KEY POINTS:
Graham Lowe has been a bit like a sponge lately.
The former Kiwis coach has travelled the country soaking up the opinions of rugby league folk about radical changes proposed to domestic competitions. He's also picked the brain of respected individuals across the Tasman and in Britain, and delved into other sports to gather as many opinions as possible.
This week, Lowe will wring out all of his findings for the NZRL board to absorb before they make any changes for the 2008 season.
The NZRL commissioned Lowe in February to undertake the review, asking him to get feedback about a number of proposed changes. In many respects, the national body did it to challenge the way people think, and it's certainly done that.
The main talking point has been the idea of a progressive season. It would begin with regional club competitions (March-August), followed by a national club competition for the regional winners (September-October) and then an 18-team national provincial competition, or revamped Bartercard Cup (November-February).
At present, the Bartercard Cup and club football are played concurrently over winter, often affecting the quality of both.
Although any move to summer rugby league has its detractors, largely because of the increased demands on players to 12 months of the year, there is some agreement that a progressive season is a good idea. The biggest difficulty is trying to establish how it could work.
"We agree with 90 to 95 per cent of it [the competitions review]," Auckland Rugby League general manager Pat Carthy said. "We are delighted about the fact that the changes would see players available for their clubs and then have a window for representative football.
"But our issue is with the timing of the Bartercard Cup. As an amateur game, we don't think it is feasible to be playing 12 months of the year."
Carthy suggests that each competition may need to be shortened to develop a realistic timetable and also says that they would struggle to get access to grounds before mid-March.
Canterbury general manager Duane Fyfe agreed that reverting to a 12-month calendar was too much of a drain on players, as well as administrators and sponsors, but was against any condensing of competitions. "We are happy with the present setup," he said.
Taranaki vice chairman Howie Tamati said it was time for change.
"I think it [playing in summer] is a great idea and it's a huge opportunity to freshen up rugby league in this country," he said. "We're only talking about one team for each province, 25 guys and only one ground. The guys involved can take a break at the end of that before playing club football again.
"For someone who lives in the provinces, it's really important to have provincial football. The Bartercard Cup is dominated by Auckland teams, and it's most important to them."
One person who agrees that the game is too Auckland-centric is Wellington rugby league stalwart Ken Laban.
He played in the 1993 Lion Red Cup final, generally accepted as the last genuine national club final, when his Wainuiomata side upset Northcote. However, he has grave fears about the future of the game.
"Nobody in Wellington really gives a toss about competition reviews when the very survival of grassroots rugby league is at stake," Laban said. "The game in Auckland might be solid and enjoy a good profile, but outside of Auckland it's a very different story.
"We should be having a debate on how to get kids back playing the game... why it's so hard to get quality administrators and coaches. The problem is, they're not sexy issues and no one wants to talk about it."
Although Laban is not involved in rugby league administration, he's still very active in Wellington and has told NZRL chairman Andrew Chalmers "a million times" about his concerns. "He never calls me back."
Depending on who you talk to, numbers playing rugby league are anywhere between 15,000-20,000. That number stood at about 30,000-35,000 when the Warriors entered the Australian competition in 1995.
Chalmers recognises these challenges but is upbeat about the future.
"It is a concern that the numbers playing the game are dropping," he said. "The major thing we need to do is build the base of rugby league in New Zealand. I see huge opportunities to grow our base, especially outside Auckland.
"It's important to grow the base of rugby league as well as refine the pathways to elite level. That's why the nature and structure of those competitions is crucial, it's got to be right.
"From what I have heard, there isn't any strong chorus for the status quo. But it's finding the right solution. It's like solving the Rubik's Cube - if you move one piece, it affects all of the others. But once you have the solution, they all fall into place."
Given the disparate views throughout the country, this Rubik's Cube still seems to have some way to go before it's solved.
