As the NRL nears the end of its second decade of existence, it’s time for the code to ask itself where it wants to go next. The Future League has the answer: a conference system.

On Easter Monday 2014, the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers played out a down-to-the-wire thriller at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium. The result on the field, a 21-18 victory to the Tigers, is not the point of this story – the result in the stands is. Over 50,000 people attended the regular season match and provided an electric energy and atmosphere for the players to weave their magic.

50,000 fans at a match between two of the NRL’s most popular teams at a regular season fixture should not be an exception to the rule: it should be the benchmark. This is why a conference system must be introduced into the NRL.

There are several issues with the NRL that the introduction of a conference system could potentially solve. The most important issue in need of addressing is the stagnation of crowd figures. While the NRL continues to attract large numbers of viewers on television, the actual crowd numbers at the matches themselves have only risen a minimal amount over the last decade.

Why matches between rivals are not being watched in the grounds by near-capacity attendances does not make sense. How can the NRL deliver such an amazing package, both in a sporting and entertainment context, and not have the ‘sold out’ sign featuring more often?

An argument could be made that it is asking the impossible for teams to pack out an 80,000-capacity stadium such as ANZ Stadium in Sydney’s west every weekend. However, that’s not the argument The Future League is trying to make. There are many other stadiums in the NRL that hold much less that are not being filled more often.

So the question that needs to be asked is how the NRL can further develop its live-match atmosphere to see it stand atop the pinnacle of Australian sport?

The answer is simple, and it was there for all NRL supporters to see at that Easter Monday nailbiter in 2014 between the Eels and the Tigers. More fans equals more atmosphere, which in turn leads to unforgettable experiences that make fans want to return to their team’s next home fixture in droves.

This is where the conference system comes into play.

Next: The Future League outlines how its NRL conference system will work.