Why does state of origin work for Rugby?

[syntaxx]

I live in on the Gold Coast in Queensland...
At work.... there are 20 in the AFL footy tipping.
the NRL tipping comp failed to get going for lack of interest.

But why? why during State of Origin do people start wearing maroon caps.... blue NSW badges..... and get all enthusiastic?

State of origin hardly raises an interest in AFL...

Why? any thoughts?

here are some of mine..


-In recent times..... state of origin is dominated by Victoria...
NSW and Qld have been fairly even over the years

-There is only one game a year (when it is running)
ARL play best of 3- the reigning team getting two home games

-there are more than 2 teams... Vic..SA..WA and allies
This dilutes the rivalry
I would compare NSWvQld to maybe crows v port and Eagles v Dockers.... but much bigger.


-lack of player interest.. (they would rather rest an injury than play for their state)
there is no lack of interest for the league origin

I have no idea what the answer is.....
but try this for size...

WA vs SA
QLD vs NSW
TAS vs NT
Vic country vs Vic city

best of 3

or.... East vs West

WA.. SA..NT... vs.. QLD..NSW..VIC..TAS


just my thoughts..

 

[tribey]

Because SOO in League is for an Australian guernsey and has far more tradition attached to it.

The idea of SOO in Aussie Rules was taken from League so it is foreign to our game - and for some reason the Vics and West Aussies have always ranked their league competitions as more important than SOO and have seen it as only an opportunity for stars to get injured.

South Australia was the only state that always took it 100% seriously but 1 state doesn't make a tradition.

 

[Qidds]

Originally posted by dyertribe
The idea of SOO in Aussie Rules was taken from League so it is foreign to our game

Just the opposite, actually - the concept was first used in Australian Rules, and then borrowed by RL. I think it was the brainchild of the Western Australians, who were sick of seeing local players move to (and indeed play for) Victoria. In the first SOO match (1977), WA beat Victoria by 94 points. The first RL SOO match was in 1980.

 

[DaveW]

Originally posted by dyertribe
Because SOO in League is for an Australian guernsey and has far more tradition attached to it.

I'll shoot down another point.

RL SOO isn't important just because its for an Australian guernsey either. It has its own importance. City v Country may just be a scratch match to earn a NSW jumper, but the same cannot be said of NSW v Qld. SOO gets a lot more hype here in Sydney than any Australia v New Zealand or Great Britain RL test match.

There was also evidence of this on The Fat last night. Nathan Blacklock was interviewed. When asked "Does it stick in your craw that you have never been selected for State of Origin?", he said yes. Despite the fact that he has played Test rugby league for Australia.

 

[myee8]

I myself would rather watch the NRL SOO game than the AFL one. You see players wanting to rest like some have said, but having said that the NRL boys play the SOO series in the middle of the NRL season too, but all would give an arm and a leg to play for their respective SOO sides!

I reckon each of the NRL SOO sides chances of winning the RL WC wouldn't be too far from the Australian side, indicating the quality of the other countries. Only England and NZ seem to come close.

 

[dr nick]

State of Origin will always be big in rugby league, as long as the game is only played competitively in only NSW and Qld. it is the best v the best. if we started having a lot of league players coming out of Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide rugby league competitions, it would no longer be a match pitting all the best players of the code on the field.

 

[Mudholian]

What "works" is that it generates some interest in 2 states that are for the most part, week in week out, less than passionate about their main code. It's all relative.

You see great interest in SOO but this level of interest is probably about what AFL suporters in Melbourne and Adelaide demonstrate week in week out.

NSW has the lowest attendance rate of all states. Qld would be next. Even though there are many more people in Brisbane and Sydney combined, than there are in Melbourne, far more people watch AFL in Melbourne than watch rugby in all other states put together.

 

[MoffOnTou]

Originally posted by Qidds
Just the opposite, actually - the concept was first used in Australian Rules, and then borrowed by RL. I think it was the brainchild of the Western Australians, who were sick of seeing local players move to (and indeed play for) Victoria. In the first SOO match (1977), WA beat Victoria by 94 points. The first RL SOO match was in 1980.

Actually, RL has had interstate matches since about 1910. The name was only changed to SOO in 1980, when a few of the rules were changed in regard to the selection criteria

Cheers,
Moffo

 

[grayham]

Originally posted by nicko18
State of Origin will always be big in rugby league, as long as the game is only played competitively in only NSW and Qld. it is the best v the best. if we started having a lot of league players coming out of Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide rugby league competitions, it would no longer be a match pitting all the best players of the code on the field.

True.

Coming from an AFL point of view, you cant help thinking that the RL SOO is on borrowed time. There are rumblings from the clubs about injuries, Brad Fitler has stood out the last couple of years to concentrate on club games (and his team have won the flag), and if NSW goes on to a few 3-0 series wins in a row, you could see NSW people loose interest. (like victoria did)

But nicko's point is the best one. Its the best v best. Something AFL SOO will never provide as the talent is too widely spread.

 

[MarkT]

I think it has something to do with neck width.

