So you’ve got this national footy competition, see, which runs for 25 rounds and 30 weeks with 16 teams, and it’s been going like this since 1999 and a bit before that in other configurations, and it’s been really quite successful.
People love it. People hold tribal allegiance – the best kind of allegiance – to the teams and consume the game in large numbers through eyeballs on televisions and purchase of season tickets and merchandise and so many thermos-smuggled hot dogs.
Bottom line: people dig the National Rugby League of Australia in big numbers, and no argument.
But then after 11 rounds of this crackerjack sports league it is – get this – lessened by another little league, a three-match super-series of matches between representatives of the two states that largely (like 98 per cent) consume said national sports league.
And so popular – and thus valuable – is this extra little series to “the game” that the teams in the original completion willingly offer up their employees as fodder for it.
It’s seen as necessary evil, collateral damage – just how it rolls in greatest game of all rugby league, at least how we do it in the Oz.
And there’s nothing really like it in world sport.
North American basketball and baseball have “All Stars” games but they’re exhibitions. They don’t even fire blanks. They’re eunuchs. Giggle games.
The closest might be the Premier Leagues and Series A of European football in which the greatest teams from these mighty national leagues come together in European Cup competitions to compete among ridiculous money.
The English Premier League has the FA Cup and if your team goes deep in that you might expect a little bit of … degradation.
But European football teams have economies the size of Luxembourg’s and can replace an international striker with an international striker.
In Australian rugby league – a rather more physical affair than association football you could assert without ambiguity – the State of Origin series beats up on the season proper like a birthday boy on a choc-filled piñata.
State of Origin takes 40-plus of the game’s best players – it’s showcase stars – and beats them up. Meanwhile, the rest of the comp limps on without them in rounds that are cut in half.
While Origin footy is, of course, excellent rugby league and the game the other night was without question fast and pulsating and tops, it does rather beg the question, as it does each year, is there not another way?
“The game” – one assumes a conglomeration of minds in NRL, ARLC, QRL, NSWRL, RLPA and whatever other officials there are in the alphabet soup – has come up with a standalone Sunday evening for Origin Game 2 in Perth, and it’ll be interesting to see how that rolls for the game’s major stakeholder, the one-eyed all-seeing spider god that is television.
We know this: Game 2 will rate through the roof. It’s Sunday night and that’s when people watch television.
What television will tell us, though, is if their numbers are down because there’s no club rugby league upon people’s televisions.
Will television be able to put something on television other than rugby league that will compete for advertising space with AFL?
Or are rugby league people not going to watch that either way?
Could Channel Nine on a Friday night, say, “beat” whatever’s on Friday night in Sydney and Brisbane with … I dunno, My Farmer’s Kitchen Wants A Wife, or whatever confected filth these people are pumping out into the ether and calling entertainment?
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
As Uncle Bunny said in Once Were Warriors, stuffed if I know bro. Stuffed if I know.
But clearly the spider god is willing to find out.
And the National Rugby League competition will be beaten up a little less by dint of its superstar drawcards actually – how about that – playing in it.
Seems a pretty good thing. Balance. A meeting of minds in the middle. Or something I dunno.
But the State of Origin killer whale whacks the competition that it draws players from, and one standalone weekend for it would appear to better than none.
Mind you, it didn’t hurt the Canberra Raiders who toweled up a Wests Tigers side who’d had two weeks off.
Canberra had a little bevy of Origin players backing up and beat up on the Tigers like the birthday kid on a piñata.
Earlier, the Newcastle Knights beat South Sydney with Kalyn Ponga in a polo shirt in the coach’s box.
The Bunnies were missing their No.7 and three men were backing up from Wednesday night.
But their list, on paper – at home – beats the Ponga-free Knights in every multi on Sportsbet’s servers.
Can’t blame Origin for that.
Though it would’ve been good to see Ponga. That kid’s freakin’ spectacular.
Anyways. There’s two split rounds in season ’19 and you can say this about it: it’s better than three split rounds.
Have no split rounds?
Few years ago a mate of mine called Wozza (because that’s his name when you shorten it from Warren in the Australian way) knocked out a blueprint for a competition in which there was an entire other cup competition while the Origin series ran over six weeks.
There’d be Test matches and a round robin comp with everyone else in the middle of it, and I wrote it about it in these very e-pages.
But it doesn’t matter how much you would nod along to it, the alphabet soup people weren’t going to implement anything like it because they know you, dear leaguie, don’t like change.
Not big change, anyway. You say you do but you don’t.
If they halted the NRL for six weeks and played three Origins and a whole other comp and some Test matches afterwards – and then restarted the NRL – too many people wouldn’t like it because too many people are afraid to suck it and see.
Plus you’re going to watch the NRL as it is anyway.
Because, you poor damned fool for love, you love it.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
The NRL is already the reserve grade for Origin.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
You can please some of the people some of the time but you can never please a footy writer any of the time...
