Melbourne back on Origin map

[League Freak™]

It is a grea move by the ARL and it will be a success.

Play it at the Telstra Dome I would suggest.


I would have the extra Origin game being moved between Perth and Melbourne every couple of years. That would be a great way to poromote the game in both of those cities.

 

[CULLUS.ONLINE]

I can see it now.....

A 25,000 strong victorian crowd cheering all for QLD. No thanks

 

[dimitri]

open the tri series

in vic



plenty of fireworks
parade the trophy

etc etc

 

[Kurt Angle]

Melbourne won't get 80,000 to an Origin, anyone that thinks they will are dead set stupid.

30,000 maybe.

Exactly.

Whatever big name RL game we show down there, it's going to get around 25-30,000.

That figure is no longer acceptable for SOO like it used to be in the late 1980's.

It is an acceptable figure for a test match now-a-days.

Also, there is no way we're going to let Melbourne host a SOO every year, this is not going to become an annual fixture. It' s being used more as a promotional too.

However when it comes to test matches, Melbourne could easily host 1 of 3 matches in a series. It could become an (bi)annual fixture, and again, the 25-30,000 is acceptable for both a test match and a stepping stone to build upon, hence being suitable for a promotional tool.

 

[League Freak™]

If they can get their 25,000 seat stadium in a few years time, that would be PERFECT for Test matches.

 

[Kurt Angle]

It'd be perfect to host it in the Telstra dome. 25,000 is OK for the venue, and it leaves plenty of room to grow as a platform.

Also, I don't believe a SOO match, promotion wise, will accomplish anything a test match won't do.

 

[League Freak™]

I think Origin has more of a lure to the general sports fan.

Even among League fans.....there is a reason you can get 80,000 to two State Of Origin games and be over the moon to get 20,000+ for a Test match against NZ.


Keep in mind this isnt the UK where you can suck people into thinking Test matches could go either way. Australian know that on home soil the Australian kangaroo's are pretty much unbeatable.

Few will turn up to a game where they know what the result will be. Many will turn up to see a great game between two sides thyat could end in ANY scorline.

Thats why Origin is such a success. You cant tell wether QLD will win this years series 3-0.....NSW could win it 3-0.....anything could happen.


The World Cup is in 2008.....we all know Australia will win.

Thats the reason why people wont turn up in big numbers to see a Test match, but they will turn up to see an Origin game.

 

[b&wdynamite]

Fair go guys - Being a dyed in the wool qlder I would love to see an origin match in victoria.

How is this for an idea - game 1 at lang park (the birthplace of SOO), game 2 in sydney and then, all things going the right way for every supporter north or south of the tweed (ie. both home teams winning their respective matches) that we have a decider at a neutral venue in a netrual town ie. Melbourne to see who really is the best (QLD of course )

I know from spending 12 months living down there that victorians will support anything hyped up enough to flock to it in droves - and what better hype can you get than the decider of a drawn SOO series?

To me it sucks having one state getting 2 games a year, regardless it being NSW or QLD. State of Origin IS leagues showpiece - regardless of where we come from, so it must be used to help encourage the growth of league all over Australia. After all, who here wouldn't watch an origin game just because it wasn't being played in Brisbane or Sydney?

 

[League Freak™]

I agree. Origin is a GREAT way to promote the game in Australia because even if you dont follow League, you know Origin games are always very good.


I also dont like the fact one State gets two games during the contest.


I'd play the second game in Melbourne.

 

[tdcockers]

I'd play the second game in Melbourne.

top call. alternate the first and third games between brissie and sydney, and rotate the second game between perth, melbourne and maybe adelaide.

 

[***MH***]

10 years from now when league becomes a stronghold in Melbourne, i'd like to see Victoria itself as a State participate in the SoO as a tri-series against NSW and QLD.

 

[League Freak™]

If we ever got to a point where Victoria could have a credible State team, I'd rather see NSW vs QLD kept and have Victoria playing a combined WA and SA side.


