Why Isaah Yeo thinks the NRL rep period shouldn't be shortened

Australian captain Isaah Yeo has declared the representative calendar shouldn’t be reduced amid concerns about the workload of the game’s top players.

With the first weekend of NRL trials kicking off on Saturday, it begins a marathon 35 weeks of rugby league, including the All-Stars game, NRL season and State of Origin, before finishing on November 15 with the conclusion of the Rugby League World Cup.

With the schedule growing, and the league continuing to expand to include more teams, numerous ideas have been thrown around surrounding ways to shorten the season without reducing content for fans and broadcasters, including a 22-round regular season, conference systems, and standalone Origin periods all suggested.

However, Yeo, who captains the Panthers, NSW Blues, and Kangaroos, believes that any plan to reduce player workload shouldn’t include shortening the rep period.

“I probably agree that the season might be too long, but I think it's probably one of those things where when I finish my career, I'm not going to regret playing a lot of footy,” Yeo told SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“It's something to look back on, and I certainly won't think I wish I played less.

“I'm in a fortunate position where I'm lucky enough to be a part of those rep environments at the moment, and I don't know how that looks.

“Obviously, they're talking about getting the 20 teams and then trying to shorten the season there, but I certainly don't think that the rep stuff should be shortened.

“I think that's really important on the calendar, and then how you work around that, I'm not quite sure, but I've been in a very fortunate position where I've been able to play a lot of footy and do what I love.

“I've been very lucky that I've been pretty durable over the last five or six years, but I haven't really had many injuries and that sort of stuff.

“I certainly won't regret it when I finish.”

Yeo has played 13 Tests for Australia and represented NSW on 17 occasions to go along with his 266 NRL games.

One of those representative honours includes leading the first Kangaroos side to play in an Ashes series in 22 years.

The return of the Ashes series against England marked a significant moment in rugby league’s efforts to return the international game to its prime and grow the game on a more global level.

But for Yeo, the opportunity to captain Australia in the series is an honour he will remember long after his career is done.

“(It was) certainly a highlight of my career,” Yeo said.

“I think any time you're fortunate enough to play for Australia, let alone captain it, it should be a highlight.

“To be able to… go over there as captain of the Ashes for the first time in 20 odd years (is) something (I’m) really, really proud of.

“Rugby league can be the ultimate leveller sometimes.

“I've never been proud of walking out onto a stadium at Wembley, getting to lead my country out, and I lasted seven minutes, and then got ruled out for week two so that was disappointing, but, overall, it was a real highlight.

“To obviously be able to play and get the full game under my belt at Leeds there in the third game, and cap off the whitewash… that's something I'll be able to look back on very fondly.”