Rod
Guest
The reality league has always had interruption to the season . Test match series , city v country and interstate series . If anything there is less games effecting the season . The issue are that teams don’t have the depth to cover key positions , yes there are examples of teams that ha e mages it over the years . Souths back in 60’s/70’s the dragons before them had internationals players playing reserve grade .when they lost players to rep footy the replacements were almost as good
Ben
Guest
I absolutely hate how origin is scheduled, how it is marketed and how it's importance seems to tower over the nrl now. Rd 1 nrl player of the game "I wonder if he will play origin this year". Who cares. Your player sacrificed for the spectacle of origin gets suspended... Why not suspend them for next origin game. Why should clubs lose players. Star player season ending injury... Yeahp eat that too. I would welcome a 6 week break to the nrl
Kick n Clap
Guest
Steve, Don’t tell me the RU League’s in Northern Hemisphere are a tough or brutal as the NRL. That’s the difference. Yes the squads are bigger in England, but it’s quantity over quality. In Jockland there is just two teams. In The Sheep chasing principal, the Teams & the quality is going backwards, In England it’s wash with money, but the Meat’s in the middle between Hull & Liverpool and we will never sell out to the Devil???? Fair play to Ireland who have copied NZ with 4 x teams. But to be fair somebody’s else with Brain must come up with that idea? It’s certainly not definitely not the luck of the Irish there?
Brendon Waldron
Roar Pro
I don't know about the last 10, but I remember in 2017 the Storm went into the origin period leading the comp, contributed 6 players including all of their spine at one point, and still finished the origin period leading the comp before winning the premiership. And while that's just typical Melbourne and might not be as easy for other teams, that's not really the Storm's problem...
3 R M
Guest
What's going on Matt? You were all piss and wind after last year's win and now your griping about player drain and kicking the ARLs biggest draw card . You are all in your own minority focus group here I believe. league will evolve naturally but this just seems like a whinge for the sake of it . There will be tens of thousands of sandgropers watching rugby league live in a couple of weeks and it will achieve what the nrl cant in cut through. Origin is something special that just happened because it had to just like the Pacific tests. The more the better and there will be more
Loïc A.
Guest
Hell, for that kind of "not much you can do about it", there's examples in the sport the author dismissed (i.e. soccer): not European but African or even South American soccer. Continental club competitions take a toll when you don't have the depth of a Serie A or La Liga big name.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
I want the AMCO cup back and I don't like the interuption origin brings to the NRL. So here's my 2 bobs worth. Soo on Sundays over 3 consecutive weekends with no NRL. To fill up the viewing for the weekend we all know a few internationals would more than do the job. Then bring back the AMCO cup. Teams would be all state league clubs plus state teams from the rest of Australia and NZ. An elimination series over the 2 weeks of origin with the final played at origin 3. Simple but why not?
Ad-O
Guest
Exactly right. In European soccer, suspensions dont carry over between different competitions.
Sideline Eye
Guest
It's an ongoing dilemma. Teams state that they are happy with multiple representation as it confirms they are going well however they then can be seriously impacted. I would be interested if anybody could provide the stats of say the last 10 Premiers & what their Origin players numbers were.
nrlfan
Guest
I don't watch fta tv (as its useless especially channel 9, never mind the others) the only thing I watch on fta is the horse racing channel. The nrl comp has lost me (years ago) as an attending or paying fan, these split rounds and the soo, has taken away all my interest, as it ruins a potentially great nrl comp. 2019 is a perfect example of how rugby league is a failure as a major sport and it will never ever be a dominant sport, as and during soo, people go and watch or attend other sports, there are plenty of other sports to watch and or attend, thank god! Then, add the rising racial tensions (2019 has brought this to the fore) and the nrl has some very big problems coming up that will split rugby league altogether, this has put me off the nrl as it did the afl. The nrl has become a very disappointing spectacle (as I'm sure other fans agree) it keeps losing me more and more easch year.
Rellum
Roar Guru
And I thought these articles weren't as common this year. To be frank, I really don't care. Bring on game two.
Emcie
Roar Guru
The real untold story here is how much Origin is impacted by the NRL. I'm sick of seeing Origin players unavailable due to injuries and suspensions gained in NRL games.
mudchooks
Roar Rookie
I don’t mind the NRL games during the origin period, it’s a good chance to see some youngsters and players from the wider squads. That said I won’t pay full price to go and watch these games, the NRL need to consider offering discounted tickets in affected rounds to offset the fact the big stars aren’t featured.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Yep, just make the NRL the new reserve grade.
Insider
Roar Rookie
That’s very true, and add to that a lot of the Pacific lads ( many who are outstanding) have decided to put country first has created a large void of missing talent.
Emcie
Roar Guru
I meant impact on the NRL season. The quality of the NRL would have to go through the roof to even think about competing with Origin.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Nah Emcie, I’ve got mates who don’t watch the regular rounds of footy but love Origin, my uncles who speak ingwish even watch the thing! The day SOO dies is the day League dies
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
I think what they need to do is make Origin a one off match, on its own weekend, then with everything on the line in one match it will rate even better, stop selecting New Zealanders and Pacific Island eligible players, even a lot of those born in Australia were not Australian citizens at the time of birth. Then make the final series three rounds only with either a top eight straight knockout or a top six , so that those not in the finals dont have to wait . Then a two round knock out internationals to determine the Southern hemisphere champion. The loser of each semi final match then play the next two teams in line to determine next years top four, so based on it would be probably be PNG and Samoa trying to make the top four for next year with Aus,NZ,Tonga,Fiji as the top four. Then they can also bring back city vs country during the final series played in a regional center for NSW and Qld with players remaining out of the final series. Then the winner of each of those plays off during the final series which will provide another NSW vs Qld style match.