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As well as their countries or regions, representative teams also represent positive aspects of sporting life. A reward for individual talent and consistency is one, the opportunity for regions to measure themselves as sporting entities is another.
So how does our big rep weekend measure up?
To read more Brian Smith, outside The Roar, check out his website SmithySpeaks.
Pretty ordinary at this point, I think, for a variety of reasons.
For starters, take a look at that Kiwi team and ask yourself which player would make either Origin team, let alone the Kangaroos?
I can’t find one.
Maybe Jesse Bromwich or Adam Blair. Yes, I would pick both Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and of course Sonny Bill Williams in this fantasy team. But neither is there this time around, nor are one or two injured guys.
The whys and wherefores behind those selections I will leave to others, but my point is Australia has a huge bank of top-end experienced talent and bucket-loads of youngsters in reserve as well.
In the past few decades, New Zealand has not beaten us in anything but the World Cup a few seasons back and the occasional one-off Test match. Right now, it’s looking worse than ever for the Kiwis’ future prospects.
Their performances in the big matches at the last World Cup were dodgy and misleading. I reckon England beat them everywhere but the post to make the Final.
Australia then lapped them.
So why is this happening? Yes, we are a much bigger nation and we don’t have to deal with rugby union as a religion. But personally, I don’t think those are the issues.
There are always questions to be asked of the elite player development programmes when the conversion of top young talent to full internationals has a low success rate.
Perhaps they could improve, but I suspect we would hear that funding for such projects in New Zealand is nothing like here in Australia. That goes for UK and Polynesian countries, as well as all those other nations that attended the World Cup and others who didn’t make it that far.
But a quick look at any junior rep team from New Zealand makes an Aussie stop and stare. They are always full of athletic and skilful young talents.
So where do they all go?
Some go to Australia to play for NRL clubs. Some, eligible to play for New Zealand, are already here as their Kiwi parents have migrated.
So why does Australia have players eligible for New Zealand in its ranks all the way down to junior level? And why do players eligible to play for Polynesian nations find themselves in tug-of-war situations over which rep jersey they wear?
And why are Aussie officials on one end of that rope?
When the Kangaroos lap the Kiwis again on Friday night and you hear proclamations from the commentary team of how good our team is, water it down a little at least.
Do we really want to win so badly and by so many that we have all the best players registered to play in green and gold?
Not me.
I want our game’s leaders to do all that they can to make rep footy the pinnacle of our sport by ensuring the growth of all countries that love and participate in it.
And perhaps our clubs and players selected in City v Country and even State of Origin Under-20s have told us what they feel about the timing of this rep weekend. The number of drop-outs has been denigrating.
The whole rep scene needs a serious overhaul. The future of rugby league internationally can’t be kicked around here in Australia so disrespectfully when it doesn’t suit us while maintaining the high regard that it should when players wear their country’s jumper.
We need to change our attitude and actions if we want to do something for footy everywhere it’s played.
Instead of it being a day rep players remember as proudly wearing the international jersey, they will just be wearing another jersey in another game of footy.
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