Living in NSW it’s Origin fever time again. Even I find myself swept up in it (I am a rugby league fan) because of the passion and the excitement that comes with this time of the year. It is intense, and the bitter rivalry is fantastic. It divides teams and puts friendship on hold because each team and supporter base want to win so desperately.
Andrew McLeod and Adam Goodes swap jumpers & a hug after the 2008 Hall of Fame Match
And it brings up that question in my mind once again. Where is the marquee AFL game?!
In America they have all star games and they are hugely popular. The AFL has nothing. And it’s high time something was introduced. The game and code would benefit immensely from a marquee event every year, it would bring in money and more fans into the game. But it needs to have passion.
It needs to be something that the players are almost desperate to be a part of. Because then we will see a game that ignites the sport and we will see a game that brings out the best in our elite players. Imagine a game where team mates and friends are split in bitter rivalry as two teams clash for ultimate glory and bragging rights.
The recent dream team and Victorian clash was a joke, because nobody was fighting to be a part of it. It was a privilege for them to be a part of it, but how many of them would have been bitterly disappointed in being left out? Not many I would imagine.
Do we need such a game? I think so. AFL is not an international sport and so we have to do something home grown otherwise we could miss out on an opportunity to really spark interest in our sport from outsiders.
So what do you think? Good idea or bad. If good what kind of game should be promoted? Do we return to State Of Origin or do we try a new concept?
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June 16th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I would love to see the return of State of Origin but the problem is that their are 3 strong states that all want to play in it (being Vic, SA & WA). It is successful for rugby league as there is only two teams.
I had this discussion with a few friends a while ago and the proposal that I came up with is as follows. For the below I have ranked Vic #1, SA #2 & WA #3
Pre-Season Comp involving Qld, Nsw-Act, Tas & NT. The winner of this comp would now be ranked #4 and play WA (#3) on the Bye Weekend (or another specified weekend). On the same weekend Vic (#1) play SA (#2).
The looser of Vic & SA would be ranked #3 in next years comp, the winner of WA & Team #4 would be ranked #2 and the looser of WA & Team #4 would drop back to the second tier. All games would be paid home or away depending on where you played last (If Vic played SA in Melbourne last time; they would play them in Adelaide next time).
There are some issues with this proposal but I think it could work with some tweaking.
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June 16th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
i think that sounds like a pretty good proposal…but will it have passion? will the players be dying to play for their states? because if they’re not then it wont be any more than an exhibition
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June 16th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Geaghs idea had merrits but like what SunCity says, you have to get the players excited.
State of Origin was exciting for the players in the 70s and 80s (see history for more info and results) but the players that where in premiership seeking teams started to use the time as a holiday. Then when Malthouse became coach of the WA side, it went down hill with him not playing several key Eagles players in fear of injury.
I remember an interview from Dermie and he echoed the thoughts that he and several other Hawks/ Ess/ Carlton players all pulled out of State in the 80s while other players who played for ‘lower’ clubs (St Kilda, Geelong etc) played instead. Why? Because the premiership was the highest honour!!
Change what the highest honour is and then you ‘may’ get a good game of the best playing the best. This needs to happen to the fans as well…. As personally I would rather the West Coast Eagles win a premiership than WA win State of Origin.
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June 16th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
State of Origin had become a farce by the time they wound it up – and I can’t see how it would not go the same way if it were revived.
The Marquee AFL game is the Grand Final. It’s a game that every year brings four of the state capitals to a halt, drawing in many people who don’t watch the game otherwise.
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June 16th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Thanks for the support on the “proposal” guys. It is good to hear some positive feedback other then the drunken criticism I received when I first brought it up with my mates.
The only reason the passion is lacking is because the AFL (or the state federations, on that note, who was in charge back in the 70′s & 80′s before the AFL became what it is now??) let it turn into a farce previously. In Rugby League the players have to be available to play rep footy unless the have reached a certain age (i.e. they have retired from rep footy) or they get special permission from the NRL. Therefore the best players have always played and the interest has never waned. The AFL should have enforced the same policy back in the day and people would still be keen for it now.
