AS the countdown to finals begins, it’s time to confront the glaring issues in rugby league; here Phil Rothfield lists 50 ways to improve the sport.

1 Scrap the 4pm Channel Nine replay for live free-to-air games on Sunday afternoons.

2 Set up a video referees bunker to get consistency into their decision making.

3 Schedule blockbuster games to combat soccer’s A-League Sydney derbies.

4 Get rid of Thursday night football except for the week leading into Easter.

5 Ensure there is a Sunday afternoon game in Sydney every weekend.

BABY BUNNIES REMIND LOTS OF BRONCOS GREATS

HAYNE SAYS HE IS FINALLY REACHING IS FULL POTENTIAL

SBW SAYS HE MAY RETURN TO LEAGUE

6 Reduce State of Origin schedule so it doesn’t stuff the competition for two months.

7 Use the sin-bin for lifting tackles to get them out of the game once and for all.

8 Get rid of the totally meaningless City-Country game.

9 Insist that every club take a trial or premiership game to NSW or QLD country towns.

10 Give every NRL club a bush region which is their responsibility to develop

media_camera Introduce a $50 family ticket for every game, every round.

11 Introduce 30-second time limits for video refs with a scoreboard countdown.

1 2 Make referees more accountable and drop them for bad mistakes.

13 Introduce a two-week mid-year draft for player negotiations and transfers.

14 Restrict clubs to using three jerseys – home, away and Women in League round.

1 5 Turn Round 20 into an annual fundraiser for all seriously injured players.

BABY BUNNIES REMIND LOTS OF BRONCOS GREATS

HAYNE SAYS HE IS FINALLY REACHING IS FULL POTENTIAL

SBW SAYS HE MAY RETURN TO LEAGUE

media_camera Referee Shane Hayne has come under fire on a number of occasions this season Picture Gregg Porteous

16 Introduce a $50 family ticket for every game, every round.

17 Negotiate with venues for membership discounts and cheaper food and drink prices.

18 Don’t force us to watch the Broncos every Friday night.

19 Move the second Friday night game to another weekend time slot.

20 Drop the Anzac Test in April and play Test football at the end of the season.

21 Lobby the government to save traditional old suburban grounds like Leichhardt Oval.

22 No Monday night football at ANZ Stadium with 70,000 empty seats.

23 Don’t sit back and allow superstars like Sonny Bill and Sam Burgess to switch codes.

24 Reduce the interchange to eight to allow brilliant players to dominate more.

25 Change golden point to golden try so games aren’t decided by hit-ups and field goals.

media_camera Make Jarryd Hayne the face of the game for the next TV commercial

26 Do more to get Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt back to the NRL.

27 Introduce more loyalty salary cap concessions to allow for more one-club players.

28 Sign up Roosters legend Anthony Minichiello to a mentoring role for youngsters.

29 Get junior passes out to kids by round one, not round 10 like this year.

30 Send in independent directors and fix the fractured Wests Tigers board.

31 Demand ASADA finalises its investigation into the Cronulla Sharks.

32 More day games because the standard of football is better.

33 Increase the second-tier salary cap so good young players aren’t held back.

34 Change the under-20s to under-21s so good young players don’t fall off the grid.

3 5 Give the State of Origin shield to the team when they win it, not after a dead rubber.

36 Have a five-minute sin bin for professional fouls.

37 Allow teams to carry 18th man as a reserve for concussed players who can’t come back.

38 Make a decision and stick with 16 teams. The game doesn’t have the player depth for 18.

39 Connect Wi-Fi at every ground. NFL has asked all stadiums to provide free Wi-Fi by 2016.

40 Allow every team to carry one marquee player outside of the salary cap.

media_camera Lower Origin ticket prices to make it more affordable for bread and butter fans

41 NRL to take over all pre-match entertainment to improve the game day experience.

42 Let the video refs adjudicate on obvious forward passes.

43 Lower Origin ticket prices to make it more affordable for bread and butter fans.

44 Give us back our Sunday afternoon grand final with a 3pm kick-off

45 Create two conferences with Sydney teams playing each other twice.

46 Make Jarryd Hayne the face of the game for the next TV commercial

47 Ensure every game is live on TV, like the AFL.

48 Hire more NRL staff with stronger football knowledge and fewer bean counters.

49 Play one super weekend of football with double headers at Suncorp, ANZ, Allianz and Newcastle.

50 Time off for all scrum and penalty stoppages.