It's unfortunate that the State of Origin series has now become a bigger beast than test match footy and this is where the crux of the problem lies and there are going to be differing opinions on whether we should allow Origin players to choose which nation they wish to play for.
The new Origin eligibility laws introduced by the ARLC are a fantastic start to sort some of the grey areas out but I really think the RLIF need to introduce a tier system for nations and have a proper World Cup qualification process which will entice players to choose a nation to help them through the qualification process. I outlined my idea months a go but my tier system would be based on nation's development and size of their domestic competitions which gives a true representaion of how a nation is progressing.
I am against the practice of nation swapping just to stack sides just for World Cups, this just creates short term gain and a false representation of how a Nation is truely progressing. Sure it gives us competitve games now but is it fair that sides like Tonga and Samoa gain automatic entry into the WC over nations like Serbia, Russia, Czech Republic, Lebanon etc just because they can call on an abundance of heritage players who play in the NRL? I am happy for heritage players to choose their nation but I really think if they want to change allegience there needs to be a sit-out period of say 2 years as other codes have.
