This isn’t just a moan from a bloke looking down the barrel of getting a big goose egg next to his tips for the weekend, after all statistically it is just as hard to get every tip wrong as it is to get every tip right.
But as I watched an under strength Dragons succumb to the Raiders I was left wondering whether it was right for all these sides to be putting out teams missing their big guns.
Yes, I know, I know, if you don’t want to lose players over the rep season don’t sign rep players. I believe it myself and used it on Friday.
But would everything work better if the Origin series was held on a stand- alone weekend?
I know there are a number of issues to work through regarding the draw and fitting in the club matches, but I think it’s a discussion worth having. After all even Elton John knows that Saturday night is alright for fighting.
Should Origin, one of the highlights of the rugby league calendar, be on a Wednesday?
Should players who go through be asked to back up just days later?
And in these days when everything has a price and everyone talks about the TV deal, has the question been asked as to whether the State of Origin series would be worth more if played on (and therefore broadcast on) a Saturday?
I must admit the pressure of the deadline means I haven’t even made up my own mind before posing this question, but I know the one argument I won’t buy is “it’s always been on a Wednesday”. Surely that something has a tradition of being mid week is the poorest reason to keep it there.
Maybe Origin has finally grown to the point where by it deserves its own weekend/s.
Looking for a quick solution for the club matches would be starting the season a week earlier and running it a week longer. And given how abbreviated the rounds are before an Origin, I’m not sure what we are missing.
Or hell, cut a few games. The clubs don’t play everyone twice anyway so it can potentially trimmed more.
The Origin period is always known for tossing odd results (perhaps something I should have factored in when making my weekly tips!). While this often is seen as a good thing, as some battlers get some unexpected wins and the gun sides are forced to roll out the kids, you could also argue that enough is already done to level the playing field, and a further leg up for the weaker sides is the last thing we need.
In the end maybe all we should hope for is that clubs continue to take this oddness on the chin and don’t complain about rivals for semi finals spots getting a free kick by taking on sides missing large chunks of their best team.
At least the Tigers all seem to be on speaking terms again.
hutch
Guest
as long as those representing the "islans" committed to an island nation. not just nz islanders v nz maori/pakeha!
Countryleaguie
Guest
im a parra fan from Orange, i was thinknig about travelling into city for the game. does anyone know if tickets are still available and what the weather is doing?
hutch
Guest
there is not enough time post season, and internationals must take precedence! mid season is fine for origin, but the current format is holding back the game!
LT80
Roar Pro
You would definitely need another game on the weekend, and in reality the only other possibility is New Zealand V Combined Pacific Islands. Even then, there would be a big concern about how competitive the PI side would be, and whether the game would generate enough interest. But I reckon it would be worth giving it a try. I've been to a few club games around Origin time in the last few years and the crowds are always pretty bad, and the quality is sometimes low as well, so it's hard to argue that we would be giving up all that much. You could even say that playing these low quality games devalues the club games to a degree, and could actually be damaging to the NRL.
Norm
Guest
To be honset Steve I have no sympathy for teams losing players to Origin (except when it used to be the Roosters) so I think we leave as is. On a more serious note Steve I have absolutely no trouble getting every tip wrong.
Gilbank
Guest
Only an idea: Why not play it at the end of the year as a precursor to test selection.
Brett McKay
Guest
Hutch, I'd love to see a merge of two of your ideas there, and play a NZ Origin made up of "locals" playing against those from the Islands....
hutch
Roar Guru
id be happy with this as well!
hutch
Roar Guru
there is no time post nrl season. the international games are on then and we have a set schedule for the next 5 years! mid season is fine for origin, but there should be a mid season nrl break. the season always has a lull around this time anyway. the standard of games drop, crowds and ratings drop as all interest is focused on the origin series.
hutch
Roar Guru
i would be happy to never see the city country game ever again. it is not, and hasnt been for years and origin trial! the only way i see it as being meaningful is by making it an under 23's game, or something similar. im all for rep football, it is my passion, but this game is stuck in the past, irrelevant and has had its day.
hutch
Roar Guru
origin would work any night of the week, i dont care what has happened in the past, the game needs to be played on a weekend which is free of nrl club games. there are two reasons for this, and they both benefit the sport of rugby league immensely, which is more important than channel 9 having a sook over ratings, when they dont even show most games at a decent hour outside of nsw and qld. - the first reason is the most important. having origin on weekends gives other nations the chance to play meaningful rep games, test matches and tournaments and have access to all of their players. series between png, fiji, samoa, tonga, cook islands, pacific cups, nz origin, nz v pacific islands. you can extend this to the northern hemisphere if the super league followed suit and have a euro cup with a top tier of england, wales and france who all have professional teams. the game is bigger than australia, and if its ok for aussie players to play rep football mid season, then why not other countries. this would also give players who are eligible to represent other nations a fairer choice, and not just choose origin and australia. - the second reason has already been mentioned. it is absolutely ridiculous that teams play without their best players in such important games. if the dragons lose their games without their origin stars and therefore miss the minor premiership by a point or two because of this, they would have every right to feel completely ripped off. it is an absolute joke, and i say this even though my team (wests tigers) benefited on the weekend from beating an understrength newcastle team. it is time the admin who 'run' this game started thinking bigger and started doing what is best for the sport as a whole. lets grow the game, not bow down to tv networks who stuff us around anyway!
