Replace Test footy with an annual Champions League tournament.

[druzik]

Mate we should just accept that the only international footy that matters in this part of the world is Aussie vs Kiwis, and that's where we need to create a rivalry and tradition as big as Origin. Trying to get England involved is so difficult with all the travel and the different timings of the respective seasons.

Their season is the same time as the NRL... maybe start a few weeks earlier.

 

[IanG]

And why don't we just get rid of Origin and just have All Stars games?

NO NO NO NO f**kin' NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the one leg up we have over AFL is that League players have the chance to play for their country without having to create a hybrid game

 

[BringBackRovelli]

Their season is the same time as the NRL... maybe start a few weeks earlier.

Yeah I know but those few weeks are a big deal cos it pretty much makes any meaningful pre-season action impossible. And you can't have it after the season cos that's when you have tests/4 nations.

 

[Springs]

I certainly don?t agree with scrapping test footy but I always chuckle when people claim it is the pinnacle of our game, it just isn?t. Beyond Aus/NZ (sometimes) there is no real competitiveness. I am all for trying to get this to change but I don?t think it will ever happen.

Well you clearly don't know what a pinnacle is then.

U20s - Reserve Grade - NRL - Origin - Australia/New Zealand

If Origin was the pinnacle then Australia vs England would be a selection trial for Origin.

 

[attila_the_gorilla]

I suppose the pinnacle of the game is whatever comes with the biggest financial incentives per game. At the moment, commercially Origin is well ahead of any test footy, but these things change over time.

It's hard for a lot of Aussies to get excited about playing vs NZ, because if they win, well they should have wom, look at the player numbers of the two countries. But Origin is now a contest of two teams with fairly even resources so it's easier for both groups to get excited and proud about.

 

[Sam_the_man]

How many games has NSW won in the last 10 years?

 

[Sam_the_man]

The pinnacle of any sport wanting to be taken seriously is and always will be internationals.

 

[Band On The Run]

I'd like to see a Rugby League CL tournament.

 

[attila_the_gorilla]

Are you saying NFL is not a sport hat can be taken seriously?
The pinnacle of any sport is what drives the biggest interest, and what reaches the most into people's pockets.

 

[Springs]

So the pinnacle of any sport is the club competition then. NRL definitely makes the most money and has the biggest interest of any rugby league competition.

You don't understand what a pinnacle is. It's the top level. The highest point you can reach. In Australia, the highest point a player can reach is to play for Australia.

And since tests are the only level of the sport that generates interest in every country it's played in, it's still the pinnacle by your definition. Origin is only the pinnacle in two states.

 

[The Voice of Reason!]

How many games has NSW won in the last 10 years?

12.

 

[Valheru]

Well you clearly don't know what a pinnacle is then.

U20s - Reserve Grade - NRL - Origin - Australia/New Zealand

If Origin was the pinnacle then Australia vs England would be a selection trial for Origin.

Just because it is the highest level in a logical sequence of club, state, country it doesn’t mean that players perceive it as a pinnacle or the highest honour which is all that matters.

I doubt any player would value a Test series or WC win over that of a premiership and probably origin as well. Given the choice do you think the likes of Gallen would not choose origin over tests if forced to make a decision?

The reason why this is the case is because internationals are just not competitive overall.

The pinnacle of any sport wanting to be taken seriously is and always will be internationals.

You mean like baseball, Ice Hockey, Basketball, American football, tennis and many others?

Are you saying Tennis cannot be taken seriously because Wimbeldon is perceived as a bigger honour than Davis Cup?

Most sports where the true pinnacle is international normally don’t possess a popular club competition i.e. cricket, rugby, field hockey etc. Soccer is the only sport that really combines both.

 

[Springs]

It doesn't matter what Australian players perceive it as. Are you saying only the opinions of Australian players matter? Go tell English, New Zealand, PNG, French, Welsh and all other players that playing for an Australian state is the highest honour they can receive.

And yeah, I'd say a lot of players would value winning a World Cup over winning Origin. All the Kiwis and all the English and all the rest of the worl apart from a select few Australian players.

Internationals are not competitive? Pfft. Since 2005, Australia won 3 tournaments (2006, 2009, 2011), New Zealand won 3 tournaments (2005, 2008, 2010). Queensland won 7 series, NSW 1.

Basketball has a big international prescence. As does Tennis. Those other sports are rarely taken seriously outside of America and a few other countries.

