Genuine appetite: Could Monday night return to the NRL’s broadcast menu?

David Riccio and Corey Parker have debated whether the NRL should bring back Monday night football.

With the competition in the midst of negotiating its next broadcast rights deal, there is plenty of speculation surrounding the changes that it may cause to the fixture.

One of the changes reportedly under consideration is bringing back Monday night football.

Having been a constant in the NRL from 2007, the timeslot was scrapped at the conclusion of the 2016 season.

But with the competition set to have nine games a round with the Perth Bears joining the competition next season, there has been interest in its return, with Channel 7 reportedly keen on broadcasting these games.

Given its previous success, as noted by Riccio, he believes it should be reinstated.

“I have a genuine appetite for Monday night football to come back,” he told SEN’s Front Office with Vossy.

“I know this is divisive with fans because it’s tough on a Monday night with schoolkids and getting home from work to get to the game.

“But I will say from a TV broadcast rights point of view, it actually rates really well.

“And when they’re tipping hopefully towards that billion-dollar figure (per year), when they’ve got that much say in the financial product of the game, I think you have to bow to what they want.

“And Monday night football makes sense.”

Corey Parker is also a fan of the proposed move.

“Thumbs up from me based on the spectacle,” Parker said.

“If I’m sitting at home and you want to watch a bit of footy on a Monday, how good?

“Because then you’ve only got three days until you watch footy again on Thursday.”

But from his experience as a player, he wasn’t the biggest fan of the time slot.

“From a player’s point of view, I didn’t love it,” he continued.

“Because you’d watch the first game on a Thursday and four days later you still hadn’t finished the round. But you just go along with it.

“From a spectator’s point of view, I think it is fantastic.”

The NRL’s current broadcast deal concludes at the end of 2027.