Origin in Melbourne is great for rugby league in Victoria

cue crickets...

@clipper - do you read carefully the posts to which you respond? The Origin - Super Bowl analogy is yours and not mine. My point is that there is hardly a single fan of the NFL anywhere in the world who will argue that the Super Bowl is that sport's and competition's zenith. However, in rugby league, those fans OUTSIDE of Australia - such as here in dear old Blighty - are stirred by the epic history of Anglo-Australian clashes far more than the (admittedly compelling) Origin. That is why your analogy fails - and that is why your reference to TV ratings in Australia is utterly irrelevant to the point you were making in the first place.

AR actually I ran into Clipper out in the Eastern suburbs (boy did he not have a clue about where the nearest pub was for someone who purportedly has lived in Sydney all his life and never managed to go to the western suburbs even once.) He said that his mate Tony (That guy who lives in the west and had converted to Aussie Rukes) said that It's Called Soccer called ( you know the Roar Soccer troll who was talking about going overseas) and said that you (Australian Rules that is) will be going over to Fitzy's (that's the guy who grew up in Manly and moved to Melbourne and is now an AR nut and author's trolling type articles about RL players defecting)) are all going over to his place tonight and the doll's will be there and he asked me if you bring along something slippery to go along along with the liquid lubrication. I said sure Clipper I can let Australian Rules know, it sounds like a great night with all those different personalities getting together. Almost wish i could be there. I just about feel like I know all those guys. I don't know if ted will be there though, maybe you should give him a call too.

"One commenter claimed Aussie rules football has an internetional game and that rugby league doesn’t" Well that guy was patently crazy.

Don't think you can really say it was that poor an attendance. If it was played at Swan St/AAMI, then that was a capacity crowd and would have been a fantastic atmosphere. And even if it was at Etihad, those ratings figures are still fantastic.

Hey ITS, I thought you were going overseas or something.

Never parochial but then... "i was sticking up for NSW’s sporting heritage of which you may find many NSWmen (surprise) might actually be proud." haha it's endless gold !

Boom, you have proved my point - 30k is indeed poor compared to proper international games like Rugby, Football or Cricket, especially against your main opposition (even if they live and play here). Could you imagine a Bledisoe with only 30k in attendance?

Surely nothing comes close to representing your country and in this case wearing the green and gold....i've been to origin and seen the blues lose however it doesn't compare to the suffering of losing a WC final to NZ - i hit the gold coast for a week just to try and obtain some short term memory loss.

Boom Your comment proves my point doesn't it? Origin IS bigger than Test matches. A crowd of 30k against our biggest international competition (NZ), may not be "poor", but it's pretty low. And Origin's tv ratings are almost double what the international game is. In terms of crowds, tv ratings, revenue, print space and public interest...Origin leaves international games for dead.

Clipper is not understanding the point. It was what is the highest pinnacle for the players.Not which is the highest standard or highest Tv ratings. The players are the ones better equiped to answer the 'pinnacle"question, not presumptions by others. I further note ,having attended the 3 tests in 2003 in the old dart,where all the stadiums were sold out,the committment on the field ,the generosity and comradeship off it ,adds further to the argument. Do I have to look over my shoulder every time I post?There is absoluely zilch,that can be designated provocativein my comment.

AR I got it from the horse's mouth so to speak,can't do anything better than that.Artie was a passionate Queenslander ,but just as passionate about wearing teh green and gold,because it represented more thna a part of the country. I have already stated in my spiel,SOO is of a higher standard.That has nothing to do with the desires of the participants. I venture to say the standard of the NBA,is much higher than the OPS.

Clipper In 2010, The ANZAC test match NZ vs Australia (with capacity 30k in attendance - in Melbourne) rated 257k into Melbourne and 1.3M nationally (five capitals) shows that played at a decent time and promoted well enough, these rugby league internationals are popular. To put this into context, whilst origin averaged over 2M nationally (five Capitals) per game, the 1.3M outrated anything the AFL put up nationally outside of finals time. Would hardly say these internationals suffer from poor ratings or crowds.

traki - if that is the case, why are the ratings and crowds so poor for these games in Australia - could it be that 'international' games are so uncompetitive, with England not having won a series or WC for 40 years, and only the New Zealanders who play and live in Australia giving the Australians any trouble?

