As you load the fridge, order some pizza and buckle up for Origin XXXII, kindly pause and ask yourself the following question: “Would I care if tonight’s State of Origin game was the last to be hosted by the city of Melbourne?”
Personally, I am sick of our game being pimped out to the Victorian Government only to see it used and exploited as a tool for tourism.
The code’s administrators insist that some Origins must be played in Melbourne to “spread the gospel” and let the fans in the nation’s south see league at its most competitive, compelling and ferocious best. From where I sit, that’s a load of old jockstraps.
Victorians, Melburnians, whatever you want to call them, have never embraced the 13-a-side game and probably never will. The pig-headed media down there (and I speak of the newspapers, radio and television), refuse to give it a decent go. Sporting capital of Australia? Pffft.
This week’s build-up to the 2012 series opener has been pretty much non-existent in Melbourne. And when there was a chance of some media hype for the big event, the Victorian Minister for Sports and Recreation grabs a microphone and refers to ‘Paul Callen’, ‘New Zealand’ and ‘the State of the Origin series.’
Nice work, Mr. Delahunty, head honcho of Australia’s so-called “sporting capital”. At the time he was either nervous or ignorant. You be the judge…
We are told tonight’s crowd at Etihad Stadium will be a sell-out 53,000. Sounds pretty good but it’s estimated only five to ten percent will be local born-and-bred Melbourne people.
The bulk of the gallery will come from Queensland and NSW visitors and as well as a few thousand Kiwi natives who appreciate the game and happen to be based there.
Having this game is terrific news and a major boon for the local hotel, restaurant and casino owners. It’s all good for the Vics and a heavy downer for league fans, young and old, north of the border.
The Victorian Government knows how to look after the locals and has done some recent posturing about hosting games there on an annual basis. I say, enough is enough.
There is next to nothing in it for rugby league (almost as much as the Melbourne media coverage).
In Sydney, the game has reached a time when it needs every showcase game it can get to attract and enthral its audience. The AFL has setup shop in western Sydney, there’s a new A-League soccer team getting ready to launch in the same region and what does our ruling body do?
Send one of its precious jewels to a place where the game is almost without an identity.
Brisbane could have used another Origin game as well. The place is league-mad from head to toe even allowing for the serious presence of its championship-winning Roar and Reds.
Fair dinkum, members of the Blues and Maroons teams could rob banks down south without masks. They would never run the risk of being identified.
No, I have had more than enough of Origin in Melbourne.
Blues coach Ricky Stuart is on the same page as me, publicly stating his reluctance to take games down there as it seriously disrupts the preparation of both teams.
This annual sporting ‘war’ belongs to the people of Queensland and NSW. How many two-party wars do you know of that are fought on foreign soil? Hostilities take place on either one side’s turf, or the other.
Let us have our annual infestations of cockroaches and cane toads. All three of them.
Victorians can be content with their blinkers, their false sense of sporting importance and their Delahuntys.
Artwork by James Brennan at jamesbrennan.com.au
Tess
Guest
Tim I agree with most of your comments. SOO is parochial by nature. It is state against state! It doesn't need a " neutral" territory if it is fairly distributed every series. Ie: 2 in sydney/ 1 Brisbane then 2 in brisbane and 1 in sydney the following year. The stadium was 1/3rd NSW 1/3rd QLD and 1/3rd Billy fans last wednesday night. Melbourne is a great city to see but it makes it an expensive footy match to fly and stay. It's certainly financially out of reach for lots of average mums and dads to travel interstate for a footy game. I think the ARL need to look at what they are selling and why. They aren't selling ARL they are selling tourist bums on seats. That has nothing to do with expanding the reach of the game. Although JT reckons" it's just like playing at home", I wonder how the good people of brisbane will feel when they lose one of their suncorp games to etihad?
shirtfront
Roar Rookie
Tim. I am not overly concerned. I spent most of my childhood in QLD cheering the Maroons. I am a League lover. I enjoyed last night's game immensely however I have lived in Melbourne for 20 years and am sharing some truths. Sheffield Shield is the only national state v state analogy available. Don't take it to heart, take it on board.
