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Bring back rugby league's Test series

Hey JT, if you don't want to play for the Kangaroos, don't play for the Kangaroos. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
16th April, 2013
50

With the ANZAC Test coming up on Friday night, I thought I would reminisce about some (not so) recent Test series and wonder why we have adopted the one-off format.

Throughout the late 80s and early 90s Test rugby league was at its finest. Look at some of these great series.

1991

The Kiwis shock an ageing Aussie team in the first Test. The selectors respond by bringing in youth. In came Mark Geyer, Willie Carne, Craig Salvatori, Peter Jackson and Rod Wishart.

Australia whipped ’em 44-0 and 40-12 in the decider. A job well done.

1985

Maybe the best Kiwi team of all time wins a moral victory in a losing series after being robbed by the Kangaroos right on fulltime in the second Test.

They destroy a divided Australian team 18-0 in the third Test. It was a pulsating series.

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1992

The Poms hammer Australia in Melbourne before losing a slugfest 16-10 in the decider.

1988

England shocks the league world by ending their run of defeats in the Third Test, setting up three straight competitive series from 1990-1994.

1997

Australia run out 37-20 winners in a powerhouse decider at Elland Road after a high-quality series in which the first two Tests were split.

1990

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Need I say anything about this series? Simply the greatest ever played in our sport.

We need Test series to keep international league relevant. One-off games affirm irrelevance, and that has been reflected in the scorelines of many of these games.

The Kiwis aren’t motivated and against the Kangaroos that guarantees a resounding defeat.

Administrators afraid of lopsided sweeps are playing on the defensive. There is simply no way for the other sides to gain consistent ground without consistent exposure to Australia and its brand of football.

Additionally, it is impossible to create compelling storilines out of one game. We need a narrative in international football, just as we have in Origin and club football.

Time to axe the ANZAC Test, reduce the number of rounds by two move Origin forward a few weeks and bring back the mid-year Test series.

Raising the payments to players for Tests will ensure everyone has a stake in making them successful, financially and as a spectacle.

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