The 2020 NRL draw was released last week, and with that debate sparked over who has the easiest draw or the toughest run home. The only thing to do then is dive a little deeper with our 2020 NRL Draw Analaysis for all clubs.
We’ll answer the questions over 5 day turnarounds, distance travelled, the split of games over days, and more.
Of course, the questions about any FTA TV bias doesn’t really need to be answered, but we’ll provide the graphs anyway.
So enjoy the deep dive into the 2020 NRL Draw.
2020 NRL DRAW – FIRST SIX ROUNDS
May as well start off our look into the 2020 NRL draw with a quick glance into the difficulty factor of each team for the first six rounds (based on 2019 ladder position) and the distance they have to travel.
- Gold Coast Titans starts the season with the toughest run, playing three of the top four from 2019 as a reward for finishing last. Perhaps sponsor TFH could pull their support because of that.
- In a quirk that will surely keep Channel Nein happy, the Eels and Bulldogs face each other twice in the first six weeks.
- Bulldogs are the lucky pups too, they travel less than any other side in the first six weeks. They travel a mere 61 kms, which in Sydney should only take a combined 7 hours on the weekends.
- No surprise that the out-of-towners all travel the most in the first six rounds, the leading Sydney based club is the Tigers.
2020 NRL DRAW – LAST SIX ROUNDS
The run home is all important, so here is some further insight into the last six games of the season.
- The Bulldogs double down on their least traveled stat for the first six weeks with the lowest distance for the last six rounds too. At least their tally is 246 km for the last six weeks.
- Cowboys and Warriors battle each other for most traveled, and Brisbane and Melbourne get a slightly easier time of it in the last six weeks.
- Bulldogs again play the same team twice in a six week bundle, this time they take on Newcastle twice in the last six rounds.
- The difficulty factor spreads out a little in the last six weeks, with most Sydney teams with the easier fixtures, and Roosters and Storm the hardest. Melbourne have to play the re
DISTANCE TRAVELED OVERALL
You’ve seen the first and last six weeks, so here is the picture overall.
Of course the NRL entity who travels the least throughout the season is Ray Warren on a Sunday.
2020 NRL DRAW – DAYS
Below is the breakdown of every team by day of the week. A few things stick out.
- Canberra love thier weekend clashes.
- Sydney clubs tend to dominate Sunday fixtures. Eh Nein?
- Broncos are kings of the Friday night. Eh Nein?
- Rabbitohs and Cowboys are winners of the dreaded Thursday night attle.
A quick guide to how many day games your team is involved in for the season. Sadly for some teams, very few day games.
2020 NRL DRAW – TV TIMES
FTA doesn’t really bother us as we have Foxtel, but Channel Nein do get to decide who plays when, so we guess it does. Here’s some graphs on it all.
FREE TO AIR TV BREAK DOWN
SUNDAY 4PM
We’ve been moaning for years about how unfair the Sunday 4pm timeslot is, and how Sydney-centric it is.
Well, nothing has changed. Enjoy your continued sliding ratings.
Magic Round has been removed for the first graph.
FRIDAY NIGHT IS ALL RIGHT FOR BRONCOS
For every Sunday arvo Sydney moan, there’s an equal Friday night Broncos one.
Again, more of the same in 2020.
THURSDAY NIGHT FILLER
Thursday night is pure filler, so let’s see who is the leading team for the season.
2020 NRL DRAW – 5 DAY TURNAROUND
The dreaded 5 Day turnaround ends our 202 NRL Draw Analysis for now.
Sydney teams have the worst of it, but they travel much less.
