Do we not have a responsibility to embrace representative rugby league? That is the question I put to all supporters of the greatest game of all.
In these modern times where no Australian sport is safe and all codes look for that edge, why does rugby league try and bury the one thing we have clear cut over the AFL?
The AFL can insist on itself all it likes with hybrid disasters, but we have something to build on in the short term and the long term.
While Aussie Rules pride themselves on the prestige of making an All-Australian team, Australian rugby league players and others from around the globe actually get the chance to represent the places that made them.
Whether it be for the mighty green and gold of the Australian Kangaroos, the world champion New Zealanders or even City and Country selection, these men have earned the right to play representative football.
State of Origin already gives rugby league a leg up on its competition. It has become one of the most anticipated annual events on the Australian sporting calendar and for good reason.
Origin is the epitome of what a sporting brand should be.
International rugby league might be Origin’s ugly cousin, but it’s still a powerful tool if harnessed the right way by administrators and fans alike.
People have finally got what they want. A representative weekend not only gives NRL teams and their star players a short reprieve but also allows the international game to take centre stage.
Yet like clockwork on Monday morning the media began questioning the merit of representative games.
Ask Australian captain Cameron Smith if he thinks playing for his country is a waste of time, or Issac Luke who will once again lead the haka on Friday night in Canberra.
Maybe ask Curtis Sironen to give back his first City Origin jumper?
Head to Penrith on Saturday night and try and tell the Tongan and Samoan boys that they can’t go to battle for bragging rights ahead of the 2013 World Cup.
Better yet, tell the 10,000 or so fans on the north coast that they don’t have to show up at Coffs Harbour on Sunday afternoon because the game doesn’t mean anything.
For a sport with such a bright future, being short-sighted is a curse.
Yes, many players have withdrawn from the City-Country clash on the weekend, but for the players involved this still means something.
And heaven forbid a game is actually played for the fans.
I agree that one game in a different country town each year isn’t enough.
For too long people from the bush have been the ones burnt by the mistakes of others.
Why not play two Monday night football games a month in the bush?
But it isn’t just how people feel about City-Country that needs to change. Its all representative footy. It needs to be invested in by officials and respected by the fans and the media.
The Australian Rugby League Commission and its clubs are being far more proactive in 2013 then in previous years, but more can be done to make representative rugby league a whole lot more commercially viable.
Give the fans a chance to truly enjoy the value of rep football and they will support it back tenfold.
So if you can get to a game this weekend do so and support representative football.
Whether it’s in Canberra, Penrith or Coffs Harbour.
It’s still rugby league after all.
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