A NEW national rugby league competition in Canada will be played mainly under Nines rules because the format provides “more highlight moments”, according to the creator of the concept.
Yorkshireman Chris Coates is the man behind the Canadian Co-operative Championship, a majority fan-owned league which is due to kick off next year before becoming a full-season concern in 2023.
Coates says all initial games will be Nines.
“My opinion on Nines is it gives you significantly more highlight moments than you would ever get in a 13s game,” said Coates, who builds super computers for a living.
“And highlights are really key for fans now because people consume content differently and the days of having a fan sit and watch an 80 minute contest of a game, especially if it’s grind in the middle of the field, are probably gone.
“Some people love a war of attrition but your casual fan? There are so many casual fans out there who kind of switch off.
“Standard format makes the game hard to access but Nines makes it easy. The quality of the play you get during the course of the game is usually quite high and the barrier to entry of cross-over athletes, and of athletes in general, is actually less because there are fewer intricacies involved in Nines than you have in 13s.
“You’ve got space, you’ve got the ability to showcase your natural talents, your natural athletic ability, and that fundamentally gives you a much easier route of entry in to the game.”
Accordingly, the Co-operative Championship’s regular season play will all be Nines, with play-offs and representative games played under traditional rugby league rules.
“Nines is going to be the core product and 13s games are going to be … you’d have your showcase big games at the end, the East versus West games, your massive conference versus conference games, as 13s,” Coates explains.
“The idea is that we were going to bundle this up in a way where we could drop into franchises in other locations. You could take this to Jamaica and drop it in. They could have a conference, you could have a conference and you’d have a conference championship.
“Those big games that we’re talking about would be in 13-a-side games. You’re not just cutting off 13-a-side but you’re showing those games in a different light so the people watch 13s and think it’s a big, important game.
“But your Nines creates your highlight moments and your great content and your easy-to-access participation. It creates new fans.”