Brett McKay
Guest
Ideally Steve, City-Country should be an Origin trial, I agree completely, but as I said to Oikee above, that hasn't been the case (really) for a good period of time now anyway. At least by playing it in conjunction with an Origin weekend, and by bringing Qld teams into a "series" it creates some proper meaning around those games too. It could become a genuine second-tier rep fixture which could reward rising stars while still allowing those on the fringe to push for Origin selection later in the series. The "McKay Report", I like it!! I did send this off last year to the Sunday Roast, but it didn't make the table (at least not while I was watching), so perhaps it's time to resubmit. Any other avenues of getting this through somewhere?
Gob Bluth
Guest
Knights had nothing? They were the better team for the first half. How can you complain about weak first grade teams and then enjoy Toyota Cup, its a bunch of gym junkies playing touch footy.
Steve Kaless
Roar Guru
I believe that the Pacific Islands Cup is again slated for during the Four Nations this year, as a "Don't Start me on this Again" remarked october has nothing (although I'm not sure I'd go that far). Certainly don't disagree with the first half of your argument either.
Steve Kaless
Roar Guru
I actually think that looks pretty good Brett, although I do think the City v Country still needs to be viewed in some way as an Origin trial. Maybe some work on that. You should submit the "McKay report" to the NRL. Afterall if Mr McIntyre gets the finals named after him why not?
Daniel
Guest
Everyone can see that Sunday night Origin would not work. Geez!! However, a Saturday night would surely rate, regardless if it isnt a traditonally big night for ratings.... after all, it is Origin, and trust me, people will watch it. As a matter of fact this would suit people much better with many people opting to put on BBQ's etc at their houses and entertaining guests, particularly having the next day off work! Whether it gives the opposition a leg up or not, i cannot answer that... It would being played on a Sunday, so it would need to be mid weekend. I think the potential leg up is offset anyway by fans disappointment in split rounds and players not being available to play for sides. I think it should definitely be pushed for in the next TV deal discussions.
Steve Kaless
Roar Guru
Thanks for that background mds. Also, unlike some others I'm not all over ratings figures but you are right if Wednesday beats the weekends then there is no way Channel Nine will go for it. No question ratings rule Channel 9. Example 4,677, 207: Origin is delayed in WA until 9.30pm to make way for the Mentalist. The Mentalist! I can't comfirm whether 9.30pm is billed as "the special time".
Gareth
Guest
As a quick aside, both the Eels and Dragons have pretty poor records against the Sharks and Raiders respectively. It's like tipping Brisbane against the Dragons - it ought to be done with a lot of caution. But anyway. The biggest reason for people to dislike the idea is pretty simple - nobody wants a week with only one game of footy. I like the idea of having a weekend with NSW City Country / QLD City Country / ANZAC Test and potentially some other internationals like PNG vs Samoa to round it out. It becomes harder to do something similar for SOO, because you have to do it three times, you can't really have City/Country games filling the gaps because ideally they should still have some purpose as Origin trial (ignoring the fact that the NSW team seems to have been picked well in advance by a combination of coach, marketing and media). But forgetting that for the time being - why is it such bad thing for teams to be forced to play without their stars? It's not like any of the games this weekend were boring, aside from a dour struggle in horrible conditions on Friday night. In fact, in some ways it can be more exciting to see some of the unheralded blokes go around for a game or two - they're enthusiastic, unpredicatable and hungry for their chance at stardom. Can we agree that the entertainment aspect of the football was not degraded through the loss of a significant number of rep players? To look at it in terms of competition integrity, I'll admit it's far from perfect to have these half bye rounds and some strange results - but it also gives a leg up to the teams who don't have a roster full of reps, and brings the vanguard back in line with the rest of the comp. It keeps everything more competitive, though it does rely on certainly elements in terms of the scheduled fixtures. Last thing to consider is that maybe the selectors are part of the problem. If they ignore rep quality players like Josh Dugan and Terry Campese in favour of strong club players like Kurt Gidley or Jamie Lyon, then of course some teams are going to lose. ;)
Col the Bear
Guest
I guess more a concern is what steven humphries is putting up..about a 32 round comp..Does this mean in his opinion there would be no trial matches.. and if they decided to add trial matches probably another 4 weeks on top of that 32 weeks. plus the test matches at the end. like it or not clubs need trial matches..there is also talk about a pre season comp.. so add another 4 weeks.. so now we're up to over 40 weeks of league..gees there must be some how we can squeeze another few weeks out of our players to make it a 52 week comp.. also another thing is what phil franks and bob fulton are putting up about a hybrid game..do we really need this.. i don't think so!! Sorry Steve strayed from your article..(hey but the Bears got a win up on the weekend finally against 3rd place.. here come the Bears!!) :-)
M1tch
Roar Guru
Will never be on a Saturday night as the other codes will be on as well. Sunday night is basically same as Wednesday as people still gotta goto work/school the next day More I think about it Wednesday is good, we just need no club footy the weekend before - have a international weekend of the pac islands and nz playing each other