All Stars game should be AFL's answer to State of Origin

I agree with what u said Doubledutch 100% so true on everything u said. And thats why the AFL decided to take out our own state of origin and probally the only other state apart from Vic to play in SOO AFL WOULD BE SA but that still wont work as the likes of Daniel Kerr, Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli, Josh Kennedy etc would not be able to play.... and for the AFL to grow on a Profitable Market would keep it the way it is. That's why in NRL if they need to expand and be profitable in the long run is to take out SOO and bring in other states like SA, WA to bring in more of a National game to get the revenue it needs to match the AFL. As i'm all for the AFL to bring in the new teams that now is in the comp GWS and GCS. And hopefully one day to even be better to do an international comp which will be great revenue for the Great Sport that we have. As a Born and Bred Victorian who lives now in Qld i love the both codes and enjoy watching both but David Gallop needs to get out of his little box and expand the NRL otherwise the AFL will take over in the next 50yrs. as League will die. And to Mango Jack i disagree with u in that comment about us vs them Melbourne vs Country as i love the fact it has expanded and growing stronger by the day especailly when i first moved to QLD 10yrs ago all i saw of AFL was the game Brisbane Lions and that was the only coverage for the AFL up here know 10yrs later it has a live coverage every Friday Nite, 2 games on Saturday 1 live the other not and 2 games on Sunday i'm actually thrilled so know i get to watch both codes on the same wkend. The AFL IS GOING GREAT IN BUISNESS, MARKETING, ADVERTSING where the NRL NEEDS TO LOOK AT

it's hard for RL folk to win a 'first' argument when Aust Footy predates RL in Australia by 50 years. It's like bringing a BMX to the MotoGP at Philip Island.

Just bring back the true and original state of origin. Over an Annual Weekend halfway through the season, it's been said before Friday Night Vic vs SA, Saturday Night WA vs Tas and Sunday Night NSW/ACT vs Qld/Nt. Each year the winning teams move up and the losing teams move down. (note Friday night is essentially division 1, saturday night is division 2 and sunday night is division 3). Like i said its been said before. just bring back the original state of origin, surely this form of it, can be sustainable. Injuries are always a risk, but thats the same week-in week-out. AFL HQ harden up and bring it back, full stop.

Yep, can't have people getting passionate about RL. Terrible...

DD On your very last point, agree 100%. Rep football served a purpose 130 years ago, it is now an outdated passe notion. We are having trouble trying to squeeze our season into 27 weeks, and the AFL is already lobbying cricket to have the MCG for one more week to introduce a second bye. Note - a second bye - in other words - zero chance of fitting in rep games, except maybe for special occasions like the 125th anniversary of the AFL in 2021 or the 200th anniversary of Australian Football in 2058.

No I compared national ratings with national ratings beaussie. Go look up the national ratings for last year yourself! It just so happens most of the national ratins for Origin come from QLD and NSW which is what you would expect, which again is why the N in NRL really doesn't mean a huge amount. It also highlights how Origin, although you may think benefits the game, actually alienates the other states. The Voice is truley a national show, played in prime time when lots of people are watching TV. Origin despite it's numbers still does not attract a massive audience nationally considering it is in prime time TV in the middle of winter when compared to other big TV products. Lots of shows attract high millions without the massive publicity origin gets, so when you take this all into consideration (and believe me the networks will), Origin is not as valuable as you may think. Mango as far as your VFL comment. I think Victorians ar very proud of the game they created. Melbourne will ALWAYS be the home of AFL, always and every Victorian should be proud of that. I don't see Victorians despising the AFL or wishing it could go back to the good old days. Of course there are those who live in the past, but by in large, most people move on and Victorians have done that. NRL hoepfully one day will also do this. It matters little to me, I see it everyday here in Sydney the fractured nature of the NRL. You only have to read these boards to see how insecure alot of the NRL fans are, you don't see that here on the AFL boards nearly as much. I'm here to point out rep football is of no use and would be detrimental to AFL going forward. Whether you as an NRL fan take my 2 cents on boards is up to you, along with the greater powers who run that game. I'd be very surprised if the AFL ever brought rep football back, especially during the AFL season.

Frank, you're really missing the point here... This desperate yearning for international relevance doesn't apply to Aussie Rules. There's simply no need to trumpet the popularity of the AFL in places like Papa New Guinea. The comparisons you gave omitted the most obvious, American Football.

