You simply wouldn't believe it

[blaine train]

Reni Maitua is another.

doesnt even hav a connection with nz. dad was samoan and mum was australian

 

[douglasallen91]

Reni Maitua is another.

doesnt even hav a connection with nz. dad was samoan and mum was australian

the only connection was his dad lived in new zealand for twenty years, good call for maitua not to take the black jersey. not like hunt and carroll.

 

[Bengal]

I'm not defending picking Kiwis for Australia but allowing Kiwis to play Origin is not the answer either. For every Kiwi picked in Origin, an Aussie player misses out on experience at the top level, lowering our potential.

This whole thing started after Qld were allowed to pick players form other countries because we didn't have the strength of NSW and we needed Origin to be competitiive. The rise of the Cowboys will help a bit but still, two teams against 11? Maybe the anwer is to include a Kiwi side in Origin. At least they will still be eligible to play for the Kiwis.

Makes the Rep season rather long though, can't imagine the clubs putting up with that.

There’s a correlation here as to what I’d like to see happen on the International stage. Australian domiciled Kiwis should be allowed to play Origin, in order to help make the International scene more competitive. A full strength Kiwi team should pose a consistent threat against Australia, maybe even beat them regularly! This sort of competitiveness should breathe extra fire (interest) into the International scene giving it the potential to make Internationals as eagerly awaited as Origin matches.

Once the Kiwi team becomes as an attractive proposition as an Origin side we can then gradually phase the Kiwis out of playing Origin (introduce new eligibility rules etc) because Kiwi players by this stage should (in theory) want to still play for their country more, than for a State.

Basically we’re talking about a balancing act here; currently everything is in Australia’s favour (Kiwis forgoing the opportunity to represent their country in order to play Origin) to the detriment of International footie. We need to loosen the grip Australia (Origin) has on potential Kiwi players and then re-balance (if necessary) when the Kiwis are a consistent force.

The alternative will be to have a Kiwi laden Australian team playing Internationals, which is a thought that won’t make Internationals any more attractive in the future

 

[Dogboy]

Good points Bengal, but I disagree slightly. I don't think just any old Kiwi who lives in Oz should be allowed to play Origin, otherwise you could have a a player who's played all his career for the Warriors, for instance, switching to a Sydney club and suddenly being eligible for NSW.

My simple solution is that players who were born overseas but qualify for Australia due to having grown up here (e.g. Hunt, Lam, Carroll) should be able to play for NSW or Queensland AND their country of birth.

Maybe the criterion for Origin qualification could be where the player played his junior football before a certain age, say 18, e.g Sonny Bill Williams played in Sydney before he was 18, and so could qualify for NSW.

 

[Bengal]

Good points Bengal, but I disagree slightly. I don't think just any old Kiwi who lives in Oz should be allowed to play Origin, otherwise you could have a a player who's played all his career for the Warriors, for instance, switching to a Sydney club and suddenly being eligible for NSW.

My simple solution is that players who were born overseas but qualify for Australia due to having grown up here (e.g. Hunt, Lam, Carroll) should be able to play for NSW or Queensland AND their country of birth.

Maybe the criterion for Origin qualification could be where the player played his junior football before a certain age, say 18, e.g Sonny Bill Williams played in Sydney before he was 18, and so could qualify for NSW.

Yep I understand. In terms of Australian domiciled Kiwis I didn’t want to go into any great detail mainly because this has been covered before.

Anyway your criterion is fine; in a nutshell we’re talking about the Karmicheal Hunts of this world the type of players who are eligible for either Australia or New Zealand through having parents of both nationalities or through having grown up here from an early age . The criterion can be relatively straight forward really, I mean, we’re not talking about any old Kiwi straight off a plane.

These players with duel eligibility should be allowed a choice at least.

 

[steaming stormer]

These players with duel eligibility should be allowed a choice at least.

Unfortunately, this shows where international league is at the moment. Hunt views Origin as being more important than international, and that is a massive detriment on the international game of RL

 

[Bengal]

I don't blame him.