Well that is just about the usual mash of lame self justification and even lamer insults Pitzy. As to your point about the Riverina I guess it's explicable because, unlike places like Victoria and SA, they do actually play the Rugby codes there, although as Stabpass and the Cattery like to inform us that situation is unlikely to be maintained for much longer as the AFL pours more and more money into NSW. The situation seems to fit perfectly well with the logic of the proposition that more AFL means less of everything else Fitzy although as usual you were probably too busy trying to think up insults to really think it through. But of course anyone who advocates that the maintenance of 'the everything else' is worthwhile deserves any vilification that the rabid AFL is better brigade can muster.

@clipper - Origin is - "of course" - not bigger than an international game as far as those rugby league fans outside of Australia are concerned. Trust me, England defeating Australia in a decider - ideally in an Ashes series - would mean just a tad more than any Origin game.... making your analogy with the NFL meaningless as all NFL fans, I imagine, recognise the Super Bowl as the sport's apotheosis. After all, rugby league's Ashes has rather an epic history behind it - surpassing that of the (admittedly great) Origin by some distance...

Of course Origin is bigger than any 'international' game, like NFL, where the Superbowl would be far bigger than any 'international' game. Just compare crowd and TV figures. Maybe the NFL guys would say the same thing about representing their country, but that's the reality of the situation.

I would agree that there's no higher honour than representing your country. But I wonder whether that's true in Rugby League...Artie's comments are interesting though. The reason is wonder is because Origin is usually a better standard than most international games and there's definitely more passion (and arguably more relevant history) in Origin.

Well I have had the pleasure of speaking to Arthur Beetson a few years back on a 2003 Kangaroo tour which he led a group,and whilst winning an SOO is great and the highest standard,representing your country and touring with your mates is the higher honour.Ask Wayne Pearce. Knowing rl players,winning both tests and a SOO series is the ultimate. And the situation as more countries now play the game,and countries like NZ/France and England improve and no doubt they will,country representation will reach an even higher level. BTW the code has been officially accepted for the first stage of securing entry into the Commonwealth Games.Plus there is a world cup coming up in 2013.

JVGO again you have missed thepoint, you are simply wrong and can't, wont , dont have the guts to admitt that your vitriol about West Syd is pure scare mongoring. 1st the list I provided you included some NSWmen but they dont come from West Syd, cant turn that one around your point was that AFL moving into Syd West will deminish Aus international sports. 2nd how do you explain the Riverina district of NSW, an area that has similtaneously produced many NRL, ARU and AFL stars? You cant because that would mean your argument is baseless the fact that a region has all three and can produce quality sportspeople in all 3 codes means again ur scare mongoring. Lastly you constatanly put down people not from NSW, ur not responding to anti NSW, RL sentiments but taking the opportunity to again regurgitate ur usual attack on AFL and other states. You dont ackowledge other view points and sit back telling yourself that your so clever. As for me possessing the very traits I accuse you of, well I'm comfortable with my life and where I've been and what I've done. Can you say the same or did my accusations cut a little too deep? Certainly someone so insecure that they feel the need to tell themself that it dosn't matter how low I get because afterall I am frim Syd West and therefore better than any Victorian, is a clear sign of ones inadequacies bubbling to surface as imature rants. I dont put down NSW or NRL openly support both, I live in Vic due to work and family but love the area, that dosnt mean I hate my roots. You live in a bubble and cant appreciate others and other regions. So in closing yes I am battling out of my league, but yours is a league that includes only you and which I will never really understand. Now I wont respond again so perhaps you better play with your toy soliders on maps of Blacktown in your fight against the evil overlord Demetrio.