A novel and practical AFL State of Origin concept
Roar Rookie 
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There’s a lot to be said about the State of Origin, but not the thick-necked variety of backwards ball throwing.
It’s the Big V against the South Australians. The topic has been raised again with an AFL player group saying they would like to play; but put your money where your mouth is. Big time players wouldn’t risk a hammy, broken leg or potential season ending run on the grass in a game worth nothing more than wearing the navy blue.
Players such as Jonathon Brown (old school lad footballer) love pulling on the Big V guernsey, but how much do the coaches appreciate this? Player managers, clubs, even supporters cringe at the thought of an AC done for the sake of an imaginary line separating the states.
I propose another solution playing off the idea of mid season drafts – not a novel concept in most other sports, but one the AFL has been lagging in.
We have all heard the great seasoned rookie, good news stories such as Podsiadly, admired the careers of players who for one reason or another haven’t been able to crack it onto the MCG (the older Pendlebury) or young blokes who well… just don’t look like AFL footballers but possess brilliant talent. Let’s give them the stage to show off their skills.
How about giving these blokes a crack mid-season for the Big V? Not only will we get a chance to witness untapped talent, we may be unearthing the next big thing (kinda like The Voice but without the annoying, fawning of Delta) in AFL.
Insert mid-season draft picks here. the opportunity for mature players, delisted players still hungry for the game, the smell of overpriced chips and pies on the MCG and the slap of Sherrin leather in the hands on the big stage. An opportunity awaits those whose careers may have but cut short due to injury, bad luck, not looking flashy enough or being stuck out in the sticks.
Give ‘em a go. Lets bash the Crow Eaters into oblivion (and unveil the newest oldest big thing in footy) and play it over the bye round; that hideous time of the year when you have to wait two weeks to see your team play again. But that’s another story!
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- AFL, AFL draft, State Of Origin
May 27th 2012 @ 9:23am
yewonk said | May 27th 2012 @ 9:23am | Report comment
what we are looking for in a state of origin is the best players in two teams, equally divided or their about. but state of origin cant deliver that. what about this?
Representative club teams with no geographical base.
get two legendary coaches get them together and tell them to come up with the two best teams of players in the current competition.
they will have to work together to divide the players as equally as they can without wanting all the best players on their team.
they should then work dividing the rest of the competitions lists the same, this would be for future annual series given players forms will vary from year to year.
they should work together with goal of having the two teams of the best footballers in australia.
but they should then go away on their own and come u with a character defining ethos for there rep club which they will need to sell to the public as to why there rep club should be supported.
any new drafts should themselves choose a which rep club they wish to play for at the start of their registered career in the afl.
three weeks after grand final one game on the Saturday night one the following Wednesday one on the following saturday all three games in different cities all done in a eight days.
the public from all over australia will divide into two groups of supporters depending on which team there favorite players are in or which coach or ethos they like.
manufactured? yes but only initially the culture of a national non geographical derby will work.
questions?
May 27th 2012 @ 9:31am
Andy the Cowboy said | May 27th 2012 @ 9:31am | Report comment
The byline attributed to the author of this story is this: “Snapper Jack is a Roar Rookie”
Sorry Snapper, you’re a bit of an AFL Rookie too, and thats saying something because I’ve only been in Australia 4 years, and even I know that Saturday just been a Big ‘V’ team made up of only VFL listed players – exactly the players you’re talking about – took on Tasmanias finest at Bellrive Oval, running out 100 points+ winners.
In the next couple of weeks they take on the WAFL’s finest.
Your suggestion isn’t novel, its already happening.
However, I will give you kudos for suggesting they play Origin mid-season, during a trade week.
Thats a far better idea than playing it pre-season.
May 27th 2012 @ 10:02am
Jacques said | May 27th 2012 @ 10:02am | Report comment
Give it up people. State of origin in AFL was once good but it’s dead now. Players these days aren’t interested in playing in a meaningless game even if they say they are up for it. Every year when the Rugby Leauge Origin series are on,seems like Victorians get jealous and want their own series, but it won’t happen. I live in Melbourne and hear this crap every year
May 27th 2012 @ 10:21am
yewonk said | May 27th 2012 @ 10:21am | Report comment
you live in melbourne? amazing insight could you be roars official melbourne correspondant given you live there. players are interested in playing in an elite competition providing it is a genuine competition of the best.
May 27th 2012 @ 5:26pm
Jacques said | May 27th 2012 @ 5:26pm | Report comment
Only elite competition AFL has is the home and away season. Every time they have tried state of origin,players especially the top ones have come up with mystery injuries
May 27th 2012 @ 6:10pm
Tony said | May 27th 2012 @ 6:10pm | Report comment
Very good interstate game in Adelaide on Saturday night. Several others that were not so impressive. We get these every week in the AFL. Great stuff!
May 27th 2012 @ 10:43am
sheek said | May 27th 2012 @ 10:43am | Report comment
Snapper Jack,
You must be from marketing, eh? Only THEY are capable of such a half-baked, insensitive idea that immediately enrages a significant proportion of the sporting public.
Have I ever mentioned that all, if not most marketeers ought to be summarily executed for trashing the history & tradition of sport? Even player managers have more respect these days, & who would have thought that possible?
So you want an annual cabbage-patchers (or gum-suckers) versus crow-eaters State of Origin? Stuff the sand-gropers, even though their history is only slightly behind that of Vic & SA. And what about the growing legion of homegrown talent from the corn-stalkers, banana-benders & apple-eaters?
