State of whatever: give me NRL any day

NF getting used to it,its like the death of a thousand cuts,you don't feel the 900th. You are correct though,the lack of consistency at times leaves me bewildered.

They sweat all the time ,that the series will be competitive,but last I heard some time ago 68,000 tickets sold 1,No 2 sellout and no3 60,000 tickets.Tv monies already paid,sponsorship up front. Dead rubbers have happened before,that's sport.The Tv numbers still remain high but not to the levels of a tied situation priot to no 3.. Like any tour of whatever code,if games start being one sided,Tv interest wanes.That's why sporting marketeers grey prematurely. I remember some time ago,the comment was made ,the series will die,due to a one sided series,and lets face it Qld have won 7.It is still going stronger than ever.

And you don't think the ARL are sweating that they split the series 1all after Game 2....

origin is great but it is two state contest that takes away interest from the clubs. The NRL is both weaker and stronger in a way. There's not a lot of interest outside of NSW and QLD.

They can have the pond.

You only need England, New Zealand and Australia to get their act together. If those three nations played a yearly series, very soon you would have the kind of story line that underpins State of Origin. Once you have that story line set, it becomes much, much easier to tap into international money. With that done, origin can still remain an intense, story driven selection trial for internationals. This would most likely increase the value of origin and internationals and with internationals being successful, you would have much more money flowing through the coffers. The golden goose is not origin, it is competitive international rugby league between England, New Zealand and Australia. But until the farmers here recognise that, everyone will remain blinded by the glitz of origin. (even though the matches are usually pretty good)

Can't help but laugh. To hear Qld clubs attacking each other because they are deadset struggling is hilarious. Can't wait to hear the bitching when they loose this years origin series.

Correct that is what the Roar is all about,the issues,and I am not debating the Middle East but SOO.Unless of course you want me to be a yes man,in Yes minister style.I spell it out the way I see it, from my many years following the code. 1) so do 3 million other Aussies, happy to know you have joined the club. 2)yes of course its two states,hence its unique quality ,as I constantly emphasise.QED it doesn't matter as the numbers watching have shown. 3)If as you are by criticising the two state aspect,is somehow affecting the national situation,you are whether you like to admit it or not ,also criticising the very admin which schedules such a series.They are after all the body who decides the whys and wherefores.Therefore my point about the code being happy with the 3 tiers is relevant,as SOO is part of the 3 tiers. After all you just stated the regular comp"that's the bad".One can argue it was bad when 3 star Sharks NRL players were absent last night,it goes with the territory.As were the absence of 8 injured Tiger's players.Both won with weakened sides. This so called sucking the juice has not prevented record NRL Tv ratings SOO ratings and crowds near record levels from continuing to follow the code.Nor has it prevented the code from securing now up to $1,3bn (including Sky NZ) in the TV deal.Money you and others stated quite clearly would not be achieved. I doubt you have attended an NRL game where some players are absent for SOO and seen up and comers in action. Players that otherwise may not have been given a chance.That is why there is a virtual reserve garde coimp and an u20s I repeat if the majority of fans,the clubs,the sponsors,the ARLC and NRL are behind it,what's the problem,They don't consider it bad.That's not controversial when the majority backs it. In this life you will never get 100% to support their code's admin,that is to be expected. If anything sucks the juice, it is to see clubs like GWS and Melbourne being belted week in week out, but of course that is OK in the scheme of things. Also sucking the juice is having the Sharks play a home game on the Central coast,where Shire residents have little chance of getting there.. One can argue having a world club challenge sucks the juice ,being played kms away.Its called promoting your product,just as the Swans did in wellington NZ I doubt you really understand the impact of SOO as a marketing tool,not only here .but in a few other countries which follow rugby codes.The code exists in a very competitive environment,and flogging its major weapon is a no brainer.If that is bad,because of a short term effect on clubs ,the clubs the most affected are not complaining en masse,if at all. I concede when the code is truly national and has two teams in NZ addtionally,the landscape could well change,but as the saying goes." ïf it aint broke don't try to fix it."

"As more junior rugby league players come out of Victoria, WA,, South Australia, then what ?" Expand State of Origin. It's that simple. As soon as Perth get an NRL side the ARLC should introduce Victoria vs WA. Make it initially 1 game per year (like NSW vs QLD Origin was) of 17 LEGITIMATE Victorians versus 17 LEGITIMATE Western Australians. By legitimate I mean no swapping allowed (like international league). If you're born in Perth and moved to Sydney at a young age, you can't use the WA team as a stepping stone to the NSW team like Uate and Tuqiri used the Fijian team as a stepping stone to the Australian team. Just have the 17 best available Victorians versus the 17 best available Western Australians. Doesn't matter if they play in the NSW Cup, QLD Cup, NRL or under 20s. I don't care if Mahe Fonua and a bunch of reserve graders line up for Victoria. It will take lots of time and effort to get these teams up to the level of NSW and QLD. But in the mean time, you may as well have them play each other. I guarantee it, each year there will be more and more NRL players being picked in the Victorian and WA teams (I'm talking 15-20 years down the track). Once both states start to regularly field teams made up entirely of NRL first graders, then you think about integrating them into the NSW vs QLD series.

Solly, What's funny is that a Queensland beer sponsors Queensland whilst a Victorian beer sponsors New South Wales. So maybe there is another battle within itself??

There's no question that it's way more good than bad...it's just a shame it cannibalises the regular season when it's on.

International R.L.was the pinnacle when Gt.Britain was competitive. The last 3 N.Z./Aust tests were of a very high quality. 'Origin" excites & this includes within N.Z.,even with a later start time! Get some reality into decisions & provide more games involving international players ,as well as inter-state! Re-schedule the season---1) 6 team WCC- 2)NRL 3) Rep games ,including "Origin" & N.Z./Pacific "Origin"----Move Sydney teams to cities in N.Z./W.A./S.A.Qld & have games spread around more. N.B. Replace N.S.W./Qld Cup fixtureswith a proper Reserve grade & reorganise Under 20'S into a Nationl Collegiate -Style comp.played say on a Sunday at venues which aren't NRL CENTRES!

Yes, I realise there is usually a difference in quality. Perhaps it's the expat in me but watching internationals always has the feeling of bringing the world to Australia. Watching origin feels like two beer sponsors bashing each other for supremacy of a pond. Good matches though.

It definitely does more good than bad, by a margin too.

CC - I think you're debating me, rather than the issue. 1) Origin's great, I love it. 2) But via its own definition, Origin concerns itself with 2 states only, thus reinforcing itself each year as predominantly a 2 state code (maybe this doesn't matter). 3) As for your comment: "ld like you to provide evidence that the codein is unhappy with the current 3 tier format of the game" Huh? I never said the code was unhappy. I just gave my own thoughts as to why Origin is both good and bad. It's a huge cash cow and raises awareness of the game (that's the very good)...but it does this by sucking juice out of the regular comp (that's the bad). Hardly controversial stuff.

All good Crosscoder.

So when you lose it will be STATE OF LE MISERABLE !!!!!

Spot on Phil , would make the game even BIGGER ,, dude has anyone told you , you look like Lionel Ritchie ,,,,,, dame bro ,,,, you'd be beatn the woman away !

Hey Kellet, Yep, great win last night :)