Too many games or too many Easter eggs?

There are times when you think rugby league is like a scratched record, going over the same topics and issues again and again. This time its about the amount of games played over Easter. For people like me who love to watch rugby league, no matter what the game is, it's a wonderful time of the year because there is so much choice. But on the opposite side of the coin, does the quality deteriorate during the second game, and more noticeably the week after?

Jamie Peacock (a player who's team lost both games over weekend) has come out and said that teams play too many games over Easter. In the space of fourteen days they are potentially playing four games, a scenario Peacock thinks is too demanding for the players in what is one of the toughest team sports in the world.

Don't get me wrong. I do feel for the players in this difficult time of the season. I played three games in one week once, and by the end of it I was knackered. Playing at the highest domestic level, I'd imagine that's ten times as hard. But there is a bigger issue here, and that's money and revenue. Especially in tough economic times.

The Easter weekend guarantees every club a home game during the holiday period. Easter is a time when a lot of people are off work and have the time to go down to the rugby. Therefore attendances often increase. Every club wants to cash in on this time of the year. We play in the summer, so cannot cash in over Christmas where Boxing Day and New Years Day are seven days apart. When we get to July and August attendances drop as people rush away on their summer holidays, so Easter has to be the time of year where clubs can guarantee a decent attendance at their ground and watch the cash roll in.

Clubs largely rely on gate receipts and TV revenue to keep them afloat, along with hospitality and sponsorship. Those are the biggest earners. Therefore it makes sense to give each club a home game and make the most of people's free time off work.

What more fun can be had chewing on a cream egg and watching the Lancashire derby?