The 2015 State of Origin series marks the 35th anniversary of what many have labelled as the pinnacle of Australian sport.
Every New South Welshman and Queenslander that has ever pulled on a pair of boots has dreamed and aspired to represent their state, just as their heroes did before them.
Since the mid 1980s the State of Origin concept has broken crowd attendance and television ratings records, and for three months of the year it is on everyone’s lips, even inspiring people who don’t normally watch club games to tune in, thus earning the ‘pinnacle’ tag.
However, is it still the pinnacle of Australian sport?
Before 1980, the height of representative football was to pull on the green and gold jumper and represent your country against the best players in the world. It was the height of a footballer’s career and players were proud to represent their country.
In the 1980s the Australian Test side dominated the world, and were tagged ‘The Invincibles’.
Throughout the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, the Kangaroos continued their dominance of the world stage, and the crowds and interest in international football suffered.
Before long, Origin was labelled as the toughest match-up and fiercest rivalry in not only rugby league, but Australian sport.
So what happened in the first game of the 2015 series? Where was the toughness? Where was the passion? The majority of the players were going through the motions in a game that won’t go down in State of Origin folklore.
Both teams lacked the fire and intensity that Origin is famed for.
Sadly, the 2013 and 2014 series it felt the same way, Queensland using the same old set plays and NSW trying to hold them out.
Test football, on the other hand, is starting to make an impact. The 2013 World Cup showed the world that international football is, not what is was in the past 30 years, with a record attendance of 74,468 at Old Trafford to watch the final between Australia and New Zealand.
Since then, New Zealand has knocked Australia off as the number one team in the world, and they did so convincingly with wins in the Four Nations and the Anzac Test.
If New Zealand were included in the State of Origin series they would beat both NSW and Queensland with ease.
It’s time for the Australian Rugby League to stop labelling State of Origin as the pinnacle and start looking at bringing some passion, rivalry, toughness, marketing and hype back to international rugby league.
Let’s reattach that ‘pinnacle’ tag to the green and gold jumper.
Damo
Guest
You can never over hype origin! You just need to add some hype to internationals
Damo
Guest
Origin is my favourite time of the year. It's an adult version of Xmas with excitement and anticipation. But I agree with Sleiman that test footy needs to be hyped with the same pizazz and then I get 2 xmas's. That would make me happy
Justthetip
Roar Pro
With the regulars in the kangaroos side vs NZ they lost the most recent game, won the game before that and the game before that was the World Cup final which was scary how superior Australia actually are. Anyone thinking the kiwis are now the better side are kidding themselves. Origin 1 showed how big the gap between QLD and NSW is. NSW are picking the most defensive side possible and it's an awful tactic. Last year the blues jagged a series win through Jarryd Haynes finest hour in game 1. Game 2 was a farce and this success has given them a false economy. They have the talent to pick a side that would do more than threaten the maroons and only improve with time. The blues have a tendency to select players who are more robotic and athletic. These blokes need Brett Stewart and Jamie Lyon type footballers offering the halves so assistance with attacking direction. If NSW put an emphasis on selecting some players with a lot of brains to complement their abundance of brawn their attack would link have the maroons under far more pressure. Attack is the best form of defence.
Mike
Guest
USA rugby is growing nicely :) http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelzer/2015/05/30/growth-of-collegiate-rugby-championship-evidence-of-sports-rising-popularity/
Renegade
Roar Guru
Was an epic game but not better than the World Cup semi.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Yeah, but the Bledisloe Cup and the All Blacks are NZ, Kiwis soul and heart and if they lose a game or 'god forbid' the Bledisloe Cup then the whole of NZ just falls apart, I wouldn't like to be an All Black returning to NZ in a losing team that has lost the Bledisloe Cup.
steveng
Roar Rookie
I've said it before and I'll say it again, SOO is a nothing contest, its like country and city and it does nothing for Australian RL. NSW and Qld are well established with RL and it just does not further the game in any way, not in other Australia states or the world. Yes in the beginning 1980 SOO did do some good and put RL on the map in Qld and it helped RL further the game there but today its just media hype. Have a look at all the media outlets, all they did and do is concentrate on the SOO as if the NRL club football is non existent. If the ARL do insist on hyping this SOO I would rather see it at the end of the NRL season and after the grand final, it would be more productive and it would keep RL in the spotlight for a further 3 months period of the year. But I would rather see international football being promoted and be made into a venue like SOO so that RL can be promoted all around the world. It would be to the benefit and the interest of the game more to have international RL doing well rather then SOO.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Thanks for recognising there is potential. Any business leader worth his or her salt would start heading towards it.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Well, actually, they are the undisputed champions of rugby league. Not sure why you would think otherwise.
