You’re on a screamer of an annual holiday. It’s non-stop excitement and entertainment. You’re burning the candle at both ends and trying to set fire to the middle of it.
Your credit card is taking a bigger beating than Namibia at a rugby union World Cup.
But, what the hell! Everyone agrees, like they did last year, that this is the best holiday ever, right?
Well, everyone except that one pain-in-the-arse fellow traveller who keeps saying, “Of course we’re having fun, but we’re all going to be a mess when the holiday’s done, when we have to go back to work and pay the bills.”
To make matters worse, that pain in the arse every now and then bleats, “And I know we always have a sensational time doing exactly the same thing every year, but shouldn’t we try something different eventually?”
I am that pain in the arse. And that annual screamer of a holiday is State of Origin.
It’s a wild mid-season ride we all look forward to and every year we revel in what gripping entertainment it delivers. But every year we are also left trying to rationalise the toll it takes on the NRL.
Injuries severely wound the premiership chances of certain clubs. The all-consuming media focus on the Origin series leaves the NRL drifting aimless, disjointed and diluted for several weeks. When players do return to their clubs in dribs and drabs during and after Origin, they are brave and proud but often both physically and mentally drained.
No argument at all that the standard of Origin football itself is extraordinary. Last Wednesday night’s contest was superb: dramatic, courageous, and as everyone seems to have agreed, brutal.
Brutal alright. It has brutalised the competition for the foreseeable future. Cooper Cronk, Josh Morris and Brett Morris won’t play again in the short term, and who knows what versions of Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Daly Cherry-Evans and Anthony Watmough we’ll see in the next few months?
Clubs, teammates, season-ticket holders and players who take the Origin stage pay a high price for the mid-season ride. The players called up get paid healthily for their potential damage, but the competition that is the lifeblood of the sport in this country suffers.
And what for? Three big nights of ratings for Channel Nine and three big gates for the Australian Rugby League.
You can argue that the Origin games draw a lot of attention to rugby league. Sure. But Wednesday night, prime time in mid-winter is low-hanging fruit. Around Australia people who don’t normally watch rugby league watch State of Origin because it’s well promoted, it’s mesmerisingly tense and emotional, and some find it a bit of an oddity.
A quick check on Twitter last week showed casual celebrity fans like Carlton AFL star Dale Thomas are pulled in hook, line and sinker.
How hard are they cracking in wowee State of origin is a game for warriors – #StateOfOrigin
— Dale Thomas (@DThomas_39) May 28, 2014
But many of these comments also have that ‘Can you believe this crazy stuff?’ tone. Like the observer is talking about wacky, fearless contestants on a Japanese gameshow.
You can make a case that the Origin series puts rugby league on the national stage. When you hear plans announced this week to take Origin back to the MCG next season to bring new fans to the game, it seems quite reasonable.
But is Origin really a promotional vehicle for anything but the narrowest horizons of rugby league?
In reality it’s a contest beat up beyond its real importance between the only two states in Australia that have traditionally bought into rugby league. Given that league in this country now thrives on a supply of players from further afield – like Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the United Kingdom and elsewhere – it has to be viewed as an odd combination of the inward and the backward looking.
The notion that taking a game to the MCG next year will build interest in rugby league is fanciful. I’ve no doubt they’ll get a huge turnout but it’s like expecting Melbourne Cup-goers will start showing up at Caulfield and Moonee Valley for winter race dates. It’s the occasion that gets them in, not the sport.
Origin does not sell premiership rugby league to casual fans because it’s not the same thing. Remember the rolling of eyes and sniggering when Super League promised to deliver State of Origin-style rugby league every week?
Not possible, the pundits declared. So why would fans sold on Origin be converts to the NRL, especially if their interest is piqued around Origin time when the NRL is usually at its lowest ebb?
I’m not for a moment suggesting Origin be scrapped. That’s not going to happen and I don’t want it to. But a way has to be found to stop it damaging the NRL, because on the crowded Aussie sports scene we really don’t need to be competing with ourselves.
I’d like to see State of Origin condensed over three consecutive, NRL-free weekends, with each state selecting a 30-man squad and going at it hammer and tongs for that brief period.
