I was at the opening State of Origin match in Melbourne this week and it was a wonderful spectacle. Whether they knew much about rugby league or not, to their credit, the Melbourne locals really got behind the event.
I was actually sitting next to two women at the game who had no idea about State of Origin or the NRL, but they loved the action and that type of enthusiasm made the whole evening a lot of fun for everyone in attendance.
People who criticised the plan to play the opening match down south are a little short-sighted.
At the end of the day, rugby league – in a very competitive market – needs to make money to survive. So if someone’s willing to bring the game to another state, and that move generates more money for the game, then we have to lose our parochial attachments to the traditional league centres and embrace the change.
Extra money in the bank for rugby league as a whole will ultimately help play the players more.
And, trust me, they’re well worth it.
As for the game itself, I thought the Blues played good football and really should have won that game.
But a couple of unlucky calls went against them, and the Maroons showed what a great team they are by taking advantage of the limited chances they got, and that was the difference in the end.
Remember, Origin football is very different to regular NRL games. In a typical NRL match, a team might expect 10 or so try-scoring opportunities in a game and perhaps convert 4 or 5 of them.
In Origin, it’s typical that each team might only get a handful of opportunities – if they’re lucky.
That’s the way this game went, and the Maroons, who have had their key combinations playing together for several years now, were able to better capitalise when it mattered.
I thought the Blues could have made more of their opening 20 minute burst and chanced their arm a bit more. They had Queensland on the back foot every time they spread the ball.
But Jennings going to the sin-bin took the wind out of their sails, and the rest, of course, is back (and front) page news still (the tackle Greg Bird made should have been allowed. The ref got it wrong).
As for the Greg Ingils try, well, sorry to let you all know that it was a try under the rules and Shaun Hamstead got it correct. Playing at the ball with your foot or trying to steal the ball and it comes off a player’s hand is not a knock on
It’s in the rule book.
For Queensland, Tait, Slater, Inglis, and Smith were sensational.
Smith was in bed for a couple of days leading up to the game with the flu. But he played the house down and his long kicks were fantastic.
In the Blues camp, Ricky will have to seriously consider bringing Watmough in for Game 2 to add a bit of excitement around the ruck area.
But, really, few changes are needed.
The stage has already been set for a classic Game 2. I can hardly wait.
Gary ‘Wiz’ Freeman is one of the great halfbacks in New Zealand rugby league history. Now an outspoken and popular media personality, he joins The Roar as an expert rugby league columnist.
spider
Guest
cum on it only looks like he played at the ball, I got fined for speeding it only looked like I was speedimg
Australian Rules
Guest
56,000 is bigger than a Suncorp crowd. And the ratings were an Origin record.
Wotdoo
Guest
Bigger tv audience = more woo ship and advertising. End of story
Wotdoo
Guest
Final score 18-10 Without the inglis try it's still 12-10. Suck it up NSW
zacbrygel
Roar Guru
Was a great game however I disagree with the writer saying that its great for Rugby League that State of Origin game 1 was in Melbourne. Anz or Suncorp are bigger stadiums than Etihad and wouldve sold out much quicker, also how can Nsw vs Queensland be played in Victoria? It just defies logic.
ManInBlack
Guest
btw - the side of the MCG that the cameras are on happens to be the MCC members stand side, close the top tier - - never gonna happen.
ManInBlack
Guest
It's pretty well almost impossible for the AFL to totally fill Etihad because of the carve up of ticketing/reserved seats/medallion club etc. One off events have the clear advantage and that's been proven.
Anakin
Guest
> Why did Carney go for goal what a idiot. Interesting comment when Gallen said he'd do the same thing in that situation again; & both Smith Meninga said they also would have opted that way had it been a Qld situation. Points are gold in Origin - discounting Carneys poor form with the boot, the shot at goal was a more certain chance to take points than playing for the try. 2 points is 2 points and on any other day they'd have potted it and it'd have been GAME ON! Easy to criticise in retrospect.
jmacredie
Roar Rookie
I would say that the crowd would be made up of 40,000+ travelling from qld, nsw, nz, expat qld, nsw, and nz. 5,000+ true victorian's that already follow the game, and a handful of vic's that got dragged along. If those handful enjoyed it and will go to another game of origin that is great. In reality though I would hardly say that it is winningconverting the state RL. The Vic govt however will love it with all the tourist dollars that it brings in.
buttery
Roar Rookie
No SoO in QLD funds the QLD Cup, Junior Rep football (schools included), second division comps, country comps, junior club comps for the whole of QLD, its not going to fund any international teams.
me, I like football
Guest
not exactly true Interstate migration 2009-2010 from NSW to Vic = 22,686 from Qld to Vic = 17,594 total = 40,280 from Vic to NSW = 20,088 from Vic to Qld = 18,605 total = 38,693 http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/AFBA53A473F0F796CA2578B000119835?opendocument
buttery
Roar Rookie
I agree with you on the Cronk tackle, Hayne was not afforded a chasnce to chase his kick, he had forward momentum, how late was that shoulder charge, what were the officials doing.
me, I like football
Guest
yeah, huge concern. RL is taking over [rolleyes]
Jason Cave
Guest
Couldn't agree more re Gallen's & Carney's decision not to go for a try. If they had decided to go for a try it would've put the pressure right back on Queensland, with plenty of time left in the second half. It would be interesting to see how the Storm & Broncos players back up from playing Origin 1, considering the wet conditions at AAMI Park.
Aware
Guest
Second biggest crowd ever at that stadium. Biggest crowd was for Rugby, England vs Australia. That has to be a concern for the AFL.
dddddddd
Guest
Inglises was not a try. Why did Carney go for goal what a idiot. The worst ref and video ref i've ever seen.
Col Quinn
Guest
CrossIT, of course there are northerners living in Melbourne. It is my understanding that the migration is mainly in the opposite direction toward QLD.
CrossIT
Guest
So no Qlders/NSWeshman live in Victoria?
CrossIT
Guest
But then you have to ask, why is it the pinnacle? You could argue that all the best players in Origin essentially play the All-Stars games, so therfore if e=mc2, it should be also considered the pinnacle? Of course not, State of Origin is the pinnacle because QLD & NSW fans/players/administrators made it that. And in regards to the Melbourne crowd, can you honestly hand on heart tell me that the majority of those fans in that stadium were not either ex-pats/travelling Queenslanders or New South Welshman? I mean how many of that 50 000 were true swinging neutrals? How many AFL fans were converted? So really beside giving Victoria a kick in its back pocket, what have we achieved? Beside robbing 50000 qldrs & 80000 blues a chance to watch THEIR teams?
Pot Stirrer
Guest
The blues were robbed of a 50/50 chance of winning by 2 Ref's who failed miserably in thier SOO debut. Im not saying NSW would have won, but the while the game was an exellent league match which im sure i would have enjoyed if i was a neutral fan, you cant put your head in the sand and ignore the ref's are the biggest talking point of the game. How ever it is fish and chip paper now, bring on game 2. Ill be suprised if its not a full house.