Before State of Origin 3, Sam Kasiano was touted as the latest player to be tempted by the lure of State Of Origin to turn his back on New Zealand; Ben Teo, however, filled that slot. So considering for the second time this Origin series, a New Zealander was tempted to turn his back on his own country, I thought it would be time to have a look at the history of interstate Rugby League in Australia, its place in the current Australian Rugby League structure and it’s future. I will also look at Shane Richardson’s comments regarding the death of Suburban ovals to see if they have any merits. I will also look at alternatives to golden point, all of this and more in the latest edition of the Blog of Cheese.
New South Wales and Queensland first opposed each other in 1908 (a year before the QRL was even formed), Queensland being no match for New South Wales, who won the game 40-0. Despite a brief dominance by Queensland in the 1920s (where they won eleven out of a possible twelve games between 1922 and 1925), New South Wales held the upper hand over their northern neighbours. In 1956, poker machines were legalized for all registered clubs in New South Wales. This saw their Rugby League clubs secure the talents of many Queenslanders to play for their clubs and, subsequently, New South Wales. To signify the increasing gap between the two states: Before 1956, Queensland had won 25% of the series played. From 1956–1981, this number dwindled to only 3.8%, with only 1 series win in 1959. In the 1970s, NSW dominance was so high that matches were moved from the SCG/Sports Ground to the smaller suburban venues, which hosted crowds of less than five thousand people. Rugby League’s interstate games needed a significant overhaul to regain their legitimacy as a viable series.
In 1900 before Rugby League began playing in Australia, a journalist who went by the name “the cynic” suggested that a star Rugby Union player who had recently emigrated to Queensland should be able to play for New South Wales. In 1964 former Queensland skipper and Australian vice-captain Jack Reardon suggested in his then role as a journalist a concept called state of origin; this suggestion was, however, ignored by the NSWRL. Former tennis player and sports administrator Wayne Reid was one of a group of men who suggested to Queensland chairman Ron McAullife the idea of a State Of Origin. Ron, who was hesitant, wondered, “if our players come back and we get beat, then what?”. Wayne suggested to New South Wales president Kevin Humphries that the game could be used as a one-off trial. New South Wales clubs were reluctant to support the competition and agreed under two conditions; 1. The game would only be staged if New South Wales won the first two games of the series and 2. That the Queenslanders who would return to play for Queensland would be under the supervision of a representative of the NSWRFL. The representative of the NSWRL’s duty was to protect the interests of both the NSWRFL and the clubs to which they were contracted. NSW won the series’ first two games to set the experimental State Of Origin match at Queensland’s Lang Park. The New South Wales Rugby League media were highly critical of the concept calling the game a “three-day wonder”. Former Australian captain and then-current Eastern Suburbs coach Bob Fulton described the game as “the non-event of the century”. Queensland would win the match 20-10 in front of a sell-out crowd. Sydney Morning Herald Journalist Alan Clarkson wrote after the game, “I was strongly against such a match, but last night’s gripping clash showed that such a fixture would be a welcome addition to the League program.” The NSWRFL and its clubs, however, were yet to be convinced of the concept, so the game would again only be played the following year if New South Wales won both games of the series. New South Wales won a close-fought game one thanks to “Queenslander” John Ribot, who scored the winning try to ensure New South Wales, won both games and again required the second State Of Origin match and the rest, they say, is history.
What is the downside of a State Of Origin? The NRL competition turns into a substandard competition as clubs play without their origin players; when the origin players play for their club between Origin games, they play at a sub-standard level due to a mixture of trying not to get injured so they can play in the following State Of Origin, as well suffering mental and physical fatigue, from such a brutal contest. Another downside is the State Of Origin has had a massively detrimental effect on the international game. This was the game’s pinnacle and is still the driving force of the sport. New Zealand and England/Great Britain refuse to play mid-season tests against an “origin-hardened” Australia. This means the only mid-season test (once a staple of Rugby League) is played before the State Of Origin, making the stepping stone from interstate Rugby League to test matches obsolete. In the early 1980s, had as many Polynesian players been eligible for State Of Origin and their own countries, it is highly doubtful that State Of Origin would have been born, as administrators would not want to decrease the importance of the international game to save the interstate series. State of Origin was a way to balance a lopsided player drain, which is irrelevant today given that there are three Queensland clubs.
