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State of Origin was enshrined as one of the great events in the Australian sporting calendar with one shining (or shiner of a) moment, which had nothing to do with the footy itself.
One Arthur Beetson, the greatest forward in Australian history, punched out Mick Cronin, friend and all round nice guy, to prove this wasn’t another game, this was war. Mate against mate, state against state was born.
The problem is that certain players have a professional choice, when selection should be automatic. No offering of contracts, deciding where you’re more likely to get a spot, choosing where you’re more likely to win a series.
From the second you pull on a jumper and run out with an official referee, you should know what your Origin jumper will look like if you are one of the gifted few.
Whether this is through automatic selection, if you were born in the state you played your first footy, or if you apply to have different allegiance when you first sign your life away to your local club, not once should you be able to make a decision.
That Greg Inglis chose Queensland irked many NSW fans who cried “Judas”, but the man clearly adores his Maroon jersey (and his future place in Origin folklore as one of the best centres to grace either jersey).
The problem was the conversation should never have been made when he was registered for an NRL club, let alone in the starting XIII.
If he thought down the track he’d run out for the Maroons, then it should have been down on paper.
Martin Kennedy, similarly, has had the Daily Telegraph in a furore, and the Herald-Sun in a fit of ecstasy, as another option for who will fuel the engine-room to assist the greatest backline in Origin history in chasing a sixth straight victory becomes apparent.
The issue at hand is, Martin Kennedy was born in New South Wales, before moving to Ipswich to play for Ipswich North’s (after playing in NSW as a young ten-year old according to the Roosters profile), but was a Rugby Union player with Ipswich Grammar, and played first “Senior” (international rules) football when running around for the Roosters upon being shipped back down south in NSW territory.
He represented Queensland at U-17 level. A tricky scenario, it would seem.
Under the rules he would seem well within his rights to select to play for Queensland, and his claim that he “bleeds Maroon” means he’s made his choice (unless of course the prop forward was having difficulty understanding how you can bleed Blue).
Having lived 20 of his 22 years in New South Wales, if the boy bled Maroon before he became a man, it should have been down on paper to take away any professional decision on Origin selection being made, to stop inevitable questions being made.
Has the decision been made to increase marketability? Has the retirement of Steve Price, and Petero Civoniceva playing at first grade level these days rather than origin, made him think he could claim a spot, off the bench or otherwise?
Or is it to almost guarantee victory in this year’s series?
The Blues have some solid options in Weyman, Galloway and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, as well as rising superstars Kade Snowden and Aiden Tolman who are pushing for selection in the early stages of 2011, and could ensure he plays limited games as the years roll on. Did this influence his decision?
You would hope none of this would matter, but you can’t rule it out. The issue isn’t the fact that a player would do this, some would, and some wouldn’t. The issue is that they can.
Based on form with the Roosters so far, Kennedy could poke a nose through the neck of a cane toad jersey come May 25, and would at least be on the initial squad list.
In international rugby league, there is a tendency for players to switch national sides, in essence to increase the depth of many squads who would be unable to compete at a professional level.
In Origin, this is unnecessary, and can herald back to the days of New South Wales playing a Queensland side with the best Queenslanders who weren’t good enough to play in the NSWRL.
Early last year Sam Burgess, the England international, claimed if the rules were loosened he would pull on a Blues jersey, his favourite team from his living room in Leeds.
On the Sydney Morning Herald website, 38% of the 6000 people asked said yes.
Can 38 per cent of rugby league fans really not understand what State of Origin means? Or was this just a reflection of the desperation of Blues fans after five straight years in the wilderness? Or, perhaps, a sense of “getting one back” after the Inglis saga?
Rugby league was made to be a professional sport, and allowed free movement of players. State of Origin was made to almost counter-balance this idea, to hark back to the days when the nation was a collection of colonies, you weren’t Australian, you were a Queenslander, a Victorian, a New South Welshman.
If the man bleeds Maroon, he would have bled Maroon when he pulled on a jersey for the first time, and as such the decision should have already been made.
Along with your birth certificate, the necessary documents should include proving your eligibility for your first choice for State of Origin.
If a player has a case to play for somewhere else than their current state then sign before the dollar, or the chance of victory, or the likelihood of a starting place. Lucre and playing top-dog can cloud what should be a decision of the heart.
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