Time for rugby league to embrace the representative season

Oh and each year Tonga, Samoa and PNG could alternate their play.

I really think the biggest problem with the validity of the NSW City v Country game is the lack of a QLD equivalent. Please explain why the Anzac test is on the Friday night and the City Country game is on Sunday? Surely all Saturday's reports will focus on analysis of the test rather than a preview of the City Country game. Further, arguably the most interesting game of the weekend, the Samoa v Tonga game, barely rates a mention on the NRL.com website and one has to turn to google to find out when and if it is televised on Fox. Surely a better embracing of the Rep Weekend as it has been come to be known is NSW city country Friday night, Qld city county saturday night, Samoa v Tonga Sunday afternoon and Aus v NZ sunday night. This would rate through the roof for the weekend without any special change in Nine's timeslots. Plus it would stick it to AFL who have no hope of organizing any rep game on any level.

Being a good club player does not necessarily mean you will be a good rep player. Rep footy is a whole different kettle of fish. New environment, new coach, new teammates. This game isn't just about NSW selection. It's about preparing and introducing these young guys to rep footy. It's easy for Adam Reynolds to look like a world beater when he has GI behind him and Souths' monster pack in front of him. How would he go when he's out of his comfort zone, leading a different team around the park? That's what this game aims to find out. A MOM award in this game says much more than a MOM award in an NRL game does. Ennis hasn't played rep footy in 2 years. I seriously doubt he is a shoe-in for the Blues' number 9 if Farah gets injured. He will want to play this game so that he gets a chance to prove he is still up to rep level. Same goes for Willie Mason. What don't you understand? Just because this game doesn't have a direct effect on SOO game 1 selection, doesn't mean it doesn't have a purpose. All of these guys except Michael Jennings and possibly Ryan Hoffman have something to play for in this game. And your bush footy argument is stupid because I agree that we should be doing much more for the bush, and the City Country game isn't much more than a nice gesture, but if you get rid of it then we go from doing very little to doing nothing at all for bush footy.

From the back half of last year to now Hoffman has been in career best form. He earned a recall to the Aussie side at the end of last year. I would be extremely surprised if he wasn't a near-certainty for the Blues this year.

Ryan Hoffman hasnt played Origin since 2008, and while I agree he is a good player, you think that he could sit out Origin as he is likely to get picked for NSW? I hope he does, but I wouldnt hold your breath

Youre right Matt. City Country meant little to Woods in terms of selection. If that game didnt exist, it would do no harm to his future rep rep chances. City Country is a good idea in theory, but the amount of big name players who dont play in it each year makes it pointless. It should be the strongest possible NSW sides from city and country playing each other. That way the probables, such as your Josh Reynolds, Woods and Maloneys, can see how they go against Gallen, Carney etc... in a higher intensity of a game than NRL. If Woods got MOM in a game like that, it would mean a lot more.

If Farah did go down injured then Ennis' selection hopes would have very little to do with his performance in this game. As you said above, a one-off match played over a month before the first Origin match is not going to have much impact on selection hopes. His form for the Bulldogs over the next few weeks will be far more important in determining his potential NSW selection, if Farah did get injured. The same goes for any player on the cusp of selection. I don't think that anyone who criticises this match is saying that the players "don’t have a ‘realistic chance’ of getting selected for Origin at some point," just that their performance in this particular match will have little to no effect on that potential future selection. If they're good enough then they can show it over 11 (would be 12 if they played this week) NRL matches plus past years performances. There is nothing that a player could do in this game to boost their NSW selection chances that they couldn't already do by playing for their NRL side instead this weekend.

Gee Whiz Curtis, you been hanging around Gorden Tallis too much. Mate their is nothing wrong with our code. Players are proud of playing for their copuntires, we have a world cup i am sure every player is striving to make. I just read that samoa has 16 NRL players in their team. Look, forget about AFL, i dont sit around and think about AFL every time we have a small crowd. Stop worrying about what Tallis says. He is a pork chop. I like him but gee whiz, if he was running our code we would be broke, The powers to be know what needs to be done. Patience mate. The fans need to sit back, enjopy the game, love Origin as we do and look forward to a massively exciting world cup. Next year we will look forward to a four nations. Our game is growing at the end of the season. Gee Whiz, talk about having your desert before the main meal. hehe. Patience.

Exactly, which makes it pointless. They're picking the side based on NRL form so what exactly did his MOM for City do? When picking the NSW side, city country performances play little no no role. Woods was also playing well for the Tigers before the City Country match so it's not as if that match was the catalyst for anything. If we've now established that it's not a selection trial then what is the purpose? I already covered the "boosting country footy" argument in my first comment.

