BRAD Singleton wants to see the number of Super League games cut – to stop injuries to the game’s best players and boost the international prospects of the England team.

The Leeds Rhinos prop – currently sidelined after undergoing thumb surgery – believes the domestic calendar is overly-packed, with the top teams and players involved in too many high-intensity matches throughout the season.

Singleton believes the length of the season – which runs from February until October for those sides in the play-offs and Grand Final – and the number of games – 23 in the regular season, seven in the Super Eights, plus the play-offs and Challenge Cup encounters – can leave RL’s stars tired and more susceptible to injuries.

The 25-year-old Barrow Island product points to the NRL schedule in Australia.

Despite it being a 16-team competition, sides play only 24 games in the regular season – with each of them given one bye week in the middle of the campaign – and a maximum of four play-off fixtures, with no cup competition.

So, while the Australian teams have a maximum of 28 games in a campaign, in Super League that number could be as high as 36, and Singleton feels that is just too many.

“It probably takes a smarter man than me to figure it out,” said the Ireland international, whose 2017 campaign was extended beyond Leeds’ Grand Final success by his participation in the World Cup. “But if you have a good cup run and you end up getting to the Grand Final as well, then your top boys go and play internationals as well, and they don’t get a full pre-season. They just need to look into it a bit better.

“In the NRL, they sometimes get byes and there is no cup competition – not that I would ever cancel the cup, because that’s a great competition – and someone definitely needs to look into it over here.

“Once you get in that top-eight, you’re playing again against the top teams. They’re all high-standard games, which are great to see, but it makes it even harder.

“There’s a point in the year where the body of a player gets tired and is more susceptible to getting one of those niggling injuries. You can never be definite with injuries, but I think a few less games would be a positive.

“I don’t know what the answer is, but they definitely need to look into it – it might be the reason they dip at international level.”

He added: “Usually the boys who are playing for England are in the teams who are playing all those extra games, so it’s no surprise when we sometimes fall at that last hurdle.

“I think everyone knows the calibre of the players – it has always been quite even between England and Australia, but they never seem to fall at that last hurdle.”

As well as affecting players and the international team come the end of the campaign, Singleton also believes the length of the season plays a big part in tops sides going through tough spells.

Leeds are enduring one such run at the moment, with the champions taking only one win from their last six Super League matches, and Singleton said: “Form is key at the minute. It’s that hard part of the season, and it really doesn’t help with injuries.

“All the top teams seem to be hitting this every year, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the league games are getting more demanding with the Super Eights and the number of fixtures. I just feel that we play too many games overall.

“It has no bearing on my personal injury, but for the competition it’s not a shock when a big team does get these spells. I think we need to take a leaf out of the NRL’s book with the cutting down of fixtures.”