That would keep the natural rivalries going but it wouldnt ruin the Origin series.

Thats WAY down the road though. I think it would be closer to 50 years then 10 years.



I think the NSW vs QLD Origin series is so strong that it would sell out game in New Zealand.

 

[Kurt Angle]

I think Origin has more of a lure to the general sports fan.

Even among League fans.....there is a reason you can get 80,000 to two State Of Origin games and be over the moon to get 20,000+ for a Test match against NZ.

That's just a simplistic way of looking at it. A major factor to the event has built up over the tribal passion that fuels both the players and fans.

It may be a wonderful spectacle, probably the best on offer in regards to RL. But the skills on display aren't a great deal higher than an Aus/NZ match.

Keep in mind this isnt the UK where you can suck people into thinking Test matches could go either way. Australian know that on home soil the Australian kangaroo's are pretty much unbeatable.

Few will turn up to a game where they know what the result will be. Many will turn up to see a great game between two sides thyat could end in ANY scorline.

Again a very simplistic view. This doesn't stop the Australian cricket team. They've smashed everybody at home for over 12 years now, and f*ck me, the crowds keep getting bigger.

They market themselves on 'here is the best the country can offer'.

Having Lockyer, Webcke, Buderus and Hindmarsh on the same side should be the approach the ARL's marketing team should be making.

Thats why Origin is such a success. You cant tell wether QLD will win this years series 3-0.....NSW could win it 3-0.....anything could happen.

The tribal passion was what built it up more than any scoreline.

The World Cup is in 2008.....we all know Australia will win.

Like Ponting an Co. ?

Thats the reason why people wont turn up in big numbers to see a Test match, but they will turn up to see an Origin game.

No, that's why people show to Origin in Sydney and Brisbane.

You think if we took Origin to Auckland, Leeds or Manchester we'd get 80,000+, even though they are League heartlands ?

Let alone a non-heartland like Melbourne.

 

[League Freak™]

Simplistic is trying to compare Rugby League which is competeing with foru other major sporting codes to Cricket which goes through summer with NO competition. :roll:

 

[Man_of_Steel_1982]

Melbourne won't get 80,000 to an Origin, anyone that thinks they will are dead set stupid.

30,000 maybe.

We got 88,000 or whatever it was in the mid 90s because it was a new fad, something brand new and exciting. The next year was like 50,000 from memory, and then 27,000? I could be wrong but the crowds went down dramatically.

:roll: In the midst of Super League. We couldn't sell out Lang Park or the SFS in '97.

 

[LESStar58]

I'd play the second game in Melbourne.

top call. alternate the first and third games between brissie and sydney, and rotate the second game between perth, melbourne and maybe adelaide.

yep...should be 2nd game in Melbs a la '90, '94, '95 and '97

 

[LESStar58]

I'd play the second game in Melbourne.

top call. alternate the first and third games between brissie and sydney, and rotate the second game between perth, melbourne and maybe adelaide.

yep...should be 2nd game in Melbs a la '90, '94, '95 and '97

 

[LESStar58]

I think once the NSW get their heads outta their arses and start selecting Storm players that REALLY SHOULD be in the squad (Orford, Hill, King) and Origin matches have a strong Storm representation then its a way to get folks down here into the game. Think about it..yo have those 3 guys for the Blues against the Storm representation in the QLD side with Slater and Smith and I'm sure one of these days Steve bell and Dallas Jonson will get a run. If ppl see those guys performing against each other at the ultimate level they might be curious about coming to check out what week to week NRL is like!

 

[brooksy19]

No Way. Play the test match there, not SOO.

 

[In-goal]

I think t he smart move for Melbourne would be to have Australia v Great Brittian at the M.C.G. next year as part of the Tri-Nations, I think with the appeal of the northern hemisphere side and Australia's most famous sporting venue that this would be an event on which to continue the foundations of Victorian Rugby League.