Ra
Guest
....or rue the end of rugby league in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and then the rest of the world. SOO will be relegated to Saturday mornings lost n found pages and AFL will take over the Courier Mail's back pages, six-eight pages deep.
Pomski
Guest
The New Zealand v England semi-final was probably the best rugby league match I've seen. The state of origin game 1 last year second best.
Ra
Guest
you bought talent frank. Some far sighted Aussie glimpsed the shape of things to come and invested big in a raw talent pool the population of Sydney.. Whatever you would like to think, if you take our talent out of league in Aussie, AFL will quickly take over as no1 sports code in Sydney and Brisbane and the State o Origin would be relegated to the lost n found pages. The proof is not in how many watch SOO but how many bums fill seats in Brissy and Melbourne when the Warriors are in town. Ask the Broncos and the Storm camps. Its a good match. You have the money and we have the talent. If we took all our Pasifika talent home from the Aussie based teams and formed our own franchises just like Super Rugby, we would cross the Tasman like modern day Vikings and rape and pillage at will and spell the death of rugby league in Aussie and in. So leave well enough alone I say...
Renegade
Roar Guru
You're being sarcastic - right?
Renegade
Roar Guru
The QLD spine is basically the melbourne spine.... They've been held to two tries or less plenty of times.
nerval
Guest
I was at Wembley for that and it's the best game I've attended too. (On the other hand, the Australia v Fiji semi-final was one of the worst.) And yet it's still worth remembering how the Kiwis were put to the sword by Australia at Old Trafford. It was only 18 months ago that NZ looked light years behind Australia.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Good comment kelefua. I, too, have enjoyed how close Internationals have become. There have been some tremendous battles of late, with the highlight being the NZ v England semi-final at the World Cup. My concern is that the RLIF aren't doing anything to harness this recent interest in the International game. There simply are not enough games. The Australians are playing 1 game in 2015. Can you imagine the Wallabies doing that? Or the Socceroos? Our cricketers? It just wouldn't happen. But it's not just the Aussies. Players like Steve Matai have said that it isn't viable to commit completely to an Island nation like Tonga or Samoa. Why? Because they very, very rarely play. Atleast if you commit to Origin, and in turn Australia, you are guaranteed a number of games per year. Oh, except, did I mention that Australia is only playing once this year?! England had a brilliant Four Nations tournament in 2014. So how do you leverage of that success, and build from it? You get them to play a series against New Zealand an entire YEAR later. Brilliant!! Some solid finkers at the RLIF. I can't see the International game getting big enough over the next decade, to even slightly put a dent in the behemoth that is Origin. They had an opportunity to build from the success of the Kiwis in the 2008 World Cup. But here we are, 7 years on, still with very few International games being played. And that's talking about the "Big 3". The minnows have absolutely no hope of ever getting to a competent standard, with home-grown players, without playing regularly. Supporters of the International game are right. It has so much potential. Unfortunately with the current admin in charge, I can't see it ever being realised
kelefua
Guest
Kiwi supporters are entitled to celebrate 4nations win and recent Anzac test. I'm not sure exactly who you're referring to when you say Kiwi supporters now think they're the best league team on the planet. But I have heard the NRL commentators say it and plenty Aussie scribes. I also watch union as well & poor Wallabies haven't won the Bledisloe Cup from All Blacks since Lord Bledisloe passed away. But I have no doubt when they eventually do win it their fans will hail them as the best of the best.. and who can deny them that ;)
kelefua
Guest
As a kiwi I've always loved Origin and all my kiwi mates are the same. Some of us live in Oz so naturally support the state we live in. Rest of us adopted our states that had our fav players.. Johns, Lockyer etc. But most of us are here in NZ and I can assure you its big here too. I do wish NZ had something similar but for now Origin rules. Recently its been refreshing to see how close internationals are getting particularly the Kiwis v Kangaroos. Latest results are no doubt a reflection of the amount of Kiwis now playing top grade footy in NRL and to lesser extent UK comps. This has got to be good for the game worldwide. As someone said above the real winners out of all of this are us the fans.. bring it on!
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
New Zealand can't take a trick, can they.
Jason Hosken
Guest
Ok TPM. I ducked into that... The fact is, you only have to attend a game from Origin level down to bush footy and witness/hear a few collisions to realise the players a tough. Sure, skill and fitness vary but not the willingness to dominate on impact. Probably a throw away line for effect, but i felt it was misplaced.