Origin is a blueprint, not an anchor

[adamkungl]

Rugby League is a sport made for huge moments and last night proved it yet again.
State of Origin was another magnificent occasion and the perfect advertisement for the game.

Still it has its critics. Particularly International die-hards who bemoan the attention it gets, seemingly at the International games expense.

But this is a case of correlation not equaling causation. Or more simply - Origin's behemoth size makes a stark comparison to International RL's understated presence, but is NOT the cause of it.

Origin is representative Rugby League boiled down to perfection. Peak intensity, meaningful format, a constantly running story spanning decades.
Origin is what International Rugby League should aspire to be.

Origin may be guilty of 2 things in relation to the international game:
Preventing Australia from a mid-year test series by taking up calendar space.
and
Drawing players away from other national teams.

But the 2nd criticism illustrates my point perfectly. Players jumped to Origin because there was a lack of opportunity on the international arena. Now we have Tonga and NZ playing annual mid-year tests as the same time as Origin - and the tide is turning.

International Rugby League, the people running it, need to take the Origin blueprint and apply it to October and November.
It isn't an either/or proposition. Removing Origin wouldn't magically make International footy more relevant. There's room for both to thrive.

Give us annual tournaments with meaningful formats. Give us Australia v NZ 3 times a year. Tonga v Samoa. England v Australia. etc etc
Rugby League will do the rest.

 

[Dakink]

Well said

 

[adamkungl]

I really thought more people would have something to say on the old Origin v Internationals topic haha

 

[LeagueXIII]

Origin is what Great Britain v Australia was for nearly 90 years.

People forget that in todays world rugby league in Australia is huge in other countries it is a sport with little money and down the sports pecking order.....do you think origin would be huge if it was directly up against a competition like the premier league with all it's glamour and resources and the top kids choosing soccer?

Australia's attitude to international league is arrogant.

 

[Coastbloke]

I really thought more people would have something to say on the old Origin v Internationals topic haha

I had a comment ready, but I wanted to try and not make it an anti-Origin rant lol..

 

[Walter sobchak]

Sadly I just get the feeling that the people who run the game in Australia and the overwhelming majority of Aussie RL fans don’t care enough about international RL.

The demise of the ashes and England being rubbish more often than not hasn’t helped either.

 

[adamkungl]

Sadly I just get the feeling that the people who run the game in Australia and the overwhelming majority of Aussie RL fans don’t care enough about international RL.

The demise of the ashes and England being rubbish more often than not hasn’t helped either.

All true.

I think everyone agrees that the Kangaroos losing is good for the sport.
But the Kangaroos barely playing is worse.

A healthy calendar is the #1 fix to Int RL, far above the Kangaroos dominance, eligibility rules, etc
This is the reason most people don't care. They aren't given enough of anything to care about. Countries play one year and skip the next. Qualifiers are hidden in backwater internet streams. Good tournaments spring up for a few years then are skipped, chopped and changed the next.

No one can build a real running story or rivalry.
In the cricket WC last night, when the game was in the balance, the commentators repeated "4 years of cricket comes down to this moment." over and over.
We don't have that. At most it's 4 weeks. Nothing that happened last year is relevant because most of the teams in the WC didn't bother playing more than a couple of one off games last year.
England would have been burning for a chance to avenge their WC Final loss to the Kangaroos. 2018 - nope. 2019 - nope, not even GB. 2020 it's long forgotten. Different players different vibe.

Origin is an excuse for why the Kangaroos dont contribute to a healthy calendar, but it isn't a valid one. There could and should be room for both.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Tell the Australian administrators, they do as they please.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Australia winning more often than not is not a bad thing. It is the lack of structure in the international calendar that hurts us. Get more teams playing more often in meaningful tournaments (we seem to be on the right track with that now) and you'll see growth.

A great example is the tri/four nations, it had built up quite a bit of respect and media following...... then was dumped and not replaced. The fact that Australia won 6 of the 9 tournaments didn't hurt the credibility of the tournament.

The All Blacks don't lose very much and they are held up as the shining light for all other teams to aspire to in RU. The Kangaroos should be the same in RL. On the odd occasion that they do get beaten in a tournament or a series, it is a very special moment of the team that defeats them.

 

[adamkungl]

The All Blacks are held up as an aspiration because they show respect to their opponents.
The Kangaroos do not. The Kangaroos are like a champion boxer who refuses to fight.

I was going to say this is not a reflection of the players or coach, but the administration.
But that's not true really. The RLPA has a lot to answer for here and the RLPA has had leadership involving numerous senior Kangaroos over the last decade, include Smith Thurston and Maloney.

This is what I want from the Kangaroos. I don't see how it's too much.
Take a big squad to limit 'burnout'.

Sep (v PNG) (PM XIII)
Oct w3 v Samoa (pre oceania cup test)
Oct w4 v New Zealand (test 1)
Nov w1 v New Zealand (cup, test 2)
Nov w2 v Tonga (cup)
Nov w3 v Fiji (cup)
Nov w4 Cup Final
Dec w1 v New Zealand (test 3)

 

[siv]

I keep thinking the best option are 4 rep weekends in season

We have 3 weekends already between 2 byes and the rep weekend

Start the season in 1st weekend of March and you get the 4th

Then arrange two rep fortnights

Either as

City v Country
SOO I

then
SOO II
SOO III

or

SOO I & 4 team Pacific Cup Rd1 (NZ Tonga Fiji PNG)
SOO II Pac Cup Rd 2

then

SOO III Pac Cup Rd3
Aus v winner of Pac Cup

Then 6 week post season internationals window last 2 weekends Oct and 4 in Nov

Where Tier 2 6 nations could occur

With WCC on Friday 3rd week October

 

[adamkungl]

As much as I'd like 4 rep weekends I've written it off as a bridge too far for the near future. It requires weeks being shaved off the NRL and while I think that is a good idea, there seems to be little appetite for it in an increasingly uncertain broadcast environment


But I want to think that a 3-4 week tournament with 1 or 2 tests either side is not an impossibility!

 

[siv]

Today we have 24 rounds
4 finals weeks
A bye
A rep weekend

There are 32 weekends from Mar 1st weekend till Oct 1st weekend

We have 2 weekends available

I would prefer 25 rounds 18 teams and 3 rep weekends

Maybe with SOO II and SOO III on a rep fortnight

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

England v Australia should be played every other year, a 3 match series obviously. I'm not sure that we should have a WC, when only 3, and in 2017, only 2 teams could win it.