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State of Origin in trouble unless it evolves

25th May, 2014
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Seems like forever ago. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Roar Guru
25th May, 2014
48
1600 Reads

As we celebrate 100 State of Origin matches, we’ve enjoyed reliving those classic moments between Queensland and New South Wales. Yet the Origin contest must continue to evolve as a format or risk becoming redundant in today’s sporting landscape.

In a climate where sports and competitions are evolving to meet the changing needs of viewers, Origin is a rare beast that has largely stuck to its format and concept.

Origin invokes a brand of the toughest, most fiercely contested prize in rugby league.

But does Origin risk becoming a record that plays the same song every year, particularly if Queensland keeps winning and nothing changes?

A much more interesting question: will the next 100 matches just feature these two teams?

Test rugby league administrators have rightfully realised the need to adopt new competitions and events – World Cups, Tri-Nations, Four Nations, European and Pacific championships – to keep relevancy.

This allows the product of Test football to remain fresh, dynamic and interesting to fans across the ever-expanding landscape of world rugby league.

Take this approach and apply it to Origin.

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The original concept of the State of Origin series was to function as a trial for the Australian team who would tour at the end of the club season. Queensland and New South Wales were the two major associations, so it made sense they were the two teams.

Yet Victoria and Western Australia’s participant numbers are on the rise. In fact, Victorian rugby league has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, particularly in school-based numbers – over 33,000 in 2008. The numbers in senior football has more than double in recent years also, according to the Victorian rugby league.

At NRL level, Mahe Fonua, Drury Low and Young Tonumaipea are all products of the Victorian development system. In another 40 years, surely the number of NRL players from different states will grow even more. What if another Darren Lockyer or Brad Fittler comes along from Perth or Adelaide?

Origin will lose its meaning. Perhaps with the selection of players like Tonie Carroll, Karmichael Hunt and more recently James Tamou and Ben Te’o, it has for some.

If the Australian rugby league wants to expand the concept of ‘state of origin’, they need to recognise that times are changing and not every player will be born – or play junior football – in either Queensland or New South Wales.

Yet State of Origin is a seemingly stubborn product. The most radical ideas throughout its history included playing matches in rugby league-starved Melbourne in the early 1990s. Maybe staging the contest outside of Australia for neutral matches could be as far as the administrators go.

Judging by crowd numbers and excellent TV viewership, Origin is arguably at its peak in terms of a product.

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Whether it can sustain this popularity and meaning for sports fans and players in the next 40 years must be something to consider for Australian rugby league administrators.

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