There is no better case than reigning premiers St George Illawarra, who went down to the next-to-last Gold Coast Titans on Friday night. I’m no Saints supporter, but I could feel some sympathy for them as they relied on a patched-up line up because they have nine players on rep duty.
I remember NRL supremo David Gallop once said that such artificial ‘levelling of the goal posts’ at Origin time added to the excitement of the comp. I prefer Dragons coach Wayne Bennett’s assessment that we have an unfair comp.
So what to do? Plenty put the conflict in the too hard basket, but I think I might have a long-winded but workable solution.
First off, State of Origin should remain on Wednesdays – everyone seems to forget we had stand-alone fixtures in 2001 on Sundays and they sucked because there was no other footy the whole weekend. Monday could work, but Fox Sports would be sore about losing Monday Night Footy (it’s highest rating rugby league product) three times a year. Perhaps Tuesday, but I’d prefer the status quo.
On the weekend before each Origin (when rep players are away in State camps) we have a knock-out comp – Australia’s long awaited answer to Super League’s Challenge Cup. All 16 NRL clubs would participate, naturally, but there would be no equivalent under 20s comp, meaning coaches can play up and comers alongside established stars.
The winner would grab a winner-take-all cash prize and of course the comp would be another TV product to sell. Also, teams wouldn’t get penalised in the main comp for having players perform well enough for rep duties.
A random draw – complete with a nationally-televised pairing of teams – a week or so beforehand. I’d also like to see the matches on at family-friendly times (3pm Saturday!!!!!!) where possible, and at your suburban grounds (Brookie, Leichhardt, Kogarah and so forth).
It would be a chance for teams who have disappointed to get something out of a season – or an clean sweep (you know Bennett would want to win cup, minor premiership and grand final in one year).
For example, the draw would look like this for ‘Origin’ weeks:
NRL Cup Round 1
Friday: Saints v Roosters, Tigers v Gold Coast
Saturday: Canberra v New Zealand, Manly v Penrith
Sunday: Melbourne v Brisbane, Parramatta v Canterbury, Cronulla v Newcastle
Monday: North Queensland v South Sydney
WEDNESDAY: Origin I
NRL Cup Round 2
Friday: Saints v Canterbury
Saturday: North Queensland v Manly
Sunday: Melbourne v Wests
Monday: Newcastle v New Zealand
WEDESDAY: ORIGIN II
NRL CUP Round 3
Friday: Saints v Manly
Sunday: Melbourne v New Zealand
WEDNESDAY: ORIGIN III
Hmmm. That means we have final to still be played and no obvious window. My proposal – lifted straight from the FA Cup – is to play it on the weekend between the end of the home-and-away season and the start of the finals. For example:
02-09-2012 Round 26
09-09-2012 NRL Cup Final
16-09-2012 First round on play-offs
Rep players would be eligible – meaning the coaches would have to choose between sticking with the players who got them there and the returning stars. Intriguing, no?
I’m a bit split on the venue – one venue is synonymous with the FA or Challenge Cup (Wembley). If there was a host venue in Australia I’d pick Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, but if no locals are involved it could be a fizzer. Give it time though and we could have a winner.
As mentioned above, this new product would add punch to the code at the most vital battlefront of all: at the TV negotiation table. It is a new, fresh, serviceable product perfect for a station that wants to see if footy will fly on their channel. Here’s looking at you, 10.
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