Well, it’s State of Origin time again, and that inevitably means certain debates are going to come up.
This year, the main debate has been about whether it should be shared, but the other standout that comes every year is when the greatest contest in the world should be played.
One of the biggest debates about Origin that comes around each year is whether it should remain on a Wednesday night, or move to a stand-alone weekend.
Those for an Origin weekend claim that player welfare demands it, and that the Origin period results in poorer quality in the domestic NRL competition, as most of the big name stars are unavailable.
This has a flow-on effect to crowd numbers and thus the clubs’ bottom line.
Those against a stand-alone weekend complain about the lack of football coverage over the weekend with only one game, and how this, in effect, gives the AFL a free kick in that weekend, apart from Origin night.
So is there a way to please everyone? Can we create a ‘Representative Weekend of Rugby League’ that has multiple games to satisfy the fans, while also taking into consideration player welfare?
I believe we can, and here’s how to do it. It just requires a bit of thinking outside the box.
My first proposal would be to make city-country a three-game series, and have it as a ‘reserve grade’ Origin of sorts.
It would still be played in country areas of NSW. But having it as the level below Origin also allows those that are in the ‘Blues-in-waiting’ squad to get more representative experience, thus better preparing them for Origin when they are called up to that level.
It would also give more meaning to the clash, rather than the poor ‘it’s an Origin trial’ excuse that they send out each year.
Secondly, I would create a QLD version of city-country, and play that in areas such as Cairns, Mackay and Central Queensland, where they don’t get NRL games.
The ‘City’ team would comprise of those that came through the ranks in south-east Queensland (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, and maybe Toowoomba), while the ‘Country’ team would consist of those from Regional Queensland.
Some of the players that might qualify for this include Matt Bowen, Ashley Graham, Dallas Johnson, Ben Barba, Daly Cherry-Evans and so on.
The talent is there to create a very entertaining game of football.
There has also been talk of taking Origin to New Zealand. Well I would propose that they create their own Origin series, as has been discussed before in many fan forums as well as the NZRL.
The proposal before has been an Auckland v The Rest game. While NZ Origin will never have the same level of excitement as SoO (very few contests in the world have that level of intensity), I still think it would be viable and would aid the development of Rugby League in New Zealand.
So there we have four ‘big ticket’ games on the weekend.
I would play the two city-country games on Friday. The QLD game @ 7.30 pm, NSW @ 9.30 pm in QLD and vice-versa for NSW, while in the non-heartland states, it could alternate each year.
State of Origin would be played on Saturday night, while New Zealand Origin would be on Sunday afternoon.
If we wanted more games (for pay TV maybe), we could also look at international development and have games between the Pacific Island nations such as Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and PNG.
If we wanted to go all out, we could even declare those three weekends domestic-free weekends worldwide, and have games involving countries like England and France as well.
Maybe in the future, when we have stars coming out of the non-heartland states, there could even be an Australia A team comprised of the non-heartland states that plays these countries, but that is a decision for another day.
So it is possible to please everyone with regards to having State of Origin on a weekend. We just need to look at how we can put on more games.
Would a weekend like this work?
Mark
Guest
Chibba, City-Country is a terrible concept, in QLD it would have to be more regionally based like North & Central QLD vs. South Queensland and even that sounds pretty lightweight.
jamesb
Guest
Hey Steve check out a link here about NZ origin. http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/new-zealand-consider-their-own-state-of-origin-as-strategy-to-retain-talent/story-e6frf3ou-1226331069011 "you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"
Zach
Guest
Manoa The South Pacific consists of Australia, NZ, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, PNG etc. RL is easily the most popular sport in this region. RL is a religion in NSW, QLD and PNG, it is also the national sport of the Cook Islands and is very popular in NZ. The games is also growing nicely in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. To say they have never heard of RL you are having a laugh arent you. Ask Akuila Uate how big state of origin is in Fiji. This state of origin series will be the most watched sporting event in this part of the world by a country mile.
Stanley grella
Guest
Why not use the weekend to play sevens, origin in the big Friday night timeslot were ratings and attendance will be maximized, followed by two days of sevens, you can break up the c,ub commitment by saying each team has 14 players, 7 from the NRL side and 7 from Toyota cup. Allows origin to be discussed for a couple of days straight by commentators, clubs can have sevens jerseys which equals more money and there is still a lead in on sundays to the news with finals played.
ceebow
Guest
It doesnt matter what we think up, qlders will always find a way to sook and whinge about the plans. Lets take Mals suggestion and use the other days as a "Put qld on a pedestal" and fill up ANZ with ppl to praise QLD.
