International rugby league risks becoming a complete joke if the constant flow of talent towards a State of Origin jersey isn’t stemmed.
Bulldogs prop Sam Kasiano is the latest New Zealand born forward to look longingly at the games showpiece event. Those looks are being returned with equal interest.
The 21-year-old moved from Auckland to Brisbane with his family as a teenager and now stands on the threshold of pulling on a Maroon jersey in the series decider in that same city on July 4.
Kasiano isn’t the only one keen to take advantage of the blurred eligibility lines.
North Queensland young-gun Jason Taumalolo is also being courted by Queensland.
The 19-year-old was born in Auckland and moved to Townsville after being scouted by the Cowboys while playing for a New Zealand under-16 team.
From there he played for the Queensland under 18’s and Australian schoolboys.
James Tamou was born in Palmerston North and moved with his family to Australia when he was 13.
He settled in Sydney, played his junior footy for the Paddington Tigers and attended Matraville High School.
The 23-year-old represented the New Zealand Maori, Junior Kiwis and was selected in their Four Nations train-on squad last year.
Today, he’s a proud New South Welshman who is even prouder to wear the green and gold of Australia.
Why? Because the lure of State of Origin is too much for any player to ignore.
It’s not their fault.
Who wouldn’t want to play in front of a crowd like the 83,110 who packed into ANZ Stadium for game two of the series?
Who wouldn’t want to test themselves against the best of the best?
Who wouldn’t want to get paid some extra coin to do it?
These men are painted as mercenaries, but nothing could be further from the truth.
They’re taking advantage of a system that isn’t protecting the wider interests of the game.
If the ARL Commission doesn’t work hand in hand with the International Rugby League to address the problem of the ever growing player drain, then the international game will continue to drift into obscurity.
It’s already a tough ask for fans to swallow a World Cup where only three teams are competitive.
That task becomes harder when the biggest nation is swallowing up some of the best talent from a competitor.
There needs to be stricter rules regarding eligibility for State of Origin which will also have a flow on effect for international rugby league.
State of Origin is a contest between New South Wales and Queensland.
Doesn’t it stand to reason that if you were born in New South Wales then you have to play for the Blues?
Or if you born in Queensland then you have to play for the Maroons?
Don’t worry about where you played your first game of senior football, a check list or guidelines.
If you don’t want to play for the state where you sucked in your first bit of oxygen then you don’t get to play.
Special cases could be brought forward for those born in other countries who came to Australia when still very young, but it should be assessed thoroughly.
This isn’t just about making sure Australia has someone competitive to play against in the off-season.
It’s about ensuring the code develops in other nations.
Origin is a money making beast. The three games are easily the biggest things on the rugby league calendar.
Perhaps some of the revenue needs to be directed towards the likes of Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga to name a few.
That may not be feasible, but there’s no doubt they need greater assistance.
The players are currently the ones making the choice to ditch their nation of birth, but the option to do so needs to be taken away.
It’s of greater importance in the long term to the game than any other issue at the moment.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
No Lorry not virulently anti ru Played the game for 6 years.Like the style of play of the ABs and when the opportunity arises I actually try to get a test in on the box involving them.I had my nose rearranged at a schoolboy ru match.Nothing illegal,just a fall over try(my only one) ,landing on my face.IOW have served my time..Having a couple of friends ensconsed in rugby union... Just to clarify my position, I tell you what I dislike, ru officials and journos of that ilk ,who when the opportune time arises,seek to put the boot into rugby league,for no other reason than point scoring. FitzSimons last saturday ,Carlton and even Jake White the Brumbies coach a few years ago had a go at rl culture. The basis of my moniker is simply " Ï crossed over to the dark side".No mystery.I am guilty of one thing and one thing only: Defending the code I now support. You will also note the overwhelming majority of my posts,reside in the rugby league forum.Any written retaliation is related to the thread,and will use analogies or examples when appropriate.I rarely delve/repsond into other codes' threads,but perhaps I should judging by the pot shots at rl at times.
Lorry
Guest
It is a mystery why 'crosscoder' calls himself that Evidently, like Richard Hinds, you are virulently anti-rugby union...
Terry Tavita
Guest
the samoa rugby league team has not played a test in two years..they will not play a test this year..on the other hand manu samoa (rugby union) plays an average 8-9 tests a year against top international teams..and you wonder why those samoan rl players opt to play for new zealand and australia?..
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Yes Clipper you have been banging on about the small pond,ever since keyboards were around. NZ won the last WC.No one has a clue as to the capabilities of the Poms or Frogs next year.The Roos were raging favourites against the Kiwis last time and lost,much to the chagrin of FitzSimons who predicted the Roos would win easily Funny how the anti rl brigade,go into the cone of silenece when the unexpected happens.It would absolutely shatter their ru egos ,if any one but the Roos won .
kiwidave
Guest
Rubbish, there are more NZ born players for the islands than there are island born players for NZ.
