Following the inception of the Dolphins, the NRL will carry an odd number of teams for the first time since 2006, meaning the way the NRL structures the draw will completely alter after the 2022 season concludes.

Factor in the removal of the rep round from the rugby league calendar, and things will look quite different next year, especially with at least one side enjoying the bye each round.

The NRL will need to consider a host of exterior factors, and look at extending the draw a minor amount in order to level the playing field as much as possible. Fairness will come into question as well as the game decides who has a bye in the final round, who gets a bye after Origin, who plays two Origin rounds and who plays one, and who misses Magic Round.

The Breakdown

Due to the introduction of the mid-season rep round, the NRL altered its draw in 2018, cutting the totals round from 26 to 25, and reducing every team's bye from two to one, thanks to the elimination of the middle 'Origin round'.

However, with the rep round going and the third 'Origin round' returning to the schedule, it will likely see the season extending from 25 rounds to 27, and starting a week earlier.

In order for the Grand Final to remain on the Sunday of the October long weekend, the NRL would need to kick the season off on Thursday, March 2 as opposed to a week later on the 9th. The earlier start means the competition can run for 27 consecutive rounds, before a four-week finals system straight afterward, concluding on Sunday, October 1, 2023.

The Byes

Balancing byes will be crucial and unfortunately unfair in the way they're spread out through the year.

A 27-round competition would likely see each side get three bye rounds, meaning every team will play 24 regular season games in 2023, the same total they have played each year for more than a decade now, erasing fear of player burnout.

Three byes per team means the NRL would need to make space for a collective of 51 byes through the competition. There will be three Origin-affected rounds, and just as it was in 2022, just eight teams will play those rounds, meaning the other nine get a breather.

That's 27 byes across three Origin-affected weeks, while the other 24 'full team' rounds would see one side miss out per week, adding to a total of 51 byes throughout the season.

The scheduling issue will boil down to fairness, and deciding what is beneficial and what is detrimental for teams when it comes to bye scheduling.

A team will be forced to miss the opening round, one team will be forced to miss Magic Round. Will receiving a bye in the final round be a much-needed breather before the post-season starts, or disrupt form heading into those games?

There will be a total of three four-game rounds during the Origin period, which means seven teams will be forced to play two games during those affected rounds, while the other 12 only have to play one.

There are certain to be teething problems over who gets what advantage or disadvantage, but the structure appears clear.

Domino effect

While the Rugby League Players Association is likely to sign off on the draw given it doesn't increase the number of games played per side and actually decreases seasonal fatigue with an extra 1-2 weeks rest per player, their push for mandatory rests after playing Origin could create a snowball effect.

The RLPA is pushing for every player that participates in an Origin game to forcibly miss their club's follow-up game, usually taking place 2-4 days post Origin.

Missing three post-Origin rounds as well as potentially two Origin-affected games means that the game's elite stars could miss as many as five regular season games if they do play all three State of Origin contests.

While it protects them from burning out, a guarantee that you'll miss nearly 21 per cent of the regular season each year could be problematic when clubs sit down and try and negotiate extensions, whether their pay packet is affected by so many omissions.

Release

Don't expect to see the finalised draw released by the NRL until late November to early December, with the Rugby League World Cup set to take centre stage as NRL CEO Andrew Abdo and company simultaneously work out the kinks of the 2023 schedule.

It's anyone's guess who will kick off next season, with a Rabbitohs-Manly clash in the United States touted, however, you'd think the Dolphins may get the first slot of the season in their first-grade debut.