Benji Marshall believes the NRL should mirror the NFL to combat player burnout, by suggesting there should be a switch to a 15 round competition.
Each team would only play each other once and Marshall said the rest of the season could be filled up with representative rounds to keep TV networks happy.
He also thinks a new format would create a more equal competition and Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith has also called for a shortened NRL, saying it would make for higher quality games and make the NRL a more valuable product in broadcast negotiations - meaning the game might not lose revenue for a reduced schedule.
Marshall told foxsports.com.au.: ""It would be fairer if every team played each other once.
"For example, we might struggle against Canberra and we have to play them twice while some teams only play them once.
"Teams at the top like the Roosters, Cowboys, Broncos and Rabbitohs, it's not as fair if you have to play them twice in a year opposed to someone you could possibly beat twice a year.
"To fill up the rest of the season you could make State of Origin a stand-alone week, so those players don't have to back up for their clubs and make the rep rounds by itself."
The NRL is currently negotiating a new broadcast deal from 2018 to 2022, which is expected to be worth close to $1.7 billion and Marshall's propoasl would mean TV networks would have live content every weekend.