Rugby League History - RL1908.com (original) (raw)

**Why 2 Points For The Bye?

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The question comes up enough: "Why do NRL teams get two points for the bye?"

Giving two points for a bye began in soccer competitions in England in the late 1800s.

Football seasons rarely exceeded the three months of winter. The administrators of the past had the same problem the NRL has today - it was impossible to schedule an entire home-and-away series within the length of the season. In many football competitions some of the clubs had two byes, others only had one.

Thus, a team with two byes would be at a distinct disadvantage, especially if 'first-past-the-post' was used. To compensate, teams were awarded two points for a bye.

It could still be argued this was unfair to the team that only got one bye, as they were forced into an extra match to try and earn two points other teams were given. However it can be seen, on balance, that awarding two points for a bye was (overall) fairer than awarding none.

The NSWRL's 1920 competition was the first to have byes (9 clubs). Held over 15 weeks, 6 teams had two byes, the other 3 just one. While each team should have played 16 matches, there was only time for most to play 13 matches.

NSWRL First Grade Premiership - 1920

In a competition where each team has the same number of byes, there is probably no justification for the 2 points - other than it now being traditional.