State of Origin 2024

[sup42]

I love the Kiwis like you and Sup.

Origin is a cancer of the international game but last night game was pretty good watch.

I never turned away from my screen. It was as good as it could get.

The dumbness of the NRL is that we could have both. We could quite easily have a popular Origin series and international football.

Like the Yanks they have chosen the exceptionalism route, circle the Wagons, arranged marriages to relatives only, get some plonkers like Phil Gould and Matt Nable saying Órigin' like they are having an orgasm.

Last nights game might have been great, but honestly Origin has been boring for decades, either one sided or sanitized hand bags with loads of errors. On the whole it is certainly not the contest I used to enjoy a long ways back.

And then the Aussies would rub it in by having a one off ANZAC game after they have warmed up vs an after thought coming in cold hapless Kiwis team....with an Australian Referee!

It would be fair to say I deeply resent the Origin and I do not let them off the hook with this rubbish about not being as motivated to win tests. Hey that is their problem, man up and show some pride in your country you fairies, leave the excuses at the door and accept Tongan can beat you now.

OMG the arrogance in saying that they are not motivated as an excuse for any losses. The Dream team wiped the floor the world of Basketball, a much bigger sport, and they were not motivated either, they were just wayyy better. Like for real way better, not fake Origin we are better but we lost because we were not interested.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

To’o still in full kit

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

The dumbness of the NRL is that we could have both. We could quite easily have a popular Origin series and international football.

Like the Yanks they have chosen the exceptionalism route, circle the Wagons, arranged marriages to relatives only, get some plonkers like Phil Gould and Matt Nable saying Órigin' like they are having an orgasm.

Last nights game might have been great, but honestly Origin has been boring for decades, either one sided or sanitized hand bags with loads of errors. On the whole it is certainly not the contest I used to enjoy a long ways back.

And then the Aussies would rub it in by having a one off ANZAC game after they have warmed up vs an after thought coming in cold hapless Kiwis team....with an Australian Referee!

It would be fair to say I deeply resent the Origin and I do not let them off the hook with this rubbish about not being as motivated to win tests. Hey that is their problem, man up and show some pride in your country you fairies, leave the excuses at the door and accept Tongan can beat you now.

OMG the arrogance in saying that they are not motivated as an excuse for any losses. The Dream team wiped the floor the world of Basketball, a much bigger sport, and they were not motivated either, they were just wayyy better. Like for real way better, not fake Origin we are better but we lost because we were not interested.

I don’t think there’s a lack of motivation, I think it’s apathy born from decades of dominance. They have something like a 90% win record since Origin stayed in the early 80s.

As much as I want it to be different, I kinda get it. Familiarity breeds contempt and winning is pretty much all they’ve known.

The odd loss won’t change things, they need to be regular losses otherwise it’s just written off as an aberration, which again, their record supports. Changing that is on the rest of us, not them.

 

[TheDMC]

Don't care who wins. Only interested in the spectical. It was a brilliant game. It had it all. Enjoyed it immensely.

Mitch Barnett is an absolute beast. But we already knew that.

Same. Seems like most folk on here were watching the refs more than the game! I didn't give a shit about the referring and thoroughly enjoyed the match. And yep, Barnett was one of the best on field I reckon - he was a tackling machine shutting them down in the middle. Big motor. No way he can back up, he must have played 65 minutes or so.

 

[sup42]

I don’t think there’s a lack of motivation, I think it’s apathy born from decades of dominance. They have something like a 90% win record since Origin stayed in the early 80s.

As much as I want it to be different, I kinda get it. Familiarity breeds contempt and winning is pretty much all they’ve known.

The odd loss won’t change things, they need to be regular losses otherwise it’s just written off as an aberration, which again, their record supports. Changing that is on the rest of us, not them.

The kiwis started winning when UK Ref Russel Smith was brought in.

So they switched back to Aussie Refs only. And normal service resumed, so they are to blame for their apathy. They created the one sided contest by being the only sport in the world that cheats with its own refs.

I can never understand why Kiwis do not stand up to them and their cheating or at least making noise about the lack of representation.

Put it this way, many around here would go nuts if the All Blacks were forever facing Refs from their opposition teams.

League has a weak fan base culturally. I am older. I am from a time where using your own Ref in league was rightly seen for what it is, a disgrace and cowardly.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

It's just a normal game of footy but without the 10 metres and much else being policed.

Every game would be LIGHTNING FAST, INTENSE AND FURIOUS if it wasn't being refereed.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

The kiwis started winning when UK Ref Russel Smith was brought in.

So they switched back to Aussie Refs only. And normal service resumed, so they are to blame for their apathy. They created the one sided contest by being the only sport in the world that cheats with its own refs.

I can never understand why Kiwis do not stand up to them and their cheating or at least making noise about the lack of representation.

Put it this way, many around here would go nuts if the All Blacks were forever facing Refs from their opposition teams.

League has a weak fan base culturally. I am older. I am from a time where using your own Ref in league was rightly seen for what it is, a disgrace and cowardly.