If someone plays well in City Country and then goes back to their club and plays crap for the next month do you think they will get picked for Origin? Of course not. City Country will never be a direct selection trial because it is played more than a month out from Origin. Form changes, injuries happen, that's the way it goes. Woods had a blinder for City, then he went back to the Tigers and backed it up for a year. That's not picking a player based on one good performance.

The withdrawal of guys like Hayne and Farah does not bother me at all. They have nothing whatsoever to play for in this game, and by playing they are only risking a season ending injury. For me, the decision to play for City or Country should be entirely up to the individual. Players should weigh up the risk of getting injured versus both their desire to play (which is probably greater for the Country boys than the City boys) and their Origin chances. If a player knows their spot in the Origin team is completely beyond doubt (e.g. Hayne and Farah) then I can't blame them for not wanting to play. How well or how badly they play in this game will have no effect on their Origin chances. Michael Jennings is another example. What does bother me is the Bulldogs disgracefully withdrawing Josh Reynolds after he passed the City medical. Josh has everything to play for in this game, and the NRL must step in because it is a farce. I feel for Josh because I believe he genuinely wanted to play (as any player on the cusp of a State of Origin berth would). For those saying this is a "meaningless game", tell that to the players. Try telling them that they don't have a 'realistic chance' of getting selected for Origin at some point. Even elder statesmen like Ennis and Mason. Ennis will not displace Farah from the Origin team. But if Farah gets injured, Ennis can use this game to prove he is the undisputed number two hooker in NSW. And Willie Mason has everything to play for in this game, and he knows that. As i look through the two teamlists there are two players I see who don't have any reason to risk injury in this game: Michael Jennings and Ryan Hoffman. Everyone else can use this game to catapult themselves into (or back into) NSW selection calculations, or for guys like Merrin and Woods, cement themselves a spot for NSW.

City-country is one game. Anyone who watches Aaron Woods play for the Tigers knows that he is a future star. You didn't need city-country to see this. 11 rounds of NRL is more than enough time for a player to show his worth for Origin selection and should mean a heck of a lot more than a one-off city-country match. If Aaron Woods gets picked for NSW it will be because of his consistent form for the Tigers, not because of one good performance lin this match. If we're picking players based on one game then it's no wonder QLD have won the last seven series

"and the fact that the NSW team seems to be essentially set beforehand every year, means that the game really doesn’t have a purpose". This is the kind of shortsightedness being mentioned in the article. Aaron Woods got man of the match in last year's game. Did he get selected for Origin last year? No. Does that mean it was a waste of time for him? Absolutely not. City Country last year was Woods' chance to let everybody know he had arrived as a future rep star. He took that chance with both hands and since then he's never looked back. Same goes for Ryan Hinchcliffe a couple of years ago. He put in a performance that thrust him int the representative picture, as he declared himself the 'third wheel' in the Farah vs Ennis battle for the NSW no. 9 jersey. He didn't get picked, but that's not the point. Even the withdrawal of guys like Farah and Hayne provides young Sironen and Tedesco with a huge opportunity. Try telling Adam Reynolds or James Maloney that this game is meaningless. Loz said "if the team was picked tomorrow Pearce would be my halfback". That doesn't mean "Pearce will be the halfback no matter what". And think about this. Even if Reynolds doesn't get picked for game one, there's still games 2 and 3. If Reynolds flops for City on Sunday Loz is far less likely to drop Pearce for game 2 if he plays badly in game 1.

Respect isn't just given, it has to be earned. The number of withdrawals every year, and the fact that the NSW team seems to be essentially set beforehand every year, means that the game really doesn't have a purpose. You can't ask people to respect a game which doesn't seem to mean anything. I like the idea of taking rugby league to regional areas but one game a year is nothing more than a token gesture. Sure this match may provide a small boost for Coffs Harbour but it will do nothing for the numerous other regional areas in NSW (e.g. Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Mudgee, Nowra etc.) Depending on their size, regional areas will only get a city/country game once every 5-10 years on average. One game every 5-10 years does nothing. If we are serious about supporting country Rugby League then every NRL club should take one home game to a regional area every year. Those teams from outside NSW can obviously play their game in a regional area in their own state (or country in the case of the Warrirors.) That would be a genuine effort to include regional areas in the NRL, instead of the patronising token gesture that is the city-country game.

YES YES YES