While the NRL is on break, a knockout cup competition could be conducted, with country sides from NSW and Queensland and representative sides from non-traditional league states given a path to qualification to compete against the NRL feeder clubs.
Scrap City versus Country in NSW, and give real country sides a shot at a cup competition. NRL clubs could have the option of sending back as many top-tier players to their feeder clubs as they want. This would give the chance to fringe first-graders, bench players and players returning from injury.
This competition would give broadcasters some content over the three weeks of Origin. I know it’s not NRL, but what we’re seeing in eight or more Origin-affected weeks of the season is not really NRL either.
At least a cup competition would be an effort towards broadening the horizons of the game, and the knockout format of cup football always produces its own romance and drama. Then, somewhere along the line, maybe we can breathe fresh life into international rugby league.
Every time I mention this I get the same responses: “Who cares?”, “It’s beyond help”, and “There’s no real competition for Australia in international rugby league”.
In reply, I like to point out that we could’ve said that after decades of NSW dominance in the old interstate series. We could’ve thrown our hands in the air and said it’s outlived its usefulness. But we didn’t.
Solutions were sought, imagination brought to bear and State of Origin was born.
Time to go back to that sort of creative thinking, and start working on evolution as well as Origin.
mark
Guest
What a great article! I really like your idea of having country sides from both states having a knockout comp. It's worth a trial and I think it would be good for the game of rugby league and good for the fans. Also having a rep side from non traditional states would be interesting and grow the game.
Debbie Spillane
Expert
Jimmy S, if you assume TV ratings are the only measure of what's good for the game, then your point of view is unbeatable. But some of us don't think that's necessarily the case.
Jimmy S
Guest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_watched_television_broadcasts#Australia I think Wednesday Origin is confirmed by it's position as the most watched television broadcast in Australian history. That's the impact on the NRL, Rugby League, and Australia... tough to argue with that. I think the current format is working pretty well. I believe Origin on consecutive weeks dilutes it as it reduces the build-up and forces out players that pick-up knocks or have to cop a game on the sideline due to a Michael Ennis-like flop.
hutch
Guest
Who cares what the masses think of Samoa v Fiji, how about the people who actually live in Samoa and Fiji? Why can't other countries have the opportunity to also play rep football during the middle of the nrl season. When will we ever look at the bigger picture? If you think people are going to suddenly stop watching rugby league and take up afl because of 3 weekends a year, you're kidding yourself.
hutch
Guest
Sunday night is the biggest tv rating night of the week. There is no reason why it would not be just as successful on a Sunday night with no nrl games that weekend.
hutch
Guest
Kill momentum how? What proof do you have of this? If anything, the nrl comp suffers more now because of all the distractions, putting it on hold for three weeks would make supporters more eager to watch them when the competition restarts. Besides, who cares what people think. We should be having stand alone weekends for the good of the sport itself. Origin for Australia, rep games and test matches for other nations who get absolutely nothing at this time of the year and are then expected to compete with Australia at years end.
Debbie Spillane
Expert
Jimmy S, you're obviously not aware I've held this same opinion about Origin for many years, years in which quite often the Bulldogs have barely been affected. I'm a Bulldogs fan sure, but I'm by no means so fanatical that all my thinking about the game revolves around what's good for them. My job requires me watching/ listening to and keeping tabs on games involving all clubs and I'm concerned about the impact of Origin on the NRL and on rugby league overall. And, I also believe Origin would benefit from the excitement carrying over from game to game if they were just a week apart.
Bearfax
Roar Guru
I agree with you Debbie. NRL has an opportunity to make a couple of weekends the major rep games. State of Origin, Round Rbin matches between Samoa, Tonga, Fiji . City vs Country between the rest. U20s SOO, matches between other states reps eg WA, NT,, SA and PNG. Play them all over the country so the game's face is seen in places like NSW country regions. There would be enough football for the audience to watch. We need to protect our sportstars from burn out
Jimmy S
Guest
Which Origin players miss 6 weeks of football due to fatigue and being held out the week prior? Last year James Maloney played 23 games and Mitchell Pearce played 22, along with all three Origins. Because of Origin we got to see the top* players play more, and also see the best* competing against the best. I've got facts, you've got sweeping generalisations. Adults are trying to have a grown-up conversation here, son.