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by MoffOnTou
Actually, RL has had interstate matches since about 1910. The name was only changed to SOO in 1980, when a few of the rules were changed in regard to the selection criteria

Cheers,
Moffo

they were nsw v qld matches yes, but certainly not state of origin. you had players switching between playing for nsw and qld regularly, much like what happens in union.

 

[MSB ROYS]

SOO works because Qld presently has only 2 teams and SOO gives them a chance to show the NSW dominated NRL who is the better state. From the game last night Qld have a long way to go!

Qld have an inferiority complex just like SA.

 

[PAfolwr]

Originally posted by MSB ROYS
...Qld have an inferiority complex just like SA.

NSW have always talked about being the dominant state.....Just like Victoria.
SOO has shown otherwise.

If SOO was only between Victoria and SA with 3 games per year, it would be just as big.
Fortunately/unfortunately football is the number one sport in more than just those 2 states.

 

[Pessimistic]

Every sport has it's 'dominant' level.

In RL it's state, in RU it's international, in cricket its international, in soccer or AFL it's club level.

Once the money is at a level it stays that way - self fulfilling.

 

[PAfolwr]

Originally posted by Pessimistic
Every sport has it's 'dominant' level.

In RL it's state, in RU it's international, in cricket its international, in soccer or AFL it's club level.

Once the money is at a level it stays that way - self fulfilling.

In Soccer it is definitely International.
The World Cup is the single biggest sporting event in the World.
Bigger than the Olympics.

 

[Chris_Judd]

The reason the SOO works in rugby league is that the game is normally so boring that nobody has any interest in the club games on the weekend. The NRL's best game is their SOO where in the AFL its the Grand Final.

 

[The Passenger]

Originally posted by PAfolwr
In Soccer it is definitely International.
The World Cup is the single biggest sporting event in the World.
Bigger than the Olympics.

outside of the WC international soccer doesn't draw all that much attention though??


or maybe it does, I wouldn't know, I just get the impression that it doesn't until WC time rolls around.

 

[PAfolwr]

Originally posted by Black Thunder
outside of the WC international soccer doesn't draw all that much attention though??


or maybe it does, I wouldn't know, I just get the impression that it doesn't until WC time rolls around.

It doesn't here since the only thing between World Cups are so called friendlies where our best players are not usually involved in the games.
Elsewhere it is very big. European Championship qualifiers are on at the moment.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Originally posted by dyertribe
Because SOO in League is for an Australian guernsey ...

So, on the off chance that Melbourne Storm somehow attracts a champion from the local leagues, he has no chance then of making the Australian team ?!

Why is RL SOO so popular ?

One word answer.

Marketing.

 

[scmods]

Originally posted by PAfolwr
European Championship qualifiers are on at the moment.

I always thought that was an inter-club championship.

 

[gocats]

Originally posted by GhostofJimJess
So, on the off chance that Melbourne Storm somehow attracts a champion from the local leagues, he has no chance then of making the Australian team ?!

Why is RL SOO so popular ?

One word answer.

Marketing.

I agree.

And the Fights are great.

 

[jamiep333]

because its the greatest players from the greatest sport playing in the greatest arenas


AFL state of origin didn't work for many reasons

however the game itself (aussie rules) just does not have the physical confrontaions or the atmosphere to compete to state of origin

 

[gocats]

Originally posted by jamiep333
because its the greatest players from the greatest sport playing in the greatest arenas


AFL state of origin didn't work for many reasons

however the game itself (aussie rules) just does not have the physical confrontaions or the atmosphere to compete to state of origin

the atmosphere???

get down to the G mate.

 

[jamiep333]

atmosphere

watching 2 afl teams playing each other is hardly atmosphere


whereas being at lang park or telstra stadium and being in a capacity crowd watching 2 teams that absolutely hate each other

now thats amazing

 

[PAfolwr]

Originally posted by scmods
I always thought that was an inter-club championship.

You have a couple of Club Championships in Europe.
Used to be the European Cup for the individual winners plus the previous years champions, The cup Winners cup for the various countries cup winners (such as the FA Cup), and the UEFA cup for the next best from all Countries depending on where they finished at the end of the year in their own premierships. Stronger countries got more teams in than weaker countries, this number was adjusted on a year to year basis.

Nowadays they only have two major ones, the Champions League where it is not just the individual winners and not quite knock out any more (The year Man. U. got the treble, they would not have qualified for the European Cup in the first place if the old system was still in place).
The other is the UEFA cup still a knock out tournament. Minor rule changes for qualification to it as well.

The changes have been done to cash in on the popularity and the better Clubs demanding it, again to cash in.

For Countries There is the World Cup every 4 years, and in between the Various regional Cups, ie European Championships, Asian whatever, South American, African etc.
This is and always will be the pinnacle for a player.

Wrt Australia, we should really push to be included into the Asian confederation, as playing against Western Samoa and the like is never going to attract many spectators nor get our team ready for the World Cup.
Our third or fourth string team ( that we use against these Countries) could probably get a better game against the North Queensland all stars.
Hence apart from the later stages of qualification for the World Cup, Soccer internationals here are usually meaningless from a spectator point of view.