Super League games could be staged on Boxing Day under radical plan to restart the game

Proposals for the competition to resume in mid-August, with fans allowed into stadiums from October 1, will be presented by Betfred Super League to the Rugby Football League (RFL) board of directors next week.

There have been no fixtures in the competition since round seven on March 15, due to the coronavirus crisis.

Clubs are keen to complete a full season, including the Coral Challenge Cup, make maximum use of the government’s job retention furlough scheme, which has been extended until the end of July and play as few games as possible behind closed doors.

Three fixture models have been drawn up, all beginning on August 16.

The first suggests nine rounds of matches between October 1 and November 15 and the title decider on November 28.

The Challenge Cup sixth round would be played in August and the final on October 25.

The second plan sees 11 rounds after October 1, Challenge Cup final on November 8 and Grand Final on December 12.

The final plan is for 15 rounds of matches after October 1, the Challenge Cup decider on November 28 and Grand Final in mid-January.

Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington is on the fixture steering group behind the plans.

While he would not express a preference, he pointed out the first option would mean a “concertinaring of loads of fixtures into a short space of time, with possibly only six weeks of games in front of crowds before the play-offs.”

Option two allows extra time for matches and more fixtures in front of crowds, but the Leeds chief admitted “the potential of a Grand Final two weeks before Christmas is challenging”.

The third option is the most intriguing and could see league matches played on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, before the semi-finals and title decider in January.

“That extends the season into the new year and gives you a Grand Final at a time when there’s no other major sporting activity,” Hetherington said.

“The weather might be iffy, but it puts rugby league in the spotlight.

“It also means you’ve extended the season so clubs have less midweek games and you’d use up weekends in December for league games – so all clubs would have a home game on either Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.

“Eight of the teams will be finished on New Year’s Day and the four play-off teams will play the play-offs and final.

“That certainly gives clubs the best chance of recovering monies from this season because it gives more weekend fixtures.

“The novelty of playing meaningful fixtures on Boxing Day when a lot is at stake could deliver some record crowds.”

Super League contracts end on November 30 and Hetherington said agreement would be needed to extend those until January 1.

There would be a knock-on effect on the 2021 campaign, which is due to begin next January, but that could be delayed until March.

With season tickets not yet on sale for next year, the priority is to focus on 2020.

Hetherington was disappointed the plans, which he said have been worked on for several weeks, were leaked, but stressed, after health and safety, the priority for clubs is “recovering as much as possible from what has been a catastrophe of a season so far, financially”.

He warned playing behind closed doors would be “financially disastrous” and insisted: “Without income it is hard to see many clubs surviving and if they do they are going to be running up significant debts which will be a millstone around their necks for many years to come.”

An Ashes series is scheduled for October 31, November 7 and November 14, but is set to be cancelled after confirmation Australia’s State of Origin will be played on November 4, 11 and 18.

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