 

[hutch]

It doesn't matter what Australian players perceive it as. Are you saying only the opinions of Australian players matter? Go tell English, New Zealand, PNG, French, Welsh and all other players that playing for an Australian state is the highest honour they can receive.

And yeah, I'd say a lot of players would value winning a World Cup over winning Origin. All the Kiwis and all the English and all the rest of the worl apart from a select few Australian players.

Internationals are not competitive? Pfft. Since 2005, Australia won 3 tournaments (2006, 2009, 2011), New Zealand won 3 tournaments (2005, 2008, 2010). Queensland won 7 series, NSW 1.

Basketball has a big international prescence. As does Tennis. Those other sports are rarely taken seriously outside of America and a few other countries.

This. Case closed.

 

[PacificCoastRL]

And rugby league is rarely taken seriously outside of Eastern Australia and Northern England.

 

[Springs]

And rugby league is rarely taken seriously outside of Eastern Australia and Northern England.

So?

I wasn't comparing the sport with American sports.

 

[PacificCoastRL]

It doesn't matter what Australian players perceive it as. Are you saying only the opinions of Australian players matter? Go tell English, New Zealand, PNG, French, Welsh and all other players that playing for an Australian state is the highest honour they can receive.

And yeah, I'd say a lot of players would value winning a World Cup over winning Origin. All the Kiwis and all the English and all the rest of the worl apart from a select few Australian players.

Internationals are not competitive? Pfft. Since 2005, Australia won 3 tournaments (2006, 2009, 2011), New Zealand won 3 tournaments (2005, 2008, 2010). Queensland won 7 series, NSW 1.

Basketball has a big international prescence. As does Tennis. Those other sports are rarely taken seriously outside of America and a few other countries.

But you did say the other sports are rarely taken seriously outside of America and a few other countries. And I'm just saying that rugby league is in virtually the same boat when it comes to where it is taken seriously. My point, I guess is this - outside of supporters of the Kangaroos, Kiwis and England, not too many others care about the international game. Oh sure maybe PNG and Fiji have some support, but if you ask me, as a Canadian, the Wolverines aren't that big a deal to me. I would rather watch an expanded WCC. The only international games I care to watch are when Australia plays New Zealand.

I'll add a little more to this - you can lump France in with PNG and Fiji. Also, as a Canadian - I sometimes watch the Vancouver Whitecaps FC soccer team, because they are the closest MLS team to me, and because they are playing at a decent level this season. But I will not likely watch the Canadian national soccer team because they don't stand a fiddler's fart of making it to the World Cup and can barely compete with teams from much smaller and much poorer nations. And for most soccer playing countries I would venture that the average sports fan feels the same as I do. So you can see how most sports fans who follow rugby league in nearly every other country where the sport is played really don't care about the international game. Not until their team can be competitive on the world stage at least. And for most rugby league playing nations, and that includes Canada, that isn't going to happen in the next 25 years minimum. I think an expanded WCC would capture the imagination of more average sports fans more readily than international games for those reasons.

 

[Springs]

And that's fair enough but it's not really relevant.

The point was is that the international scene of american football is almost America vs no one. Basketball and tennis, well their international scene definitely is the highest level. You can't say 'oh International Rugby League isn't the highest level because of the NFL'

Rugby league has a big enough international scene to be taken seriously as the highest level of the sport. Australia, England, New Zealand, PNG, France, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Wales and Lebanon all have large enough followings in their countries.

 

[Bronco Rob]

Just because it is the highest level in a logical sequence of club, state, country it doesn?t mean that players perceive it as a pinnacle or the highest honour which is all that matters.

I doubt any player would value a Test series or WC win over that of a premiership and probably origin as well. Given the choice do you think the likes of Gallen would not choose origin over tests if forced to make a decision?

The reason why this is the case is because internationals are just not competitive overall.

Mate you should start reading some autobiographies of ex-players. In all of the books I've read, all of the players state that playing for their country is the highest honour even though Origin is somewhat bigger than test match footy at the moment. Maybe some Aussie RL fans think origin is the pinnacle but I can tell you that the players think otherwise.

 

[docbrown]

We really shouldn't be sacrificing one area of the game to promote another.

Club Football. International Club Football. City vs Country. State of Origin. All Stars. International Tests - few sports are lucky enough to be able to have as many strong tiers to their game as rugby league. It's one of our biggest selling points.

The key is just striking the right balance between the needs of these different tiers.