Rodney McDonell
Guest
Your partially correct about moving the Origin to Melbourne. If you were going to measure the result of one Origin game, then I think you'd be hard pressed to find any evidence that it alone has grown the game. But then, that's not what it's really about. It's about breaking down barriers: People will hold their beliefs in their head very strongly. It's very hard to break away form someone your parents, friends and family have been involved in and have drummed into your head your entire life. More and more, football resembles Religion or a cult, without the views of how the universe came to being. By hosting SOO, Internationals and having the Storm here, over 15 years, those barriers have been breaking down. The Storm is almost an institution. It's almost everyone's second favourite team and that alone should be a victory, as it weakens the grip that one sport, AFL, had on the population and opens the door for others to follow the Storm, NRL and it's other products without school yard bullying. It's about money: The AFL poor massive amounts of money into NSW and QLD. The have hardly done the same in VIC. Sure their previous owners kept the Storm alive, and that in it's self was no mean feat. But the NRL would find it hard to justify lumping the sort of Cash in VIC that the AFL spends in NSW and QLD. Instead, it's a little smarter, it sells the products it has to the VIC government and uses the proceeds to run grass roots activities in Victoria. This is smart. There is definitely a market in Victoria and if they pay, why should we not let them pay us and use that to grow the game in the South. I can tell you it's remarkable the growth story in Victoria. I lived here from 2004/2005 and I can tell you, with average gates at Storm home grounds of 6-8 thousand, the turnaround is mind blowing. Last year our average was > 15,000. The investment is paying off. Viewers for this years state of origin was immense in VIC, especially considering the view that most people have about Victorians and Rugby League. We're also turning out juniors. In recent years, there have been three Victorians included in regular 1st grade games, 2 with the Storm and 1 with Canberra.
Fouble
Guest
Origin is a dinosaur. It bel
turbodewd
Guest
??? Noone bags Origin. It rocks.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
NRL is the competition run by the NRL for the 16 NRL clubs. SOO games are run under the auspices of the NSW and Qld Rugby Leagues and the ARLC
Glenn Innes
Guest
Sometimes in life the old Burkean tory philiosophy of muddling through is the best option, and I think the current format is as good at it gets.Not perfect ...but that is life perfection is usually unachievable and attempts to create it usually end in disaster. We already have one too many NRL free weekends we need three like we need a hole in the head.Hardore League junkies are to be admired for their passion but nothing more - they live in a deluded world where they think the masses are going to tune into Samoa vs Fiji or similar "filler". Not going to happen - all that NRL free weekends do is give the AFL a chance to promote their game to League fans bored because their are no NRL games on.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Also playing on Wednesday takes away any other football competition for the broadcaster.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
I was a Norths fan and a Steelers fan, both now gone. I watch the footy now as a totally unbiased supporter of the game. Origin as it stands, hurts the premiership and has done so for a number years. The NRL had a chance to fix this up last year with the new TV broadcast rights. The NRL saw the dollar signs and forgot everything else. Many players involved in SOO from most clubs will miss up to three premiership games due to being required the weekend before Origin and many will miss the next weeks game through injury or fatigue. To say Origin doesn't affect the NRL is rubbish.
Storm Boy
Guest
Why do rugby league media hate on rugby league so much? Origin is the best thing going about NRL and eveyone in league bags it. No wonder AFL is better media.
Muzz
Guest
How many troops would be ruled out for origin 2 if it was played 7 days after the last one? How many would go for the pain killers to take the field and risk further injury? There is no perfect solution but spaced over 6 weeks imo is better for player welfare than 3 games in 3 weeks.Players then have the option to back up for their clubs.The best team after 26 rounds and finals wins the comp.Origin doesn't effect the outcome. Moaners - they always moan!
Zedman
Guest
4 million viewers and only one place to see it-------- Channel 9, this mob isn't changing anything. The only chance of change is when the current agreement expires.
Jimmy S
Guest
You're a Bulldogs fan. Debbie Spillane is a Bulldogs fan. Origin is hurting Bulldogs. You've both penned articles about how Origin is wrecking the NRL season at a time when it's hurting the clubs you support.