Honestly I think it is probably to late to bring it back now with the attitudes of the clubs about their “investments” but you may able to hold an All-Star game or something similar at then end of the season but all this would be is a spectacle for the fans and not much more.
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June 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
If you hold a game at the end of the year, you have the whole “Surgery for next season” argument, which is what the International Rules game suffered from.
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June 16th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
i know there are definately arguments and flaws with a state of origin type game, and they are all very good points.
and unless the passion is there it will be no more than a pathetic excuse for a game, just like the all star game was.
does anyone remember the good old days when the international rules got fiery and there were fights everywhere? thats the kind of passion that these players would need to have to make it interesting. but the afl is too worried about losing players to the games and possibly lose interest by the fans to the regular season.
but note this. the average attendance to a regular season game in the nrl is around 12000 a week depending on the clashes. when state of origin comes around the average attendance for the three games is massive in comparison. because supporters from rival clubs unite in hatred of their rival state. so the interest increases tenfold.
if they made a game (with a notable reward for winning) and drum into the players the importance of being proud of your origins then we could see players like fevola, minson, brown, judd, kerr in all their fiery glory.
i would go see any of these matches if that passion was there. justy the thought of seeing the games best at each others throats excites me to a point of unbelief.
but is it too late too revive this series? should the afl just focus on making regular season games more anticipated.
or should we bring it back, and cheer on our state and sneer at the opposition? i say yes. it would bring a flair and a fire back to our game, and make it more attractive to the rival codes fans
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June 16th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
SunCity_Royal has officially changed his name to Mike…lol
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June 16th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
i said this last time this debate came up and i will say it again. i would love to see an all star game where the fans get to vote for the matchups they would like to see. imagine Judd V Ablett, Scarlett V Franklin, Cox V McIntosh etc, coaches to be instructed that there is no tagging, no flooding just a fast flowing and skillful game. This is the only way we would see the very best game possible of AFL football. Players would not play for a jumper but for their reputations.
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June 16th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Very easy in NRL — only two states. Very easy in NFL — two conferences make up two teams for the Pro Bowl. It’s a lot tougher for AFL with unequal numbers of States, unequal State populations and therefore confected “allies” teams to battle the Vics. The national competition has removed the “theft” of the best SANFL and WAFL players to play in the VFL, so there’s not much reason, or passion, for SoO. The last effort was a giant yawn — I was there and you could’ve heard a pin drop. Michael S has hit the nail on the head: The Grand Final is our marquee game.
While I’m here, can we do something about the general misuse of homophones on the site? (homophones = words that sound alike, but are spelled differently)
here – where we are now.
hear – what you do with your ears.
where – in general, a place; Where are we?
were – (sounds like ‘whir’), past tense of are; We were winning.
were – (sounds like ‘where’), part animal; He’s a werewolf.
wear – (also sounds like ‘where’), what you do with clothes.
we’re – (also sounds like ‘where’), short for ‘we are’; We’re blogging about aussie rules.
there – about place; He’s over there.
their – about possession; It’s their ball.
they’re – short for ‘they are’; They’re a skillful side.
lose – relinquish possession; He’ll lose that ball.
loose – not tight.
your – about possession; It’s your ball.
you’re – short for ‘you are’; You’re the man.
could’ve, should’ve, would’ve – short for ‘could/should/would have’; I could’ve kicked that goal. Definitely NOT ‘could of’.
Sorry to be a pedantic pain in the arse, but good language helps avoid misunderstanding.
aussierulesblog´s last blog ..Please explain!
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June 17th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Yeah have to agree with Aussie & Michael S that the Grand Final will always be the marguee game and I echo that last years flop will see that the SoO games will remain dead.
and sorry about the homophones, that is most likely mainly my fault. Hopefully one day we could have a spell checker but at the moment its just me
Please try and bear with us AussieRulesBlog…
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June 18th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
My personal email signature: “Computers have many weighs two help us wright, butt spell cheque Cannes only dew sew much — it does knot replace human proof reeding.”
aussierulesblog´s last blog ..Please explain!
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