Manoa
Guest
Are you kidding, most people in the islands don't even know what rugby league is. Konrad Hurrell admitted that 3 yeas ago he had never heard of rugby league growing up in Tonga.
turbodewd
Guest
Sorry mate, cant see another boring City v Country affair taking off. The NSW version is barely alive as is. Its a total yawnfest if u ask me.
AndyMack
Guest
haha, love the "players born between Jan and June v players born between July and December" idea. classic.
Football United
Guest
Why not just have other internationals on that weekend and designate the week as representative round. Surely people would watch the islands and nz play if just for the sake of watching more games. Maybe even more players would commit to them if they were given more exposure. Friday: 6:30pm NZ vs England Saturday: 3pm PNG vs Samoa 7:30pm QLD vs NSW Sunday: 4pm Tonga vs FIJI
turbodewd
Guest
"Why are people in rugby league always trying to dream up representative fixtures?" Good question. I mean the ANZAC test wont fill a stadium in Oz...anything lesser will pull even less people. And if u cant pull a crowd it wont turn a buck...who wants to get injuries in a game noone watches?!
Zach
Guest
That is a good idea bbt. To have the USA play against a pacific side with a similar ranking as a curtain raiser to state of origin could be a great way to promote RL. State of Origin is one of the most watched league games in the world so it would be certainly a great promotion tool to expand our game.
bbt
Guest
Last weekend USA Tomahawks played Tonga - maybe a curtain raiser with similar ranked countries playing.
Chibba
Roar Rookie
I initially had that thought regarding the QLD version of city-country, but I think it could work. The reason it gets stick is because it's a one off game, and is billed as an Origin trial match, which is a load of crap. I think if it was a 3 game series with a trophy and billed as the level between Origin and NRL, it gives it a lot more credibility. The reason I think it could work in QLD is firstly because it would sell out in places like Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton instantly, as they don't have that level of footy every second week, so it would be an event for them. Also, playing it on a Friday night means it replaces the Broncos game (or Titans or Cowboys if we're lucky) on TV, so people would watch it. QLDers love watching QLDers, so it would get a fair audience I reckon. Toyota Cup Origin game is another good concept. I think they played one this year in Penrith didn't they, so that could definitely be added to the weekend.
Henry
Guest
Steve the reason why is because there are so many oppurtunities now as RL is now played in a lot of countries therefore there should be more weekends dedicated to representive RL. If you have not noticed there are a lot of players in the NRL with Pacific Island and Indigineous heritage. After all RL is easily the most popular sport in the South Pacific region and there should be more games to represent the Pacific Island and the Indigineous people.
turbodewd
Guest
Youre dead right. A lot of Sydney SOO dont sell out which is a crime. Im not surprised, its straight after work and hard for many to attend. If it was on a sunday or saturday night it would be packed every time. Also, on a stand alone weekend the regular season games arent affected, they wont miss their stars. And the star players are fully rested too.
Steve
Guest
Fri Night- left handers v right handers Sat arvo- people of Scottish ancestry v people of Irish ancestry Sat night- players born between Jan and June v players born between July and December Sun arvo- South Auckland u/23's v players who have stayed in Melbourne for more than 1 night u/25's Sun night- State of origin Why are people in rugby league always trying to dream up representative fixtures? -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
jamesb
Guest
Friday 7:30pm -Pacific Islands v Indigenous all stars (players of heritage) Saturday 6:30pm -NZ origin series- Auckland v Counties Sunday 4pm- Under 21s NSW v QLD (raise the age limit) Tuesday 8pm- NSW v QLD
DingoBob
Guest
I think NSW supporters wold probably be better off spending their time cleaning out the garage and doing work around the house than watching the Blues lose another SOO.
chris
Guest
Sydney should have Origin on a saturday night and then the next year a sunday afternoon as alot of SOO in Sydney don't sell out. SOO has been looking stale so it needs a facelift.
steve b
Guest
yeah have to agree with Andymack about city country and Q.L.D will never go for it .But agree with you on the rest of your idea something along these lines has to happen because its not fair on players or clubs the way it stands at the moment !!