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There is one way of knowing it’s State of Origin time, and it has nothing to do with the brilliant match we watched on Wednesday night. It’s from the disparaging comments about the NRL draw.
Honestly folks, there isn’t an ideal answer. There are solutions which are possibly better but they will never be perfect.
Standalone State of Origin was tried in 2001 and people still complained. Luckily it was before Facebook and Twitter.
The situation as it has stood since Artie Beetson and Tommy Raudonikis led their teams on to Lang Park in 1980 is that State of Origin puts rugby league in lights. This spectacle is the envy of every other sporting code in Australia.
Its appeal is enormous. The record TV ratings confirm it. Origin brings new fans to the game and makes regular fans love it even more.
The media like to beat up the impact Origin has on regular matches. It’s sensationalism at its worst. They modify stats to suit their argument but blissfully and ignorantly refuse to recognise that the Broncos have won six premierships while supplying a huge share of Origin players.
If you’re good enough, you will overcome anything.
Suspending the competition three times a season for Origin cannot happen. There is no perfect way to deal with this matter. Playing Origin mid-week and then having NRL on the upcoming weekend keeps people engaged.
So far State of Origin has not had any adverse effects on NRL crowds. This leads me to another issue.
In the Sydney Morning Herald, Phil Gould again brought up the idea of a conference system.
This idea has its merits, however it would only work if the competition is expanded to 18 teams. This would mean admitting two more regional teams to give the competition a nine-nine split.
Otherwise, his proposal would have 16 teams divided into a Sydney conference and a regional conference, meaning the Dragons would have to be considered a regional team in an eight-eight split.
By submitting the Dragons to the regional conference you would be compromising one of the most game’s most famous clubs. It goes against everything the proposed 16-team conference system sets out to achieve – fairness for all sides.
The 16 team split would provide 22 rounds of football, with each team in their own group playing each other on a home and away basis, then playing each side from the opposing group once.
The competition would be shortened and clubs would have one less home game, meaning the next TV deal could be affected negatively. Currently there are 192 regular season matches, while the proposed new model would see a reduction to 176.
If we added two extra teams, would we have capable first graders to spread around? This could mean more lopsided contests, which won’t be a good look. The people arguing for a two-conference system will be the same people complaining that the matches are not up to standard.
All rugby league lovers think about how we can improve our game. I am no exception.
My solution would be to wait a few years for extra clubs to be admitted, then have a conference system for the sake of equality in the draw, along with bums on seats. I wouldn’t mind a weekend off but I would keep State of Origin on Wednesday nights and with less turnaround time between each match. Two rounds of NRL would be affected but that’s the compromise we have to have.
My other solution would be for people to stop whinging, learn to relax and enjoy what we have. But I’ll have more luck with the ideas floated above!
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