Rep rugby league needs the full three rounds

The big issue for international league happened in 1996 when rugby league in the UK swapped from a winter to a summer sport. So the ESL was running concurrent with the NRL, this threw the Lions, Kangaroos and Kiwis tours out of kilter as the tourists would traditionally come together at the end of their domestic season and mount a meaningful tour during the oppositions 'in season' when that countries fans were fully involved with their domestic campaign and without the distractions and lull of post season. Since then various combinations of matches at various points of the year have been tried but none for long enough to become an established feature of the RL calendar. Any player I have ever spoken to, both northern and southern hemisphere, have always regarded winning an international cap as being the pinnacle of their sporting career. It's interesting to note in comments from other people on several posts regarding this topic when they raise the issue of fiscal remuneration for players representing their country, if this is ever a primary concern for any player then there should be genuine concern and consideration as to their suitability to win a cap. This may be an old fashioned attitude in these money oriented times but I'm sticking with it, pride in the jumper and representing your country should come before financial reward.

Yeah Epi, I have no idea why that happens. The sport needs to be more balanced. You can't just have a 3 game series taking the focus for the whole year (or most of it). You need to make the club competition relevant, and then work in the international schedule. I actually heard on radio last week, Ryan Girdler saying that his proudest moment was wearing the Australian jersey. I've heard that from quite a few other players as well. So lots of other areas of the game which mean different things to different people.

Yeah I get what you're saying SVB. When round 1 hasn't even kicked off yet and we already have people ruling players in or out of Origin it's a bit much.

It's the type of hype they create. I am more of a traditionalist with these things. I think the NRL Grand Final has the right amount of hype. A week before the game start talking about the teams involved and their tactics and weaknesses / strengths. It has more of a feeling of destiny for one team, and complete dejection for the other. You don't get too many chances, therefore there is that tension which exists and makes the game intriguing. Nearly all big sporting events around the world have this type of hype and it works. Origin hype is created months before, and then the talk centres around the same players and what they did 5 years ago in a game. They'll show highlights of this over and over until it all feels the same (remember that Mark Coyne try). Nothing feels new. It is like it has to rely on previous feats to be relevant. Start talking about the game one or two weeks before, and concentrate on the game only. The hype should be enough in that alone. I don't really want to hear about the Mark Coyne try anymore, or how Billy Moore yelled out "Queenslander" when he walked out the tunnel or Greg Dowling scoring that try under the posts after the ball hit the crossbar.

Oh I definitely agree with you. I think both sides feed off each other. I get excited about Origin - the Media knows this and hypes up their coverage - the hyped up coverage makes me even more excited. A lot of people are very critical of how hyped up the coverage of Origin is. I love it.

But isn't the hype a by-product of the game having relevance? They are over doing it because they can sell an extra 30 minutes of coverage "hyping" and event with sports ratings that requires no actual sports content. I think you've got the cart before the horse here - the reason the dead weight hype is there is because the game is strongly supported enough to carry it, the game isn't strong because of the dead weight hype.

I suppose I am talking about the hype the media generates. The first 15 to 20 years of SOO probably had as much passion as you could want. Then I thought it began to go down a little, but the media kept generating it through ads and other promotional stuff. I think channel 9 overdid it a lot. If there is an intense rivalry between two teams, it should be enough to talk about this rather than replay the same pictures and highlights over and over and over again to get people motivated. Just my opinion.

I've heard that said before SVB, but I actually think it's the least contrived. Club football is brand vs brand. "Wests" and "North Queensland" are loosely defined, while modern teams like Titans and Storm were born in a marketing board room. Most players have no connection to the area their team represents (which is totally fine btw). Origin, on the other hand, has real passion. You are either from the state or you are not. These teams have stood for almost 40 years and the series has remained largely unchanged. Yes, a lot of the hype is manufactured via the media, but a lot of the hype at the watercooler is not.

may be a cost at the moment - but could it turn a profit in future? an investment in the game of sorts $$$

Nothing wrong with Origin. It's just that they can't keep flogging that same old dead horse over and over again. I have watched RL for a long time, and it used to be a lot more interesting when you had your club games, then your Origin, then some international rugby league. You are sort of getting that now. Greg Prichard wrote an article previously about scheduling things correctly which was spot on. Don't become like AFL where the game is one dimensional, and about the club sides playing each other over and over again each year (and nothing else).

SVB, youre wrong mate. Punters aren't dumb. they flock to Origin because it delivers high intensity footy and that attracts the big crowd. and players lift in front of a big crowd. there is nothing contrived about Origin. Its authentic and the players love it. the players are passionate about it.

yep, that's coz there was no other game on. and show me the Origin ratings. im not calling for the abolition of the game NZ has won the 'ANZAC test' twice since 1998

Interesting. Maybe a lot of that would be marketing costs. But with the Islander community you get could get very good value (bang for your buck) from not spending much at all on marketing. They are crazy about their national teams, and something as simple as 'word of mouth' in their communities would see a large crowd appear for these types of games. Probably a lot of money is going into the pockets of someone who doesn't deserve so much.

I feel that Origin is far more contrived and manufactured than any other event in the rugby league calendar. A lot of the passion and pride is based more out of the NRL marketing department than the players themselves. I think there needs to be an international game just to mix it up a bit. I think also more games should be taken to NZ at Eden Park. Games over there seem to have more feeling and the Kiwis lift which makes it interesting (especially if the crowd gets involved). The games between the Island nations also have a lot of of feeling in them. Just needs to be set at the right time in the calendar.

If Origin was played each Wednesday night for three weeks the PI could play on the weekends. That solves one issue. Test games should be controlled by the ARL and the IRLF. It's not the NRL's job to promote and run international league. Shorter seasons and internationals at year end is problematic though, the WCC is looking like it will be around for a while and clubs still need an off season to prepare for the following season. Will take some clever people to work it out.

I honestly don't think it's about the win/loss ratio at all. In the 10 years that Origin was dominated by Queensland, Origin kept getting bigger and bigger every year. It doesn't matter if one side wins more often than the other, fans just need to know that when they tune into a game: a) the contest will be entertaining and/or close. b) both teams have a good chance of winning. I think if Internationals had the same marketing budget as Origin, things could change.

In regards to the costs, I heard Brad Walter saying it cost 1.3 mill for the PI double header. He didn't break it down. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.

"Australia wins 92% of the time." In the last 3 years, Australia's win percentage against NZ is 40% "This is why international league doesn’t rate as high as Origin or NRL" The test match on Friday was the highest rating rugby league game this year.... What else do you want to learn today Turbo?

They will get much better. These matches are one of the years highlights.

Epi, u hit the nail on the head. for a contest to attract fans it needs meaning. The Aus v NZ test would have meaning if it was held on ANZAC Day...however, the huge problem is that Australia wins 92% of the time. This is the problem!!! This is why international league doesn't rate as high as Origin or NRL...Australia dominates.