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When is the best time to play men’s State of Origin? This is always a topic of conversation at this time of the year as the quality of the NRL diminishes due to the number of players missing because of the series.
While player outs do give the next generation of players an opportunity, it’s clear that the quality of game suffers (just ask anyone that watched all the games last round). But I have an idea.
I think we should play State of Origin at the start of the year. It should be the first game that the players play and should be played even before pre-season starts.
Some of you might have some concerns about doing this. Do we get the best product if this is the first game that the players play in a couple of months? Are the players in peak physical condition? What about injuries? If a player gets injured in the series, that may rule them out for club football before the season has started.
These are all valid concerns and good reasons why the timing of State of Origin is important.
But then why was this the approach taken with the women’s State of Origin?
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The first game happened two weeks ago. The Queensland Maroons won 18-10 after a Julia Robinson and Shenae Ciesiolka masterclass.
All the players acknowledge that Origin is the toughest game of footy they will play all year. It’s even tougher than the internationals.
It’s also one of the best nights of the women’s footy calendar. The game continues to be played in front of record crowds and in front of record audiences on television.
When people watch that game, they are expecting quality.
Game I was quality, but it was not to the same standard of previous years. There were 30 errors in the match, with each team contributing 15 to the total. Attack looked slightly disjointed and some players looked like they needed a little more time to get into the flow of the game.
But that’s not the players fault. For several players, it was the first game of footy they had played in almost two months. It’s not unreasonable that they looked a little bit rusty, just like the male players do at the start of the year.
We did not set the players up for success by making it the first game of the year and coincidentally, having the series opener in the same week that the NRLW pre-season kicked off.
In a year where the competition has expanded significantly, the first week and the third week of pre-season were disrupted due to key players missing.
I completely understand how challenging it is to get scheduling right, but there is an opportunity here for the NRL to really consider what an optimal women’s footy calendar might look like. I would also suggest that this be prioritised over any further expansion of the women’s game so that we get it right.
If the NRL is intent on having the men’s and women’s State of Origin at the same time, perhaps the NRLW should start sooner and then be paused for a couple of weeks while the series takes place.
Perhaps the women’s State of Origin could be held at the end of the NRLW season and then potentially even flow into some internationals for the Australian Jillaroos.
There are endless opportunities and we can certainly do better that what it looks like right now.
It’s not good for the players but it’s certainly not good for people we are trying to convert to the women’s game.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Now onto Thursday night’s game in Townsville. I have no idea which way the result will go. I am confident though that we will see a much better game, now that the players have had the chance to play a game and spend some more time together.
Queensland are obviously in the box seat. They have not lost on home turf since the series was rebranded to State of Origin and the decision to revert to Ali Brigginshaw at lock with Zahara Temara at halfback was apt.
But NSW do have some key-ins, including Simaima Taufa and at the moment Isabelle Kelly is named to play after that horrific throat injury in Game I.
I’m tipping the Blues, but by four points. For those doing the maths at home, that means that Queensland will be crowned the winner of this year’s series.