Time wasting and "stoppages in play" are costing the National Rugby League a potential A$40M ($37M)-a-year in extra TV revenue, according to Phil Rothfield of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Rugby league fans are "still losing more than one third of every game to breaks in play for scrums, penalties, errors, line-drop-outs and conversion attempts." The analysis reveals that if the clock "was stopped when tries were scored until the kick-off resumption, an average game would go 14 minutes longer and give broadcasters and fans an extra 112 minutes of football every week." Fox Sports statistician Aaron Wallace checked the actual playing times of three games. Last year, a Tigers-Sea Eagles game "went for only 49 minutes of actual play." On Sunday, Sharks-Warriors went for only 53 minutes. One Sharks line dropout "took 50 seconds and a restart after a try 135 seconds." On Saturday night, the Storm-Knights game lost 28 minutes to stoppages "with the clock still running." Five minutes was "wasted waiting for scrums" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 8/12).
