http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/origin-a-different-league/story-e6frexnr-1226419440023
Origin a different league
RUGBY league has broken all records in the last week, proving once and for all that State of Origin football is king in two states and now a very desirable commodity in Victoria.
The most watched league game in history has raised some very serious questions about the future direction of rugby league and its desire to follow the AFL into expansion states at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
League is a game played essentially in small geographical pockets of Australia, Great Britain, France and New Zealand. For 70 years, it has suffered from an inferiority complex, initially about its snobbish older brother, rugby union, and now about its cooler cousin, the AFL.
League bosses are on the verge of allowing a team into Perth at the expense of the much closer and more parochial centres of the Central Coast and Brisbane. They have cast their green eyes over the AFL expansion into Queensland and Sydney with a view to taking it up to the Australian code in places such as Western Australia.
By doing so, they have ignored some compelling facts about their own code and overlooked the enormous debt the AFL has sunk into as it has tried to achieve some sort of foothold in markets that really don't like Aussie rules.
The State of Origin series of 2012 should put an immediate halt to expansion folly. Rugby league is a parochial and tribal game by its very nature. Its success, as we have seen this week, lies in the fact that it is a local game, played in parks around NSW and Queensland. Kids grow up in these two states hating their neighbours across the border, dreaming about wearing a maroon or blue jersey.
The frenzy that Origin footy attracts, and the standard at which it is played, outdoes anything league can produce internationally. It is matched only by an AFL grand final, both priceless commodities in what is a small football nation. The jewel in league's crown is its two-state rivalry that no expansion into Perth, South Australia or New Zealand can ever match.
In stark contrast to this base tribalism is the AFL's expansion policy. Watching the Gold Coast Suns and the GWS run around every week (and the ratings indicate that not many people are) is cringe-worthy stuff.
Yes, they might eventually be competitive. Yes, their existence means the AFL now boasts nine games a weekend. But do either of these teams inspire passion and emotion on a grand scale within their districts? A measly 21,000 who watched the GWS play the Sydney Swans last weekend in a much-hyped local derby suggests not.
The grand experiment is in its infancy, but already it has cost the AFL millions of dollars that it is unlikely to see returned in our lifetimes. Junior development is a beneficiary but the statistics that show a growing participation rate for Aussie rules in league heartlands belie the fact that they are coming off a very low base.
The Melbourne Storm exist because big advertisers such as Telstra need a three-state coverage to justify the big sponsorship dollars. By being a perpetually competitive outfit, they have attracted a solid and loyal fan base but it is really outside Victoria, in NSW and Qld, where the team is appreciated fully for their talents. The story is not unlike the Sydney Swans, where locals are reluctant to turn their TVs on, but the AFL heartland in Victoria appreciates the club's winning culture.
For rugby league, the choice is to take a leap of faith or remain steadfast to the code's roots by capitalising on something neither the AFL or union will ever have. Origin football is the pointy end of rugby league but it shows that it is these two states that house the golden egg. To ignore the Origin television ratings and persist with a risky expansion strategy is pure stupidity in extremely economically challenging times.
Rugby league's lack of self-belief has marred its development for decades. Its working-class roots mean followers often see themselves as somehow inferior to union or the AFL. Wednesday night showed that it is precisely those roots that form the core of its future.
Footy thrives on tribalism and raw emotion. Hating the opposition is what elevates mediocre sport to memorable competition. Build a code around Origin football, and keep club expansion to towns that genuinely care about it, and the results will speak for themselves.
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FINALLY, grudging congratulations to NSW coach Ricky Stuart. His paranoia, intensity and burning desire to win turned the Origin series into a soap opera that was compelling viewing. Stuart is to NSW Origin what Mal Meninga is to Queensland. May he reign a long time in the job.
