Have your say: Should the Easter period be kept or scrapped?

Drew Darbyshire

What would the Easter period be without a debate about the Easter period? We want to know if you would keep it or scrap it.

Leeds Rhinos star Adam Cuthbertson published an article for Yorkshire Evening Post last week describing his thoughts of the frantic Easter schedule of having to play on Good Friday, Easter Monday and then the following weekend.

The 33-year-old isn’t a fan of playing so many games over a short space of time, saying it puts players at a high risk of picking up injuries.

And he believes the games on Easter Monday aren’t as entertaining as the derby clashes on Good Friday because the players are still in recovery mode. Cuthbertson would prefer to keep it at one game per-week.

However, St Helens veteran Jon Wilkin has opposite views to Cuthbertson. In a recent Whippets & Flat Caps podcast, Wilkin said he loves the Easter period and wouldn’t change a thing about the schedule.

The 34-year-old admitted he prefers to play games in a short space of time rather than train like normal.

Several clubs rotated their squads over the Easter period this year. For example, Wigan gave fringe players like Gabe Hamlin, Romain Navarrete, Josh Woods, Josh Ganson and Liam Marshall a chance to shine and rested a couple of the more senior players due to the high risk of injury.

Meanwhile, St Helens hardly changed their squad, probably because they didn’t want to change a winning formula. They made just a few changes in all three games put together, while Matty Smith featured.

As Saints’ round ten clash against Hull FC was broadcast live on Sky Sports, the game was on a Friday night, meaning St Helens and Hull FC played three games in seven days.

St Helens had a gruelling Easter schedule. They played rivals Wigan on Good Friday, faced Widnes on the artificial turf on Easter Monday and came up against Hull FC on the following Friday.

The Easter period has split opinions of fans, too. Some fans love the Easter schedule because they get to see their team twice over the Bank Holiday weekend and some love it because its tradition and has been in the rugby calendar for a long time.

Others believe it should be scrapped to take player welfare in account.

Do you think the Easter period in rugby league should be kept or scrapped? Let us know in the comments below.