The Link
Guest
The greatest rivalry in Australian sport isn't a couple of Melbourne suburbs playing each other. Prentice is a dinasour though, SOO should be taken to other venues once every 2-3 years.
Michael
Guest
it wouldn't. Be lucky to get 10K
Renegade
Guest
LOL does the GABBA even hold that much?? Expected the AFL crew to be on the defensive today.
JohnM
Guest
Sorry but this figure is simply not correct.
JohnM
Guest
No it didn't mate. That must be a typo.
KiwiDave
Roar Guru
If the NRL wants to expands into Victoria then showcase games need to be shown. The SOO is a showcase game and a great contest. Last nights game would have done a lot to further promote the game in Victoria. The game is growing slowly but surely down here with the success of the Storm and SOO and Internationals being played here. You cant be inclusive and expect a sport to expand.
Roosterz
Guest
I like Origin in Melbourne but I hate that next year 2 games in Suncorp 1 game in ANZ. Every year 1 game in each stadium how come Qld get two we get one. Im not saying scrap Etihad but Qld shouldn't get to play two games when they're hosts and we have to sacrifice a game Qld should sacrifice one too
rowan
Guest
If its so one sided to NSW why do they loose all the time? hahaha
rowan
Guest
Early May 2012 - Brisbane Lions v Collingwood at the GABBA. Biggest crowd ever at the GABBA: 43,260 GO LIONS! (ok we're poo this season)
rowan
Guest
The Brisbane Lions v Collingwood game played at the GABBA earlier in May had a crowd of 43,260.
rowan
Guest
Wouldn't a more effective neutral ground be in New Zealand?
Boomshanka
Guest
Jeff Lived in Wigan myself in the late 80's early nighties. Great place, great times! We used to go down t' video store and get the Aussie rugby within a few days of it being played. We'd have had better access to Origin then than the oppressed people of Melbourne who up until recently have only had one option when it comes to football. What's a Moggy?
Col Quinn
Guest
Not now TIm, The Melbournians response to Origin has strengthened RL's case for more than $1.2 bill for TV rights. The independent rubber should now always played in Melbourne. This just put pay to the narrow parochial views of southern journalists.
MyGeneration
Roar Guru
In the SMH, Hind's articles appear with footnotes on the footnotes explaining he has to give the natives what they want in Melbourne. Fairfax has a special Footnotes department dedicated to any articles that contain references to AFL, NRL, NSW, Victoria, Sydney or Melbourne.The journos don't mind the footnotes going on their articles at all. I mean, you couldn't make this stuff up, could you?
Boomshanka
Guest
MILF No doubt Etihad will be full on Friday night with a 100% born and bred Victorian crowd watching two Victorian teams whilst down the round at AAMI the Storm will be playing Brisbane in front of a handful of expat kiwis and a few northerners.
81paling
Roar Rookie
I thought as a national community we were trying to support QLD tourism after the floods and hardship that they endured, surely the right thing to do would have been let them have the match and the tourism dollars this year in order to assist them back to their feet. We were all asked in one way or another to try and help and one of those asking for help was QLD tourism. What changed? greed got in the way I am sure that NSW would have given those rights over if they were to be paid back the following year. What is really sad here is how short our memories are, one moment QLD tourism needs all the help they can get, the next we here that an event that could really inject dollars that were apparently needed desperately for QLD tourism to survive and could really stimulate the QLD tourism economy have been taken from Sydney, speed down to Melbourne and no one in QLD even thought to ask for the opportunity to try to get the extra game there to re-build their fragile economy and tourism industry. Is there anyone in QLD who thought that their tourism industry could do with this boost?
Football United
Guest
Why do you even bother posting?
Jimbo
Guest
ha ha ... I reckon in the name of 'fairness' & 'tourism', taking the State of Origin matches to Melb, the self-imposed 'Sporting Capital of Australia', is good for - um, Melbourne? Therefore, real RL fans have to fork out $$ to go watch the match. So, with this kind act of benevolence, perhaps the Mexicans will happily allow the Australian Open Tennis to be staged in Syd, Bris, Perth, Adelaide etc etc. I somehow figure that would be considered sacreligious. Melbourne is still reeling for not getting the Olympics ... The Greatest Olympics EVER!! lol ... I can hear a Mariachi Band