The NRL is reportedly set to grant the wishes of clubs by shortening the State of Origin camps from 10 days to just seven.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the NRL informed the 17 clubs at a meeting earlier this week that the build-up will be shortened in an effort to minimise the impact on clubs who lose multiple stars for Origin.
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Origin camps have traditionally lasted 10 days, but that length had left some club bosses reportedly annoyed given the first few days are predominantly used for media and promotional duties.
The report claims the NRL could even slash the 10-day camp down to seven days as early as the 2024 season, giving Brad Fittler and Billy Slater — who are yet to be locked in for the next Origin series — even less time to work with their respective playing groups.
However, Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher was not a fan of the NRL’s potential change.
“I’m perplexed,” Hatcher told the SMH.
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“We have an agreement to run Origin and we weren’t at a meeting which appears to have changed the manner in which the competition is conducted.”
The South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Manly Sea Eagles are two clubs who would likely be in favour of a shortened Origin camp given the impact of losing their best players through representative football has had on their respective seasons.
Bunnies star Latrell Mitchell pulled up short in a Blues training session with a calf injury and subsequently missed nearly three months of footy, including the entire Origin series.
As for the Sea Eagles, superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic went down with a torn pectoral during the second Origin contest.
With Trbojevic sidelined, Manly’s ladder position suffered as a result and will not make the finals in Anthony Seibold’s first season at the helm.
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