St Helens boss Paul Rowley has called for both the players and coaches of Super League to form a union if they’re to make any substantial change amid the current debate about the season schedule.
Comments were made earlier in the week by both Matt Peet and Sam Burgess about the Super League schedule being too demanding with both their sides, Wigan and Warrington, facing off on Friday night with over a dozen key players missing the fixture on account of injuries.
Burgess has called for the introduction of byes, pointing to the NRL where they play a 24-round regular season that includes bye weeks, with more coaches since being asked about the schedule and Paul Rowley is now the latest.
Speaking at his presser on Friday, Rowley pointed to an article from All Out Rugby League in which the arguments made by Peet and Burgess were surmised, stating: “It was really sensible and I wouldn’t disagree with anything that was said in that article.”
Like Wigan and Warrington, St Helens are very short on bodies with Jed Cartwright loaned in from Hull FC this week as their 21-man squad features just six players with squad numbers inside the top 21.
When asked if clubs are simply playing too many games, Rowley responded: “I think that, with anything in Rugby League, until there’s representation of the players and coaches in terms of union, etc, a strong independent one, then there’ll always be afterthoughts and hindsight questions put forward.
“I wouldn’t cast blame anywhere, but until we get strong representation on everything in terms of a union, then we’ll always get the same problems, really.”
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Player unions have been attempted in the past but to no real avail yet the RLPA, the NRL player’s association, wields plenty of power in terms of setting the schedule, dictating how long the off-season is, and ultimately it is very successful in protecting the players.
The number of byes in the NRL, three, is also a decision that is signed off on by the RLPA and Paul Rowley admitted that the introduction, or rather the return, of a bye week would be something he would be in support of.
“I wouldn’t disagree with anything they said,” Rowley explained, referencing comments made by both Matt Peet and Willie Peters about their desire for Super League to utilise byes.
“I thought bye weeks, obviously, is a good chance to reset and get rid of niggles and come back that little bit fresher. But every point they made, I thought, was prudent.”
As well as taking questions on the Super League schedule, there was still time for talk about the contract status of Jackson Hastings with the playmaker yet to secure his future for 2027.
Offering good news to St Helens’ fans, Rowley confirmed: “I know Jacko is in chats with the club, that’s just all moving smoothly and no problems there.”
Hastings is one of two spine players without a contract for 2027 with Jonny Lomax, who is currently recovering from a broken jaw, the other.
The Joker
July 10, 2026 at 5:25 pm
Limiting how many games each player can play should help. If all players (maybe can be adjusted to suit age etc) are subject to playing in say 25 games in a regular season, would that open up the opportunity for other squad members to participate in games?
Young players will not get a chance, if you just choose your best players available. Forcing coaches to utilise their squads fully, surely is the way forward.
In a success driven team game, we need to force some guarantees for coaches about their length of job. It cannot be a “six losses and your out” type of scenario!
It needs a lot of thought………..