KEY POINTS:
The UK Super League made the change and so did New Zealand football's club competition, the NZFC. Now the NZRL are looking into turning their premier domestic competition into a summer game drawn along provincial lines.
The national body has tinkered with the showpiece competition since the demise
of the Lion Red Cup in 1993 but have largely failed to settle on a preferred format.
The Bartercard Cup was introduced in 2000 but was revamped last season with franchise boundaries re-drawn.
One of the major problems has been playing it alongside club competitions, like Auckland's Fox Memorial, which has diluted the quality of both.
Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe now heads an NZRL review with the intention of implementing a draft competitions calendar for 2008-2012.
The biggest discussion point is a proposal to stage the provincial competition over summer, which would then allow the best players to turn out in a national club competition during winter.
"Things are changing and people are starting to look at the winter codes in a different light," Lowe said. "I think it's a terrific idea to maximise the product."
NZRL general manager Peter Cordtz said the proposal resulted from trying to accommodate the club and provincial competitions.
"People still strongly identify with club colours and this is a way we could give some status back to club football," Cordtz said. "It's also a way of ensuring a strong national provincial competition. Some will say a move to a non-conventional window [in summer] is inspired and there will be others who say it is madness. That's why we've asked for robust discussion on it."
Player welfare and costs are likely to be two major topics.
District and association officials will discuss the proposals at next weekend's special general meeting before individual discussions with Lowe. The draft calendar is expected by May 15.
Meanwhile, Lowe and acting NZRL chairman Andrew Chalmers are in Leeds to discuss the international game with their Australian and British counterparts.
It's understood they are looking into a fixed international calendar based on a World Cup every four years and the Tri Nations series expanded to include France in 2009.
Discussions this weekend will focus on whether the next best international side will play off with the team that finished fourth in the Four Nations from 2009.
How it could work
* Regional club competitions Mar 1 - Aug 23
* National Club competition Aug 30 - Oct 27 (Labour weekend)
* This could be a 12-team competition made up of regional winners.
* National provincial competition Nov 1 - Feb 6
* Two suggestions have been mooted with one based on a Northern League and Southern League conference (both with nine teams). The other would see a Northern, Central and Southern Conference (each with six teams). In each case, the top four or three side (depending on which format was adopted) would then advance to a four-week finals series with the grand final played on Waitangi Day.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
