Origin vs NRL

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

If the financial compensation was big enough an England v NZ test series in NZ the same weekends as origin would be possible. The SL season is too long anyway and I'm sure three weekends in mid season would be acceptable if clubs got money for it. Rest of SL could hold a nines or something same weekends.
If the income generated from Oz/NZ TV and sponsorship, crowds etc covered it would be questionable though.

Maybe even a GB Lions Tour....

 

[Perth Red]

that would just magnify the public perception that RL is so small that it only exists in two states and is so un national that it doesn't even have a national rep team. There will come a time, probably not in my lifetime, where RL will get the administrators it deserves and Origin will be irrelevant as the best players in Australia will not just come from two states but the whole country.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

While I would love to see 3 weeks of rep footy, the commercial realities of the broadcast deals would make it difficult to achieve in the middle of the season which was some of the reasoning behind my more compromised approach which would hopefully reduce the impact on the NRL season and the players. At the moment, the whole series stretches on too long and the NRL comp becomes diminished as a result.

Not really. The NRL could offer the same number of games, just spread out a little more...

And even if 9/fox protested, the ARLC could just say "deal with it". Its not like the networks would pull out completely over this.

They survive 1 rep round, they can survive 2 more...

I also don't think the NRL would ever want to give up 3 whole weekends to the other codes domestic comps, especially not initially.

I f*cking hate this arguement...

Why should we hamstring our own product just so we can jump into an already saturated market?!?!?

NRL fans wont quit the game and go to VFL or RU just because we play a few rounds of rep footy...

To be honest, I would actually like to see a more reinvigorated international rep schedule at the end of each NRL season.
I think over a cycle of 4 years, there needs to be a World Cup, an Aus/NZ series, 4 nations and a UK series (one year in the UK, next time in Australia). Get rid of the City/Country and make each team play one proper NRL match in a regional centre. Also remove the mid year Aus/NZ test.

I think, for a lot of people, the NRL GF is the booked of the RL season that makes them switch off to the game...

I think this is why Origin is getting so big and why the end-of-season tours struggle for attention. The GF is the years big finish, so everything after that feels like footnotes.

I honestly dont know the solution to that one (other than more mid-season breaks and a GF in November) but i definitely dont think its as simple as "reinvigorating" that end of season period

 

[Jetka100]

I think you would have to reduce the amount of NRL rounds if you did that. I don't think you could stretch it another 3 weeks if you also wanted some international rep football at the end of the season, otherwise the season would be going all year. Although you could get rid of the seperate city/country weekend.

 

[Frailty]

I think you would have to reduce the amount of NRL rounds if you did that. I don't think you could stretch it another 3 weeks if you also wanted some international rep football at the end of the season, otherwise the season would be going all year. Although you could get rid of the seperate city/country weekend.

City-Country is on the same international rep weekend...

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

that would just magnify the public perception that RL is so small that it only exists in two states and is so un national that it doesn't even have a national rep team. There will come a time, probably not in my lifetime, where RL will get the administrators it deserves and Origin will be irrelevant as the best players in Australia will not just come from two states but the whole country.

And dicks will taste like chocolate, the moon will actually be made of cheese and i will strike oil in my back yard....

An ideal world sounds lovely, but it is far more important to know what you have and work with your advantages.

The biggest RL rivalry in the world is between NSW and QLD. If we were able to exploit that and use this interest to drive the game internationally, being called "small minded" for it is hardly a whipping.

 

[Jetka100]

There will come a time, however, when State of Origin may not be the biggest rugby league game/s of the year. It is a great product at the moment, particularly at reaching into new markets and getting huge ratings and lots of money but who knows where it will be in 10 or 20 years. The NRL needs to grow its domestic comp and it needs to grow its international game. There are lots of opportunities out there that the game needs to seize. It can't kill them off for the sake of Origin but needs to find a way to promote them while it maximises the revenues of Origin.

 

[T-Boon]

Halt the season.
In its place hold a four week nines (or tens) tournament (each team plays 2 games a week). This would satisfy the broadcasters. Also reduce the length of the season by four weeks - which needs to happen anyway. So 20 rounds?
The winning team gets $1m plus a bonus $500k on their salary cap.
Whats not to like?

 

[Usain Bolt]

International Rugby League is irrelevant, Origin will always be the pinnacle and most players would rather win a premiership than a RLWC. When players are judged in arguments people always use premierships or origin caps

 

[Jetka100]

That is certainly the case now, but was not always that way in the past and may not be so in the future. City/Country used to mean something, not so much now. Interstate AFL used to be a big thing and even the Reds vs Waratahs rugby matches used to stir up a bit of passion. One is now non-existent, the other is now just another Super rugby game. The NRL needs to make the most of the current success of Origin, but they shouldn't put all their eggs in the one basket. Origin is massive, but there is more potential growth in the domestic comp and the international representative games.

