With State of Origin Game One just around the corner, I think it’s appropriate to question the legitimacy of the rules that determine which state a player represents.
The interest and opinion that New South Wales-born Sydney Roosters forward Martin Kennedy created with his recent decision to play for Queensland is proof that this issue needs clarification.
In the modern era of State of Origin, many players have represented a state they were not born in.
New South Wales-born players such as Greg Inglis, Israel Folau, Mat Rogers, Billy Moore, Wayne Bartrim, Michael Crocker and Robbie O’Davis have all gone on to star in Queensland series victories.
However, Queenslanders representing New South Wales has not happened as often, with Peter Sterling, Chris Johns, Steve Rogers and Ken Nagas being the most noteworthy.
There have also been interstate players involved in State of Origin, such as New South Wales players Timana Tahu and Peter Wallace, both from Victoria. Queensland has even had international players, such as Papua New Guinea’s Neville Costigan and Adrian Lam.
Under the current State of Origin rules, the state you play for is determined by the state in which you played your first football after turning 16.
The case of Greg Inglis shows that the system isn’t legitimate.
Inglis was selected for Queensland on the basis that he played his first senior rugby league football for Wavell High, in Brisbane.
However, closer inspection reveals that his first senior game was in fact played at Newcastle’s Hunter Sports High School, when he was 16.
On first thought it would be simple to change the rules so to that a player must represent the state in which they were born.
But just because a player is born in a certain area doesn’t make them any less legitimate or passionate as an Origin representative of their state.
After all, if place of birth was a selection criteria, then many players would be ineligible to play for the Kangaroos. Petero Civoniceva and Lote Tuqiri were born in Fiji, Karmichael Hunt and Tonie Carroll born in New Zealand.
Costigan and Akuila Uate were born abroad but moved to their chosen states at a young age, and have strong ties to both their state and their country of birth.
It is narrow minded to say that playing for Queensland or New South Wales means you must be born in Australia, because many Australians are migrants.
I think the best way to deal with these conflicts of interest is to implement a new set of rules for representative rugby League.
1. Players who have lived in a state for over a decade and have resided there before the age of 10 will have the option of playing for their state, and choosing their birth nation or Australia, but will not able to swap once a decision is made.
2. The Player must represent the state in which they were first registered after the age of 10. If from outside New South Wales and Queensland they must represent the state they were first registered in after the age of 14.
3. Players who have represented New Zealand or Great Britain at a junior level will not be eligible for State of Origin.
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