing at the moment.

It's quite a long campaign, but having such a lengthy home and away campaign isn't unheard of.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Group 10 had 11 teams across three grades, with 20 games played across 22 weeks.

It was possible 40 years ago, so why isn't it possible now?

Let's make 2024 the template.

You could host the tradition Bathurst Knockout on the weekend of March 2-3 and then kick-off on the weekend of March 16-17.

The competition would pause for Easter, on the weekend of March 30-31, and again on the weekend of May 4-5 for a representative fixture between Group 10 and Group 11.

Play would continue on the June long weekend (June 8-9), where traditional rivals Parkes and Forbes can play, and there would be a general bye on August 3-4, where matches can be caught up if there's been any washouts or snow days.

A four-week finals series would start on the weekend of September 7-8, with the grand final to be played on September 28-29.

Now there are a few issues that come to mind with a draw like this.

First off, the competition starts earlier than usual but thankfully, grounds don't clash with cricket as much as they use to back in the day.

Orange's Wade Park would still be an issue, but you could easily have CYMS and Hawks play away from home in the opening weeks and once the city's new sports complex is built, it won't be a problem at all.

Big away trips between Nyngan and Lithgow (an almost five-hour one-way trip) could be avoided by playing at a central location, like Orange or Molong.

And I'll have no argument about the season being too long.

Why wouldn't you want to play more games?

A longer season means more footy, more revenue for clubs and more opportunities for players to improve and get better.

A 22-round regular season is quite excessive, but there's another option with a slight tweak that would improve the PMP draw.

Instead of playing only four cross-over games, play all six teams.

That would only see regular season games increase from 14 to 16.

Surely we can find an extra two weeks.

And why aren't we doing this already?

It doesn't seem particularly fair that some teams aren't playing others at all during the regular season.

Look at Orange CYMS for example.

No disrespect, but their form indicates they are a guaranteed two points.

And while Group 11 teams in Dubbo CYMS, Forbes, Macquarie and Nyngan all get the opportunity to wrack up their point difference against them, Parkes and Wellington aren't afforded the chance.

And when you consider the Group 11 conference is extremely competitive, this doesn't seem particularly fair.

Play every team in the other conference at least once and then reserve the hosting rights of the cross-over fixture every second year.

Of course you've still got the issue of Nyngan and Lithgow having to undergo five-hour one-way trips to play each other, but that can be avoided by playing at a central location, as previously mentioned.

There's only one issue that remains - the lower grades.

The two ideas being presented only works for first grade, but unfortunately, it's not an easy fix because reserve grade and league tag both have 14 teams (the inclusion of Blayney and Cowra).

Under 18s does have 12 teams, but includes the likes of Cowra (who isn't in first grade) and doesn't include Wellington (who is in first grade).

Moving forward, we really need consistency across the four grades, but unfortunately it can't be helped when some teams can't field teams in all four grades.

Hopefully we can at least see some changes to the first grade draw in 2024.

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