Really it's like choosing between a consistently successful NRL side, say the Broncos or your favorite boyhood team maybe Souths.

Internationals (especially between Oz and NZ) just haven't been given the opportunity to be as succussful, as competitive as Origin. When or if they ever do then Kiwi eligable players may view their jersey in a different light. Right now Origin is king, but with a little foresight League could have two kings!

 

[Twizzle]

It (back to the topic) is an indiaction of how RL is still regarded in Victoria, even after the AFL season is over.

 

[RICHO]

Kiwi's should not be playing origin.
Tonie Carroll should not be playing for Australia.


It's good to see a LIVE telecast into Melbourne though!

 

[bender]

This is just a thought, but what about an international draft. At the start (or end) of each year, every single team lists the players who have played for them in the last year. A person is only allowed to play for one country. Each country is ranked from 1- whatever and the lowest ranked country is allowed to pick 20 additional squad players for their team (using the curent qualifications). If a player hasnt played for another country (or previously been selected in the squad of another country) then they must commit to that country for good. This way, the poorer sides like Lebanon, Holland, Samoa etc would get good players before the likes of australia, New Zealand etc. (Where players are eligible for two different nations) Over time, some sides - particularly samoa tonga etc could actually form very strong teams. Any thoughts?

 

[Bengal]

This is just a thought, but what about an international draft. At the start (or end) of each year, every single team lists the players who have played for them in the last year. A person is only allowed to play for one country. Each country is ranked from 1- whatever and the lowest ranked country is allowed to pick 20 additional squad players for their team (using the curent qualifications). If a player hasnt played for another country (or previously been selected in the squad of another country) then they must commit to that country for good. This way, the poorer sides like Lebanon, Holland, Samoa etc would get good players before the likes of australia, New Zealand etc. (Where players are eligible for two different nations) Over time, some sides - particularly samoa tonga etc could actually form very strong teams. Any thoughts?

Personally I prefer the top down approach. Empower NZ and GB; weaken Australia (if at all possible). Facilitate an environment of competitiveness between these three nations then build on from there. The Wallabies are a good example of what can be achieved if a code works hand in hand for the betterment of its sport.
Less than two decades ago the Wallabies were playing Internationals in front of 10,000 odd crowds at crappy grounds like Concord Oval. That’s because they didn’t pose a threat to the All Blacks, they were easy beats (not competitive!). The Bledisloe Cup didn’t exist (well wasn’t recognised like it is today anyway). The point is that two decades ago (Union) Tests between NZ and Australia were inconsequential, now thanks to the evenness of competition they are major events.

The other point I’m trying to make is that under your system there is a possibility of further weakening NZ especially if the Kiwis are unable to pick Samoan, Tongan, and Pacific Islanders in general (who reside in NZ or have citizenship) because of the above criteria.
Strengthening the lower rank countries is admirable, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of trying to facilitate competitiveness between the big three. NZ with less player depth than Australia I believe has the most to lose under this system.

In time who knows?

 

[LESStar58]

Must be some divine intervention happening at Channel 9 Melbvourne. Maybe I should ring and say thanks...in fact maybe we all should.

Then again we'll just go back to being shafdted come Origin next year!

 

[Surandy]

It's excellent news!!! I fully expected it not to be shown on Nein at all so I'd started to make plans to watch the replay on Pay TV at the pub.

 

[Southern Rooster]

nz'ers should be able to play origin as long as they played some sort of junior football in nsw or qld

therefore people like, hunt, cayless, marshall etc etc could all play origin

The best idea I saw on these forums was to make Origin a 4 team concept with NSW, QLD, South Island and north Island.

My idea is top make origin a one off game and promote Aus v NZ as the pinnacle of the game as opposed to Origin.

 

[dimitri]

a valid idea, however it wont happen

we need to do something though to stop nz'ers turning their back on their home nation

it looks even worse when people like brad thorn then go and play yawnyawn for nz


:roll: :roll: :roll: