Good Call : Bulldogs boss calls for radical change to NRL jerseys

Not since the Super League days in the 1990s have surnames adorned the back of players’ jerseys in professional rugby league in Australia, with sponsors taking up the additional space around the numbers ever since.

But the Bulldogs want to bring in a change for their club which would align them with the other premier competitions in various sports across the world.

Canterbury CEO Aaron Warburton called for the NRL to consider the idea and said the Bulldogs were close to finalising a submission to be part of the Las Vegas games in 2026, and want their players to have their names on the back if they play in the US.

“It’s about pushing the boundaries … It’s about us putting the Bulldogs on the map,” Warburton told SEN.

“We’re actually talking with the NRL at the moment because we think it’s the perfect moment to implement surnames on the back of jerseys.

“Something as simple as that we think will really engage the fans.

“There’s a lot of chat online, particularly with our fan base, around why they can’t see a Burton or Kikau or Mahoney on the backs of jerseys with their number.

“The stats say they want it, and we’re really open to it. It’d be a discussion for us and all the clubs and in particular the top-of-jersey sponsor to negotiate what that would look like to make way for the surname.”

While the idea has merit with sections of the game, it’s understood the NRL will only consider it if the 16 other clubs were to agree to the change.

Standing in the way of the move, is the potential reduction of ad space on the back of the jersey to accommodate the name of the player.

Warburton concedes getting support from all clubs might be difficult but he says the Las Vegas games should be used as a test to see if the idea would stick.

The counter argument would be that showpiece events like the games in Las Vegas should see an increase – not a reduction – in ad space for the game. But Warburton believes his club will work with any sponsor affected by the proposal.

“We’ve started some of the conversations internally and the metrics behind it,” Warburton said.

“We don’t want to approach any particular sponsor with, ‘This is how we are going to diminish your brand awareness’.

“Some of the early research has suggested it will actually amplify it just in terms of the amount of interest and eyeballs on that space.

“The size of the logo, anything you do with that by reducing it will reduce the value of it.

“But we think there is a lot more to valuing a sponsor logo than just eyeballs. If you are enhancing the match day experience, it could be 10-fold exposure but just in a different way.”

Player names appeared on the back of players jerseys in the State of Origin arena but have not appeared in the national competition since 1998, when Melbourne Storm players wore jerseys with their names on the back in their first season in the competition.