 

[Queensland Fanatic]

What's wrong with it the way it is? Us Qld and NSW league fans seem happy to support SOO, if Poms and Kiwis don't like it, tough.
36 years and the stadiums still sell out, players still turn up for their club games a week later, It's a few coaches who whinge about their players on the SOO roster but if they happen to win the premiership they suddenly seem to forget about SOO.
Also don't notice any players reluctant to take a place in their states team if it's offered.

 

[Jason Maher]

The problem is purely the length of the segment of the season which Origin disrupts. Condense it to minimise this impact and nothing will be lost but a chunk of the season will be gained back where the NRL is the sole focus.

 

[Perth Red]

Even now most players state a kangaroo jersey is the greatest honour they got in the game. Origin is worth the $'s, being the best in the country and the world still is the real playing pinnacle for any player.

 

[WellsNZ]

What's wrong with it the way it is? Us Qld and NSW league fans seem happy to support SOO, if Poms and Kiwis don't like it, tough.
36 years and the stadiums still sell out, players still turn up for their club games a week later, It's a few coaches who whinge about their players on the SOO roster but if they happen to win the premiership they suddenly seem to forget about SOO.
Also don't notice any players reluctant to take a place in their states team if it's offered.

What's wrong with how it is is that it detracts from the NRL product, not hard to figure that out.

It doesn't need to, you can separate them out, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Standalone Origin rounds with something else for the other countries to do at the same time to have more League going on, everyone wins. I've been keen on a three match Pacific vs New Zealand series, some people might not like that, but it's not hard to come up with some other stuff to do to help fill those weeks out further.

 

[siv]

I think you would have to reduce the amount of NRL rounds if you did that. I don't think you could stretch it another 3 weeks if you also wanted some international rep football at the end of the season, otherwise the season would be going all year. Although you could get rid of the seperate city/country weekend.

If you look at the schedule today

We play 24 matches over 26 rounds - everyone gets 2 bye weekends

Also there is the actual representative weekend

Thats already 3 weekends of football for representative matches without changing anything

 

[siv]

International Rugby League is irrelevant, Origin will always be the pinnacle and most players would rather win a premiership than a RLWC. When players are judged in arguments people always use premierships or origin caps

Thats is a since the SL War promoted by News Ltd papers when they did own the Kangaroos brand

Before that it always was Test caps for 100 years

Playing for your country is still the pinnacle of RL except in Queensland

 

[jim_57]

I've been keen on a three match Pacific vs New Zealand series, some people might not like that, but it's not hard to come up with some other stuff to do to help fill those weeks out further.

I wouldn't mind this idea of it meant another incentive for players to stay with the PI nations. I'd leave it as once a year and go with something similar to this for the stand alone period:

Week 1
Origin 1
Tonga V Samoa - Polynesia Cup
PNG V Fiji - Melanesia Cup
NZ Origin

Week 2
Origin 2
PC1 V MC1 - Pacific Cup
PC2 V MC2 - Test
NZ V England

Week 3
Origin 3
NZ V Pacific Allstars

End of Year - Before Major tournaments/tours
Pacific Cup Winner hosts NZ
Australia V NZ

Add in all juniors, female games etc. Plus maybe a few one off internationals. Same time have internationals/tournaments worldwide.

 

[ed-grimley]

Believe me, you're not the first person to raise the idea of a designated period in the calendar for Origin on these forums. Been discussed ad nauseum.

Yeah, and what has happened? The problem gets stuck back in the too-hard basket.

 

[Perth Red]

Got to love a Rothfield the game is dying story.

Rugby league’s showpiece event, State of Origin, is slowly dying.

Channel Nine TV ratings show a startling 680,000 viewers have disappeared in the last two years after yet another predictable Queensland series victory. The massive 16.5 per cent slump has been put down to a combination of reasons
A breakdown of the ratings show capital city figures remain steady with most viewers turning off in regional audiences across the country.
Although with Sydney audiences, figures were down more than 200,000 for game two compared to two years ago.
Channel Nine still expects the Origin series will provide two of the top-five rating shows on Australian television this year. Their revenue figures are also up 12 per cent on last year.
It is the potential long-term damage to future broadcast-deal negotiations and advertising sales that is the major concern for both the NRL and the network.
Especially as the figures quoted are for live games and not dead-rubbers.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg is publicly remaining upbeat and said State of Origin I was the highest rating match for five years in the five-city metro market.
“Naturally there is more interest in Sydney when the team is winning but Origin is still the biggest sporting event in Australia,” Greenberg said.
State of Origin was born in 1980 because every year NSW completely dominated the Maroons and interstate football became too boring. Now we have an identical scenario but the other way around.
In the Suncorp Stadium press box last Wednesday week I turned to my colleague Dean Ritchie late in the second-half and said: “This has become boring.”
Same old, same old.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...p/news-story/b1e7afa70b9b881d68ec7b78ad7f73c1

 

[Sean7]

I hate how Origin disrupts the NRL. I don't even understand why there's a rivalry. I was born in NSW, but I don't really care about beating Queensland. I just happen to be born in NSW. Why should I care? It's just another place in Australia. I'd actually like to move to Queensland. I love it up there.

I'd rather cancel Origin than have it the way it is now. The week to week drama of the NRL destroys Origin.