RUGBY LEAGUE
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Dragons veteran Ben Creagh believes the NRL will eventually need to change its State of Origin scheduling to avoid the toll on players, their clubs, and rugby league fans.
The debate over how to fix the problem has been raging for a number of years.
Football legend Steve Roach used his column in the Mercury last week to suggest the Origin series be played over three consecutive Wednesdays, while the NRL is put on hold and the weekends in between used for showpiece amateur representative games.
Creagh has been on both sides of the Origin fence, having made 11 appearances for NSW and now lining up for the Red V without teammates Josh Dugan and Trent Merrin due to state duties.
He agrees the scheduling needs to change but can't see it happening for some time.
"I think standalone Origin weekends would be the best way to go forward," Creagh said.
"The way the agreement is with the NRL and TV networks at the moment, I really can't see that happening for a long time yet.
"If you want to put player welfare and player safety, but also the clubs' best interests, at the forefront, that's the best way to go forward.
"And also the fans' best interests, so they can see the best players playing for their clubs every week.
"But it seems like we could be some way off reaching an agreement there."
The NRL has drawn plenty of criticism for its split-round scheduling, which will see just four games played this weekend ahead of Origin III.
The idea is to limit the effect on clubs during the Origin period.
While Dugan and Merrin will watch on, the Cowboys will be without Johnathan Thurston - widely regarded as the game's best player - as well as James Tamou, Matt Scott, and Michael Morgan.
St George Illawarra has lost its past three games and is in danger of slipping out of the top four if they lose this weekend.
Creagh isn't blaming the Origin scheduling for the Dragons' recent form slump.
"You can put it down to a lot of things," Creagh said.
"But to be honest I think we went away from the style of footy that we were playing at the start of the season that was winning us games.
"We were playing tough, grinding footy, and I think the last couple of weeks with some of our attack we've been throwing the ball away at crucial times.
"That's been really hurting us."
The Dragons could make up to half a dozen changes for their clash with the Cowboys.
Tyson Frizell, Dylan Farrell and Joel Thompson are all out injured, while Jason Nightingale has been named at fullback but remains under an injury cloud.