If you’re talking about the 3 games we won back to back in ‘14 and ‘15 - the only ‘streak’ we’ve ever had - they weren’t under Smith. The first two were under an English ref but the 3rd was under Sutton. We also lost 3 in a row under neutral refs in 2011.

Given the average margin of our losses to the Roos historically, I don’t buy that ref nationality was a factor. We just haven’t been good enough. That’s not being culturally weak, that’s simply accepting accountability rather than looking for outside reasons that don’t exist.

Neutrality for neutrality’s sake makes no sense to me. I would rather an Australian ref who our players are familiar with, than a neutral ref with different interpretations our boys have likely never faced before.

And I’d accept that for the All Blacks too by the way. I’d happily take Gus Gardiner for a Bledisloe game than just about any NH ref.

 

[sup42]

If you’re talking about the 3 games we won back to back in ‘14 and ‘15 - the only ‘streak’ we’ve ever had - they weren’t under Smith. The first two were under an English ref but the 3rd was under Sutton. We also lost 3 in a row under neutral refs in 2011.

Given the average margin of our losses to the Roos historically, I don’t buy that ref nationality was a factor. We just haven’t been good enough. That’s not being culturally weak, that’s simply accepting accountability rather than looking for outside reasons that don’t exist.

Neutrality for neutrality’s sake makes no sense to me. I would rather an Australian ref who our players are familiar with, than a neutral ref with different interpretations our boys have likely never faced before.

And I’d accept that for the All Blacks too by the way. I’d happily take Gus Gardiner for a Bledisloe game than just about any NH ref.

Sovereignty of a country demands you have neutrality.

It is about flags and respect for borders and respect for fair play end of.

We are not a state of Australia. We are a separate country that deserves an independent before any other discussion.

We are not being respected as a nation.

If the Olympics had all Russian Judges with an American Athlete competing it would create world headlines for good reason, because that would be a joke and a disgrace.

I am a New Zealand patriot, I refuse to accept t this colonizing of our game and expectation that we accept what is less than fair in every other sport in the world.

I will not Cow tow to the Australian model so many have been sucked into.

Fair is far.

Honestly answer me this: would Australian fans be supplicated like ours if every single Ref in the NRL was a Kiwi???

Hell no, rightly they would go mental and call bs when they see it.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Sovereignty of a country demands you have neutrality.

It is about flags and respect for borders and respect for fair play end of.

We are not a state of Australia. We are a separate country that deserves an independent before any other discussion.

We are not being respected as a nation.

If the Olympics had all Russian Judges with an American Athlete competing it would create world headlines for good reason, because that would be a joke and a disgrace.

I am a New Zealand patriot, I refuse to accept t this colonizing of our game and expectation that we accept what is less than fair in every other sport in the world.

I will not Cow tow to the Australian model so many have been sucked into.

Fair is far.

Honestly answer me this: would Australian fans be supplicated like ours if every single Ref in the NRL was a Kiwi???

Hell no, rightly they would go mental and call bs when they see it.

That’s all well and good but it doesn’t change the fact that ref nationality has had no bearing on our results. Those stats are easily researched. In fact you may be surprised to know that since the early 80s our record is fractionally better under Australian refs.

I respect your patriotism and in a philosophical sense, I agree with it. But in the context of Kiwis vs. Roos tests, ref neutrality is simply not a factor. Insisting that it is despite evidence to the contrary risks ignoring the actual root cause of our poor record. And if we can't acknowledge it, we'll never fix it.

 

[Blair]

Yea I gotta agree. Olakauatu wasn’t being aggressive but if there’s no deterrent, the next one jumping in from the sidelines may be more hot headed. I don’t mind the odd scrap on the field but if we end up with dugouts emptying like baseball it’d terrible.

Are those macho heart pumps and postures after scoring from the NFL?

 

[Blair]

To’o still in full kit

View attachment 91196

I'm glad he remembered the wooly hat. It's cold down here. Ivan wouldn't be impressed if he caught a cold and couldn't play this weekend.

 

[Blair]

Put it this way, many around here would go nuts if the All Blacks were forever facing Refs from their opposition teams.

The one-eyed, Afrikaaner bastards made it impossible for us to win in South Africa before neutral refs were brought in for the 1996 tour.

It was almost a waste of time going. I'm sure the NZRU protested about it. It's important having neutrals but, in rugby and cricket, etc, it's taken for granted now.

 

[JJ]

Luai having a good season…

Haas’ family seems a train wreck, but the kid is something else. Best young prop since Lazarus?

 

[JJ]

To’o still in full kit

View attachment 91196

Very cool, but not sure I’d want to be near him

 

[Big Marn]

we had a 5-3 win record when Russell Smith reffed us in the NRL. which is pretty good considering he reffed us in the 2005 and 2006 season when we had bog average seasons.

 

[TheDMC]

we had a 5-3 win record when Russell Smith reffed us in the NRL. which is pretty good considering he reffed us in the 2005 and 2006 season when we had bog average seasons.

That's cause he disliked Australians, clearly.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Haas’ family seems a train wreck, but the kid is something else. Best young prop since Lazarus?

Yea man hard to argue otherwise. For such a big man he has a crazy engine.