V'landys dredges up Origin to NZ plan as dead rubber looms and players' media boycott embarrasses NRL

With the NRL embarrassed by the players boycotting game-day media commitments and interest in Wednesday’s Origin dead rubber waning, ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landy has floated the prospect of potentially taking an interstate clash to New Zealand.

One of the three State of Origin matches is pretty much always held in a neutral venue, rotating between Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth in recent years and the possibility of a match in Auckland is not a new concept.

A cynic would say V’landys is looking to divert attention away from the drama that’s engulfing the game with this latest plan which comes on the back of the ongoing saga about whether the NRL will open its season next year with a double-header in Las Vegas.

“New Zealand is absolutely a consideration for State of Origin,” V’landys told NewsCorp. “A historic State of Origin match in New Zealand is definitely something we will consider.

“At the moment, the Origin scheduling has already been locked in for the next three years, but we are ecstatic at the success of rugby league in New Zealand. The Warriors have been outstanding this season and naturally we want to keep that momentum going. It’s certainly an option.”

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Melbourne is due to host an Origin game in 2024 and ’26 with the intervening year going to Perth or Adelaide.

A more pressing matter for Rugby League Central is the players shunning game-day media commitments, which they have done this round.

They are prepared to do so for months and will not rule out further strike action as part of drastic measures the players association hopes will lead to a resolution in protracted collective bargaining agreement talks with the NRL.

Media strikes announced by the RLPA at an emergency press conference on Wednesday mean male and female players will boycott all game-day media commitments until further notice, including for Wednesday’s final State of Origin match.

In total, the warring parties have been negotiating the new CBA for 20 months, with the current agreement only able to roll over until October 31 of this year.

The RLPA had been hopeful of reaching an agreement with the NRL by the end of May after presenting the league with a settlement proposal but talks once again hit an impasse.

The RLPA is no longer aggrieved as to player wages or the salary cap, with the NRL proposing an overall increase in player payments of 37 per cent, an immediate 25.4 increase in the salary cap and an increased minimum wage of $150,000.

Current concerns lie with more specific areas of the CBA, which contains over 100 different items.

These include the RLPA wanting full autonomy around managing it own funds, which are dispensed to retired players in distress and those suffering from the effects of long-term injuries, among others.

The RLPA also has concerns over the NRL’s ability to increase the length of the season without approval and the players’ ownership and autonomous access to their own data, including medical records.

Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett has backed in the NRL players’ boycott, citing “genuine grievances” with the deal they’ve been offered in collective bargaining agreement talks.

Bennett accepted the players had to take some form of action to try and press forward negotiations.

“It’s not what we all would like but I think there’s a couple of good things out of it, they’re not talking about money and they’re obviously satisfied with that, we’re not talking about going on strike, which I think is terribly important,” he said.

“But I suppose they’re in a situation where they can’t negotiate on their points, and they’ve got to try and bring it to a conclusion by going outside the norm.

“Some of the points they made, they’re pretty valid … the decision with the NRL having them play more games for the season, that’s the last thing these players need right now, to play more.

“We’re managing the loads but the game’s as hard and as fast and as tough as ever been.

“There’s some genuine grievances there. I think they can be worked out but at the moment neither party is prepared to give much.”

with AAP