Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has urged Super League to rethink its schedule, suggesting it could be playing a role in the competition-wide injury crisis.
Burgess’ side will travel to face Wigan Warriors on Friday night in a fixture that should be one of the marquee games of the season, however, both sides will be massively down on troops with over 15 players set to miss out on the game.
Speaking at Warrington Wolves’ Tuesday presser, the Wire head coach spoke to BBC Radio Merseyside and explained that whilst it won’t be a ‘shame’ that the elite players aren’t playing as young talent will get an opportunity, it should be a sign for Super League to assess its schedule.
“I don’t feel like it’s a shame, because it’s a great opportunity for our squad, our club, but I think on a wider discussion, something needs to be done,” Burgess said.
“Next month, we’ve got six games in 29 days so I dread to think what effect that’s going to have on the players, but we have no input, we have no ability to influence, we just get told what to do, and any time you challenge things or ask for a better solution, the answer is simply no.”
Burgess, who played the majority of his career in the NRL where there is a strong player’s association, expressed that there needs to be a Super League equivalent.
“I feel for the players, because they’re the ones out there,” he said, adding: “They need to get together and come up with an association and have a bit of a say in the game, otherwise, they’ll just continue to be used like this.”
Is the Super League calendar too arduous?
Burgess admitted that navigating injuries is part of the job, however, he questioned if a change would not lead to less injuries.
He said: “I think it’s one of the challenges of the year, the season is so long and arduous, it’s tough, and it requires a fair squad, and I think both clubs are being challenged with that at the moment.
“It’s a great question to ask the league, maybe we don’t play as many games and maybe the ability to have a couple of byes in the season, and then you’d probably keep more players on the field.”
The Super League season currently comprises 27 regular season games with the possibility of teams playing up to three games in the play-offs, as well as at least one Challenge Cup game but more than likely two or more.
Those 32 games are packed into just 34 weeks with no bye rounds scheduled in Super League, unlike in the NRL where teams have three per season. As an example of the arduous schedule, Challenge Cup finalists Hull KR will have played 33 games by the end of the regular season, a period of just 30 weeks and six days.
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Sam Burgess calls for open discussions with Super League over packed schedule
Burgess lamented the idea that a possible move to a 15-team Super League would spell at least two more games, adding:”I think we play too many games here, no doubt about it, too many games, not long enough off, shorter pre-seasons, too many games, no wonder you get so many injuries.”
On what he would propose, he suggested an actual discussion to begin with: “I think there needs to be a fair discussion, and then actually to listen to the players, to the coaches, to the performance staff. It just doesn’t happen.
“I’ve got a million ideas, but they’re not at the top of my mind at the moment because I’ve got a bit on my plate but we need some careful consideration.”
Pointing to the NRL, he said: “If you look at the NRL, you play 24 games, there’s bye guys each, and in that, obviously, they play the origin. So you might play eight games a week off, six games a week off, ten more games into finals.
“You play two maximum trial games, that’s it, and your pre-season starts middle of November, you have to get a minimum of eight weeks off. Pre-season starts middle of November, season start, trial game start middle of February, season starts early March.”
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