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NSW has Queensland, Great Britain has the Exiles versus England, and it’s time for New Zealand to be given its own Origin series.
I’m reacting to the news in yesterday’s paper that Bulldogs prop Sam Kasiano is set to be given an Origin debut for Queensland. It’s not surprising that the Maroons want him; Kasiano has been in career-best form this year and has helped the Dogs to second place on the NRL ladder.
He is the heaviest man in the competition but his speed and off-loading capability has helped him carve up defences in 2012. Dessie Hasler has turned the big unit into a machine, and Kasiano looks built for the ferocious Origin cauldron.
The thing is, he was born in Auckland and raised in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Kasiano started playing league in NZ and moved to Brisbane as a teenager. The 21-year is as Queensland as cane toads and Chris Johns.
Just as NSW’s capture of Kiwi James Tamou is a disgrace, this would be another bad move for rugby league. Queensland, and Australia have props and forwards in abundance – why do they need to steal more from the Kiwis?
According to The Sun-Herald, Kasiano will get a call-up because Dave Taylor’s form has slipped. What message does that send to players like emerging Broncos prop Josh McGuire? Thanks, but no thanks?
Both states and the Australian team have players coming out of their ears. They don’t need to poach Kiwis to beef up our ranks – we’re not the Wallabies.
Keeping New Zealand strong is key to keeping international league alive. Great Britain is already pretty weak, do we want a weak New Zealand as well?
Kasiano has yet to declare if he will accept Queensland’s overtures, and it is easy to understand if he did. Earn more money, play with arguably the best team rugby league has ever seen and experience the toughest arena the sport can offer – who wouldn’t want to be a part of it?
But his birthplace, nationality and rugby league schooling in another country should ensure that he isn’t.
As I’ve said before, the eligibility rules for Origin need to be tightened (which is happening) and enforced so that both the Blues and Maroons don’t take the piss anywhere. Warehousing players is not needed.
Higher payments to representative players, to countries like New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa, need to be made to ensure these nations field their best teams possible. What’s the point of holding the Rugby League World Cup next year if these and other countries miss out on their stars and offer no competition?
We need a Kiwi Origin concept, an Auckland vs the rest of NZ or a North vs South Island fixture, to encourage Kiwi players to stay aligned to their homeland. Pay them a decent wage and build it as an annual event.
This kind of series would not only boost the sport in a rugby-mad country, it would improve the standard of New Zealand rugby league and expose more players to the chance of NRL football.
Don’t weaken international league and New Zealand just to oh-so slightly boost Queensland and NSW’s chances of victory in one game. We need both a strong Origin series AND a strong international scene – not one or the other. No one really wins when non-New South Welshmen and non-Queenslanders participate in the Origin arena at the expensive of smaller countires.
Rugby league needs to decide if it wants both high-quality Origin and international footy – if the current trends continue, we won’t have both, and that would be a huge mistake.
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