Unless AFL eliminates some of the problems I mentioned yesterday, their sport will never grow thru this country boundary. I am not Nostradamus, but have few thoughts how this can be achieved. 1 – When America decided to have a Union, they went slowly. They did not go to expand in to the middle of enemy territory, but by neighbour to neighbour. That strategy worked. AFL shall expand thru their state boundaries, pushing slowly in to other states, deeper and deeper. Tassy and Albury/Woodonga would be the next frontier, the locals would pay dearly for teams. Broken Hill and Wagga Wagga next, etc. Putting 100 million each into the QLD and NSW economies, reduces the value of their 1.25 TV bill contract to 1.05 to their existing teams. AFL pays the money, rather than to ask the locals to contribute. 2 – Adapt and conquer policy to the fore. It is okay to play AFL on rectangular grounds with say 12 (plus 3 subs) players with reduced times, similar to T20 cricket. Players have to watch the sidelines, but every other sport does it. Try and judge. It would be suitable to lots of small country towns in OZ initially who cannot field a monster, 25 person team. 3 – Swallow the pride and change the name of the sport. They do not play English Cricket in India, Canadian Ice Hockey in the US or Australian Rugby League in New Zealand. When you introduce the sport in foreign countries, you do not want to take away the pride of those nations, AFL has to adapt to their cultures.

We'd be an international embarrassment if we played the Blacks vs Whites game.

I think you compared the Origin Metro Ratings to the Voice National Ratings Doesn't really seem fair but I guess that's your agenda.

Rather than a black vs whites or a state vs state it would be a better idea to have a City vs Country

Emric, Nothing wrong with peak growth being Australia only. Your over laying your expectations of what a sport should or should not be. AFL fans love their clubs. Recently you might have heard of a big match in Manchester between two clubs. London and Melbourne despite different scales have a lot in common and are quite successful in their own right with big passionate support bases for club sport. The AFL Comp will remain the only professional Aussie Rules football comp for the foreseeable future. There is nothing wrong with broadening the teams and player pool especially as other codes encroach on tradtional footy lands to ensure it holds its own. GC and GWS are long term projects in larger demographics. The AFL was right to go there instead of Tasmania. Although Tasmania now sees 6 matches for premiership points. The VFL teams still playing in the AFL have healthy fan bases in Tassie, always have. One day it might be possible to relocate a team. The option is there, the groundwork is being laid. The AFL is the only comp to have two teams in each mainland State. Add to that regular games in Tassie, Canberra , Darwin and Cairns and they've got some footprint in secondary markets where it is no. 2 or 3. There is some work being done in NZ and the South Pacific - it's minor. Might add to the player pool in a decade or so. Essentially the wider player pool will feed into the elite AFL comp. The AFL will never catch the other codes on the international front - but in Australia it does not need to. Not for the fans anyway.

Oikee, in response to IW's suggestion that Origin weakens the regular season comp, you 'counter' with: "The first half of the year is all about getting a jump on the other teams, and staying healthy for origin. Then origin and we all forget rugby leahue is on, well we dont but it seems that way. "

Dont forget soccer had their first inter-colony match in 1883.

Unfortunately the rest of the states hate the idea because it marginalises them to also ran status, this oiffends WA and SA in particular

he is an embarrassment for all league supporters on this site ( and i am one)

VFL? It was a WAFL idea wasn't it?

yeah man Melbourne V's Melbourne in Melbourne is pretty big

There are 3 major reasons why AFL will have problems in the future. Just to cut it short, I do not go into the details too deeply. 1 – Oval grounds. Other than the (Cricket) test playing nations, no other country builds oval grounds, suitable for their game. AFL did try to sell its game to all Test playing nations without success so far. Not likely to change. 2 – 25 players to start a game (18+7) per team. Soccer (football) is struggling to find 11 good players (2-3 subs) worldwide. Young people have many career choices in sophisticated countries so no desire to bend their backs like their parents did in the past. 3 – Immigration into Australia dramatically changed in the past 60 years. Countries in Europe became wealthy, no need to seek new life in remote parts of the world. The major source of Immigration to OZ is not tall Europeans any more, but a lot shorter Asians, Middle Easterners and Pacific Islanders (except Fiji, who are taller than the rest, they are muscular and short/big fellows). Neither of these really suited for AFL. That’s why they try to pay big dollars for Hunt and Folau to entice Islanders. Question, will money be enough if talent/desire is not there?

I don't think you really understand the passion and intensity of Origin, doubledutch. Oikee must be frothing at the mouth, unable to get finger to keyboard. He's typical of those north of the Tweed - they're bloody rabid about origin. We in Sydney pretend not to care too much. Untill we win! Measure it's importance by newspaper coverage. It already takes up about 1/4 of sports reporting in Sydney and Brisbane papers, and the 1st game is still a month away. It will never die, believe me. As for mid-week scheduling, yes it sucks. The players hate it , the fans hate it, but the TV bosses insist on it as it is the in the annual top 5 ratings peaks in Syd and Bris each time. For AFL, you have to play on some theme of injustice, us vs them. I reckon Melbourne vs the rest of the country. It would appeal to all the old school VFL fans who hate the fact that it is now a national comp.