There are several suggestions to fix the current situation regarding State Of Origin and the problems it creates. Since I have already mentioned alternatives for State Of Origin scheduling. I thought I would say changes to the game of State Of Origin itself. The Australian Rugby League has always insisted that the State Of Origin remain open to players who declare themselves eligible to the Australian Kangaroos. If the ARL changed the rule to allow overseas players to play State Of Origin and still play for their own country, then a fair amount of players would choose to play not for Australia. This would not allow everyone in the NRL to play State Of Origin, just those players who grew up overseas and came to Australia in their teens.
My preference would be to remove State Of Origin altogether. It’s controversial, I know, outside the box, and you probably won’t agree with it, though the more I think of it, the more it makes sense. State Of Origin no longer serves a purpose. It was a stepping stone to the Australian side, though, as I stated earlier, that’s changed. It ruins the NRL for a minimum of 9 weeks, ruining the international game, with a possible fifty thousand dollar payday, for State Of Origin players well above anything New Zealand or any minnow nation could afford to pay their players. If you get rid of State Of Origin, I think there is no point in mid-season club byes. The April Mid-season test weekend remains, with the possibility of a second international test weekend in August. With the removal of club byes, I would reduce the NRL season from 24 to 22 games. The season would start a month later, at the beginning of April. The Grand Final would remain where it is the day before the first Monday in October. After the grand final, I would play an expanded World Club Challenge, then the test series. This would give the season a month later finish, leading to the competition starting a month later. The money from State of Origin revenue would come from an expanded World Club Challenge and test matches only if these competitions are correctly managed.
On April 5, South Sydney CEO Shane Richardson said that all Sydney clubs should play out of either Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium, although he would be happy if a third stadium was used. South Sydney and Canterbury Bankstown play out of ANZ Stadium for all their twelve home matches. The Sydney Roosters play out of Allianz Stadium for all their home games, so the clubs Shane would be talking about are the Wests Tigers, who only played four games at Allianz Stadium. The Parramatta Eels play two games at ANZ Stadium. Manly, Cronulla, Penrith and St George Illawarra play zero games at either of those two venues. The games that the Wests Tigers and the Parramatta Eels move to Allianz/ANZ are games against Sydney teams that would attract bigger crowds to those venues. All Sydney-based clubs should move their home games against each other (Dragons Jubilee Oval Only) to either Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium but keep matches against non-Sydney teams at suburban ovals, currently a ploy used by the Wests Tigers.
The clubs will never agree to this publicly; otherwise, they will face a backlash from their fans, so they are hoping the ARL Commission will force their hand, so the fans will get mad at the commission and not the clubs. To promote Rugby League, I believe all NRL clubs should be required to take two home games a season to a region currently not covered by an NRL club. The venue they choose must meet the criteria for hosting NRL games. One of these games must be held between rounds 18 and 25 (rivalry games stay at current stadia).
A growing number of people are voicing their opposition to golden point extra time (GPET), with more teams working down the field for a field goal. In a previous post, I mentioned an alternative to GPET, modelled on the NHL’s extra time rules. In this post, I will look at regulations applied in College Football and the NFL post-season. In College Football, if a team gets a field goal on their first possession, the opposition is given one possession. If they score a field goal, the game reverts to sudden death, with the next scorer winning. This situation allows each team at least one chance to achieve a field goal. Most people believe that the “Golden try” should be implemented because most referees refuse to blow penalties for infringements in GPET. The referees would be more inclined to award in a golden try period. My only question regarding the golden try is if one team kicks two penalty goals and a field goal, and the opposition then scores a try, who wins? An alternative to this would be a ‘golden try”, which ends the game but is not necessarily the winning team.
And Another Thing: When asked about the Sam Kasiano eligibility situation on the Game Plan, Manly and New Zealand five-eighth Keiran Foran said players should represent who they dreamed of playing for when they were growing up. Which, to me, hits the nail on the head.
Quote of the Week: Channel 10 commentator when the camera zoomed to Greg Chalmers on the 13th of the Australian Open: “… and now to Chalmers who’s been lighting up the backside …” A laconic Wayne Grady in response: “Yeah, Luke, and he’s also been playing very well.”
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Till next time,
Cheese