The Nine Network has refused to buy into Peter Beattie's comments about the NRL looking "favourably" on an earlier start time for Sunday State of Origin matches.
The ARLC chairman has put the onus on Nine to decide if it can move to a 4pm timeslot in a bid to better suit fans.
It comes after ratings for Origin II last Sunday, where NSW wrapped up their second series win in 13 years, were down on game one.
The game was scheduled to begin at 7.40pm, but didn't get underway until closer to 8pm.
Figures released by MediaWeek on Monday showed game two captured 2.1 million metro viewers to become the second highest-rating show of the year - behind game one.
Beattie was active on Twitter on Monday night, taking the views of social media users about their thoughts on start times.
After retweeting and commenting countless responses from fans, Beattie tweeted this:
"The fans view is clear; Sunday afternoon is overwhelmingly preferred," Beattie said.
"NRL would therefore look favourably at 4 pm on a Sunday. A good family friendly time, kids can watch and BBQs before the game. Over to ch 9 now."
AAP contacted Nine with a number of questions about Origin scheduling, but a spokesperson said "we'd prefer not to give any comment at this point in time".
The NRL this year introduced a representative round without any club matches, paving the way for a Sunday night Origin.
But the round also included a women's State of Origin game and a Pacific Test double-header in Campbelltown.
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