2013 Cowboys draw - out soon!

North Queensland Cowboys members and supporters will soon know all the dates and times for their team’s matches in the first 20 rounds of the 2013 NRL season.

The NRL draw is expected to be released late next week at Rugby League Central, with all but the final six rounds to be under the new fixed scheduling protocol.

A team of NRL staff and a specialist Canadian-based company regarded as world leaders in sport scheduling, Optimal Planning Solutions, is finalising the complex challenge of scheduling all dates and times for the opening 20 rounds.

“It is an enormous logistical exercise as we match the requests of 16 individual clubs against our contractual obligations, ground availability and the sports market in general,” NRL General Manager of Football Operations Nathan McGuirk said today.

“There are 192 individual events to schedule across venues that involve multiple hirers as well as the importance of providing feature Premiership matches and representative games such as State of Origin.

“This is the first time the season will be scheduled in advance and it will give clubs and fans more certainty.

“Twenty rounds will be scheduled when the draw is released and the remaining six will be scheduled after round 16.

“We are very conscious of the expectation that is building around the draw and believe we will be in a position to release it by late next week.”

We’ll have all the Cowboys details as they are released on cowboys.com.au.