Most people would now agree that the representative weekend is a fantastic idea. But surely more work can be done to squeeze more out of what could be a wonderful annual extravaganza.
The ANZAC Test match rightfully took centre stage on Friday night at Canberra Stadium and was backed up by three pretty good games of footy over the next two days.
Australia might have ran away with the victory in the end but over 25,000 fans at the ground saw a legitimate arm wrestle for most of the clash.
With Benji Marshall, Simon Mannering and Sonny Bill Williams still to come back into the fold you can be assured the Kiwis will be more than a chance at the 2013 World Cup later in the year.
New South Wales made it two victories in a row in the under-20s State of Origin encounter with fierce rivals Queensland after a commanding performance at Penrith on Saturday night.
But the main event at Centrebet Stadium was a showdown between bitter foes Samoa and Tonga. This fixture needs to be a part of the representative weekend next year and every year thereafter.
Both sides showed pride and passion and proved we are on the right track when it comes to international rugby league. There is so much untapped potential within the pacific islands and across the world, we must be grow the game.
Sunday in Coffs Harbour was another story.
With detractors already tapping nails into its coffin, fans on the north coast were expected to lob up in droves and fork out for ridiculously priced tickets despite a number of players pulling out of the game.
But this game is still relevant.
The Australian Rugby League Commission needs to put the work in all year round and not just throw the bones of a once-entertaining concept to a different country town each season.
There is still a place for City-Country Origin.
“It would be a tragedy if people took this weekend’s crowd as a sign of the interest in Country-City,” Country Rugby League chief executive Terry Quinn told The Daily Telegraph.
“This match has an amazing impact in the regions we play in every year and you only have to look at the support it has generated over the past few seasons to understand how many people in the bush want to see this match played.
“We will be doing all we can to grow Country-City in the future and the NRL is extremely supportive of that.”
Well good for them.
But something caught this writer’s eye while on the beautiful Gold Coast this weekend. There wasn’t enough games to satisfy supporters thirst for rugby league.
Four games was simply not enough.
Sitting at an establishment in Southport on Sunday afternoon, it was obvious how much of a leg up rivals the AFL had with only the delayed 4pm City-Country coverage going up three matches of Aussie Rules.
From 1pm right through to 6pm, the AFL dominated the numerous big screens at said establishment. Coming from Sydney, you are used to having the rub of the green when it comes to television dominance at any given venue.
But the few watching City-Country felt like lepers tucked away in the corner with one rather small screen to watch.
Surely we can add some more games to this representative weekend to make it more viable to the neutral sports fans.
Why not have a Queensland City-Country contest to keep the Queenslanders interested?
Perhaps a Papua New Guinea versus Fiji Test match in Townsville?
Maybe even pit the NSW Cup champions Newtown Jets up against the 2012 Queensland Cup premiers the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls?
There is a place for a representative weekend. But four games simply isn’t enough.
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