Yep, & I’m using state nicknames that were around during the infancy of Australia football from the 1860s to the end of the nineteenth century.
But of course, I understand that today you are taking the mickey, & this is not at all a serious submission…..!!!
May 27th 2012 @ 11:13am
Emric said | May 27th 2012 @ 11:13am | Report comment
The problem is the players they have no desire to do anything other then represent their clubs.
May 27th 2012 @ 12:23pm
Gleeso said | May 27th 2012 @ 12:23pm | Report comment
Leagues State of Origin is massive. Of course AFL wish they had it. Also it brings diversity to the season. The AFL season must become so bland.
May 27th 2012 @ 12:30pm
The Cattery said | May 27th 2012 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
Bland?
You mean like the same two teams playing each other for 32 years straight?
May 27th 2012 @ 6:17pm
Jacques said | May 27th 2012 @ 6:17pm | Report comment
Gleeso has a point. I barrack for Essendon and this year has been good, but usually after 10 rounds,8 teams is already out of the finals race and have nothing to play for.And if your team is one of those,it does become a bit bland.
May 27th 2012 @ 6:25pm
The Cattery said | May 27th 2012 @ 6:25pm | Report comment
Jacques
this is one thing I can promise you – every single year a team will finish top, and a team will finish bottom.
May 27th 2012 @ 1:22pm
Brewski said | May 27th 2012 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
I am a AFL fan, and i am not interested in it, more interested in my club, but there are plenty of lower teir AFL leagues that play state football.
At the end of the day i fail to see how the rest of Australia, outside of NSW/QLD can be interested in it RL SOO, over a extended period of time.
May 27th 2012 @ 1:37pm
The Cattery said | May 27th 2012 @ 1:37pm | Report comment
I’d say that’s the feeling amongst most AFL fans.
Club first….daylight second.
May 27th 2012 @ 2:39pm
Timmuh said | May 27th 2012 @ 2:39pm | Report comment
Really, there aren’t. There’s only one AFL league. Plenty of Australian Football competitions outside the AFL play rep footy though.
I loved Origin, and wish it would come back. But with the strength of the AFL’s club competition its hard to see how it ever will. A lot of fans don’t want it, the clubs will never allow it, and it doesn’t work well for TV. It works for RL because the two main markets are invovled, and they can throw a game into the third market as an event showcasing the pinnacle of RL. For Australian Football, spread over four states and a territory; and trying desparately to gain traction in two more states; its not an easy fit. If Queensland ever get to the point of being a genuine fourth first tier state in terms of talent produced the it might work. Three top tier teams and four second tier struggles. I like to think up ways it could be approached as much as anyone, but the reality is rep footy at the top level won’t be back on any sor of regular basis any time soon.
And All-Star concepts and the like are not any sort of replacement for SoO.
May 27th 2012 @ 2:51pm
Brewski said | May 27th 2012 @ 2:51pm | Report comment
I hear what you say, but i was using the term AFL for our non-educated northerners out there that equate AFL with Australian football.
BTW, i think QLD are not far off being the fourth state capable of matching at senior level, their state league is far and away ahead of NSW/ACT IMO.
May 27th 2012 @ 3:35pm
Timmuh said | May 27th 2012 @ 3:35pm | Report comment
NEAFL North belted NEAFL East yesterday (201 to 56).
In terms of overall talent produced, while clearly fourth, they are a long way off any of Vic, WA and SA. If that gap narrows and there could be four teams in the top division of SoO without an almost guarnteed blowout, the concept might become viable again. I doubt it will happen though.
May 27th 2012 @ 3:57pm
Brewski said | May 27th 2012 @ 3:57pm | Report comment
Did not know that score, but it clearly confirms that my suspicions are right about the QAFL and Qld footy in general.
Interesting both NSW and QLD have around 50 players each in the AFL, but the better depth and quality appears in QLD across the NEAFL, community and grassroots footy, even girls football in QLD is pretty good, QLD were just recent R/U to Victoria in the under 18 nationals.
May 27th 2012 @ 1:34pm
Snapper jack said | May 27th 2012 @ 1:34pm | Report comment
I watched the VFL yesterday and fully aware of it. My proposalis to extend the opportunity to all potential players not just those listed on the reserves teams. Scout camps leading up to mid year draft and cherry picking previously unheard of talent. Thanks for reading.
May 28th 2012 @ 6:35am
ManInBlack said | May 28th 2012 @ 6:35am | Report comment
The VFL were certainly too good for the TSL.
Although, the TSL suffered perhaps for lack of any of their top 6 goalkickers on the park. They might’ve snagged 6 instead of 3!!
Interesting to watch Khan Haretuku going about it – noted when he came to Frankston. He spent a couple of years as a NSW scholarship player for St Kilda. Interesting to see that he opted to push down to Victoria and the VFL to perhaps stay in contention – - at age 22 he might be another mature age prospect. Perhaps the Saints might bring him back into the fold as they head to windy Wellington next year given his NZ heritage.
May 27th 2012 @ 11:46pm
Sh00ter said | May 27th 2012 @ 11:46pm | Report comment
no
May 30th 2012 @ 2:42pm
Checkside said | May 30th 2012 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
Victorians not keen? Let WA v SA play if the players are keen. The argument that we see state of origin every week is rubbish. Each team in the AFL has a mixed bag of players from all states. I would think if the players want to play for their home state once every three years or so it’s up to them.