In fact, I will. Many first grade halves are well into their thirties.
Broncos pair Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt are about to turn 35, Cody Walker is 35, Daly Cherry-Evans is 36 and bionic man Kieran Foran is 34. He’s had more surgeries than Michael Jackson.
Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt during Friday’s match against the Roosters.Credit: Getty Images
By the time the PNG battalion begins its $600m mission to protect Australia’s north-east in 2028, all of those halves will be gone.
Their clubs need to replace them with new talent, and PNG will need quality halves. So too might the Perth Bears if the re-elected West Australian Labor Government can find a way of convincing an AFL-mad state it needs to gift $200m of taxpayer money for a league team, complete with a stadium upgrade and a high-performance centre.
After a paltry eight wins in the past two seasons, West Coast Eagles fans might think their team would be ahead in the queue.
And taxpayer money needs a return on investment, unlike the philanthropic millions Twiggy Forrest has dumped into keeping the Western Force alive as a Super Rugby team.
The NRL Commission has its sights on 20 teams as part of a 10-match-per-weekend offering to broadcasters to increase revenue.
It’s a noble aim, tried before during the heady Pay TV Optus/Foxtel battle of the 1990s.
In 1997, when there were two competitions during the Super League war, a cash-burning 22 teams went around, reduced to 20 when the competitions found peace and reunited in 1998.
The damage done to the game caused falling attendances and revenue – teams had to go and, by 2000, there were only 14.
It would be unfair to point to the late 1990s and say 20 teams can’t work. It was a different time when fans revolted against the greed on show.
The wounds healed to the point where we are now under Peter V’landys’ leadership, and the game is booming. Serious cash is now in the bank.
Gold Coast players Danny Burgess (left), Joe Vitanza (rear) and Troy McCarthy.Credit: Grant Guild
In boom times though, beware the bust.
And beware the perception money is at the heart of all decisions.
The public knows the NRL couldn’t get into bed with the federal government quick enough to grab the $600m on offer for PNG, and knows the Perth Bears bid has stalled because, first, a private consortium didn’t stump up enough cash and then the West Australian State Government did the same.
What fans want, and demand, is for their team to be competitive.
Money is great. An abundance of top flight players across the board is better, and will attract more sustainable money.
A lack of NRL-standard players for 20 teams won’t.
Already the Wests Tigers haven’t been close to being competitive for years. Friday night’s insipid second half was another body blow. The Warriors and Titans have never won a title. The Titans/Chargers/Seagulls/Giants not even making a grand final despite being around since 1988.
The Eels haven’t won since 1986, the Dragons and Bunnies once each since the ’70s.
The game can’t lose the interest of fringe fans who find the game with sub-par NRL matches.
Take, for instance, the AFL’s expansion to 18 teams.
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Flush with cash and determined to seize rugby league heartland, the AFL went hard and spent hundreds of millions on the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Gold Coast Suns.
The downside is – apart from the hit to the bank balance – there are only so many Suns v North Melbourne matches a stretched weekend sports fan can stomach.
PNG v Titans anyone?
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
