THE NRL is commissioning an independent review of how it compares against national and international sporting competitions and hopes to have the report back in its hands by Christmas.

Whether it will be a merry Christmas - in terms of how the NRL is perceived, by comparison - remains to be seen, but according to Manly chief executive Grant Mayer, who is a member of the committee that called for the review, the NRL's powerbrokers are prepared to react to criticism by facilitating change for the good of the game.

The committee, which also includes chief executives Peter Parr (North Queensland) and Peter Doust (St George Illawarra), and the NRL management team, headed by David Gallop, is charged with the responsibility of establishing how the game can make itself most attractive for the next round of TV rights negotiations in 2012.

Other committees are also working on separate issues, including investigating what needs to be done to improve the structure of the game, with its plethora of "RLs".

Mayer said the committee on which he sits agreed at a meeting last Friday to employ a consultant to write a brief outlining what the NRL would hope to achieve by commissioning a review. That will be completed shortly and copies sent to various research companies.

Once those companies reply with their plans on how to undertake such a review, one will be chosen for the job, and the main process will begin within weeks. Mayer said the review would incorporate examinations of some of the game's biggest issues.

"It will be looking into what is the best number of teams, the locations for those teams, the venues we should be playing out of - the whole shape of the competition, really," he said.

The various committees reported back to the club CEOs meeting on Tuesday.

Mayer also believes the NRL should consider introducing a transfer system for players heading overseas, so that if clubs did lose players they would at least receive financial compensation.

The Herald understands that the on-field nature of the game will also come under the review's scope, and some radical ideas have already been put forward for consideration - including the possibility of splitting the game into quarters or thirds.

This would increase the amount of time available for advertising during live coverage of games and would be expected to lead to an increase in the value of television contracts.