SandBox
Roar Guru
no changes, suggestions or otherwise from this post. Anything would just be a finger in the dike. Look at a more commercially developed sports such as NHL where the Florida Panthers field 15 Canadians (a state whose climate is described by wiki as humid subtropical). The list goes on with other sports all around EU and N America, and look at how ABs have pilfered Islanders for so many years, forcing other countries like us and even England to do the same. Don't want this in fair go mate Oz? “The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Midfielder
Guest
Tigranes PNG ... 6, 187, 591 NZ ..... 4, 432, 869 Fiji ...... . 883, 125 Total ... 11, 503, 585 If we add Tonga .... 105, 916 Solomon Islands ... 571, 890 Totalling 12, 181, 391 They all eat food and have basic needs ... are you saying broadcasting to over 12 million people is worth nothing and could not help build the games profile..
Meesta Cool
Guest
I see that TODAY the Chairman of the IC has openly declared that the eligibility rules need urgent attention, He claims that clarification on the rules for international RL representation will have to be sought through the RLIF before the commission can move on SOO. -- so folks the plane is on the move!. Whatever the decision , There is no doubt that for this year, either team can select almost who they want, providing that person has not played representative RL before!. The gates have already been opened in this series by Ricky and Co, regardless of what has happened in the past, this series already has the precedence set in concrete!.
dishes
Guest
Big_Marn2000
Roar Pro
The current rules don't allow Inglis to play for QLD. Neither did the former rules. Inglis cheated the system by falsely claiming to have played his first senior footy for Norths Devils U18s, when in fact he had played his first senior footy for Newcastle Hunter. Dunno what Inglis has to do with it though.
Recalcitrant
Guest
Maybe Oz should just play as two separate places. NSW and QLD and get rid of the Kangaroos concept to make it fairer on everyone else.
jamesb
Guest
NZ need to have their own Origin series such as Auckland V the rest that way, NZRL will build revenue from those matches and therefore can afford to pay the kiwi players. If that happens, more and more kiwi players will stay with NZ. My typical rep weekend Friday Night : Indigenous v Pacific Islands (heritage series) Saturday Night: NZ origin, Auckland v the rest Sunday Afternoon: Under 21s State of Origin NSW v QLD Monday Night: SOO NSW v QLD
chris
Guest
So how do you get a medium ground and keep everyone happy as sometimes a 3 SOO series can not sell out Sydney/gets OTT hype and stale seeing QLD win all the time. and when people say QLD were not trying in the 2nd game sometimes you think if they or the ref have had a word in there ear before the game ?. A true SOO would be one game a year but thats not enough.
Sylvester
Guest
"If NZ wanted Tamou and Kasiano, they ought to have picked them in their test side before qld or nsw had the opportunity." Silly comment Rabbi. Test squad is 17 players. How many Kiwi eligible players in the NRL? Picked completely new squads each test, or we could just cap 15 year olds, to lock them in early...
Tigranes
Guest
Rugby league didnt exist in Australia "pre-federation".
Tigranes
Guest
Midfielder the markets in Pacific are not worth much, of the 11m you quote, at least half are in PNG. Infrastructure in PNG is pretty poor, they already love rugby league, not that the NRL or International Rugby League seem to care.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
I was born in Melbourne - and I don't support the Storm. I grew up in Manly - yet I don't support the Eagles. You know where I live now - and I fail to support the Bunnies or the Roosters. I support the Dragons, NSW, and Australia - in that order ! ! Always have, and always will. Though I was born in Melbourne, and have family there - I don't consider myself to be Victorian in any shape or form. It's best to let the players decide for themselves on whom they wish to represent - otherwise their performance will severely lack passion, pride, and the will to lift in the face of adversity.
Arthur Fonzarelli
Guest
And so the current rules allow for Greg Inglis, born and bred in NSW, to play for QLD. I would rather 5 years years of residency as an eligibility rule, than "once I went to Dreamworld, so I can play for QLD"
Big_Marn2000
Roar Pro
You've completely missed the point though. It's State of Origin. Not State of Residence for the Past 5 Years. State of Origin is not about Kiwis, or Poms or Ethiopians. I don't want to see Sam Kasiano taking that all important first hit up in Origin 3, nor do I want to see him get smashed by James Tamou. Give me Tim Grant smashing Petero Civoniceva any day of the week (and yes I'm aware Petero is originally Fijian, but seeing as he's spent 35 of his 36 years living in Australia, I'd say he more than qualifies to play for QLD).
Rabbi
Guest
Exactly QG. Plus England came bloody close to winning the four nations. Test footy is not dead. We've seen massive growth in playing numbers in France and Wales also; who is to say that this won't eventually lead to stronger performances at international level. I'm so sick of hearing the same negative crap about international rugby league. There are passionate league lovers from Adelaide and Perth to Oslo and Jacksonville slogging their guts out to make our great game greater. Let's get behind them, instead of constantly telling them that trying to grow the game is a waste of time because only NSW and QLD matter. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.