State Of Origin On The Agenda Again?

[citizen-erased]

At what point during the season could it be played that it wouldn't impact the season?

Players might talk about being interested/eager in theory, but put on the spot, it could easily be another story. The epidemic of 1 week injuries around SOO time back when they did have it, and the AFLPAs consistent push for byes/rest breaks more recently make that pretty clear.

Also, just like fans in threads like this, the interest by players will probably vary depending on who is playing...WA & SA will get up to play Vic, but when they have to play NSW....probably not so much. (and then there is the whole 'allies' thing.....players will want to play for their states, but the lower games (QLD, Tas, NT, ACT...) will still require the AFLs money/efforts/players, but wont exactly be huge ratings winners...)

It's catch-22 If SOO was a 'big deal', then layers might want to do it, but it wont be a big deal unless the players regularly want to do it...

my thoughts are play it the week leading into GF.

You'd have 90% of the comp available other than those with injury
Injuries sustained during that week are akin to losing a player in finals. Albeit teams not competing may not see it that way.
From Thursday night, you know the players in the GF and emergencies, and those not picked could become eligible for their SoO side.
And you get a week of football leading into the last game of the season, instead of media babble which you could put on at Half Time instead of Hamish/Kingy and their band of clowns.

Probably the only week that interrupts the season the least.

 

[Gydafud]

Here is my proposal. Post-season All-Stars game. Top 8 All-stars vs Bottom 10 All-Stars. Because why not. Just came up with the idea on the train.

 

[Dazb86]

I'd like to see it personally. Wouldn't give a s**t of a player got hurt

 

[footyfan1978]

I'd not be against seeing the reigning Premier vs The Rest (or All Australian team) game, played as a pre-season / season beginning game, like the Charity Shield. Even hold it as a charity event.

Carlton did this after 1982 flag. Was to raise money for Bush Fire victims from Ash Wednesday bushfires earlier that summer

 

[tigs2010]

Here is my proposal. Post-season All-Stars game. Top 8 All-stars vs Bottom 10 All-Stars. Because why not. Just came up with the idea on the train.

If you came up with it while taking a dump I'd be all for it. On a train though? Meh

 

[Rusty Brookes]

SOO meant something when there were strong state competitions and it was a chance to see top players that you normally didn't (eg Stephen Michael).

My memory has SOO games being played on weekdays in the 1980s - I can remember rushing home from school to watch it. That won't happen again.

I was also there the day SOO died - it was 1989 mauling that Victoria handed out. That wasn't what killed it - it was Andy Collins bringing down his Hawthorn team mate Tony Hall in a tackle and wrecking his knee. Clubs started to seriously look at who was released to play SOO to the point where it was the b-graders from each club getting a run.

It had it's day and it was a lot of fun but club footy should always come first. BTW - I find it strange that SOO is so big in Rugby League. Where's the thrills of your team rising from the depths of despair, where's the rollercoaster ride of supporting your club through thick and thin, getting rewarded for turning up and watching all those horrible losses, etc? To me, it's like suddenly jumping on board a team when they make the Grand Final.

Watching your team win a Grand Final is terrific but means so much more if you've been there through the bad times. SOO doesn't give you that.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

Here we are - this was played on a Tuesday.

 

[Snake_Baker]

There's too much investment & coin tied up in the players.

It's not viable.

 

[RUNVS]

There's too much investment & coin tied up in the players.

It's not viable.

No investment and coin in the English Premier League though so no wonder they let their players play international football.

 

[Snake_Baker]

I was also there the day SOO died - it was 1989 mauling that Victoria handed out.

Yep, was there too. The only time I'll ever experience 90K people barracking for the team I was supporting.

That wasn't what killed it - it was Andy Collins bringing down his Hawthorn team mate Tony Hall in a tackle and wrecking his knee. Clubs started to seriously look at who was released to play SOO to the point where it was the b-graders from each club getting a run.

Agree. There's too much to be lost for the main investors.

The AFL puts up 1st round picks as insurance for serious injury, then the clubs & players might come to the party, but it would take something like that.

 

[Snake_Baker]

The AFL puts up 1st round picks as insurance for serious injury, then the clubs & players might come to the party, but it would take something like that.

*Bookmark this to be hijacked by some journo and sold off as their own idea.

 

[Jugada]

I couldn't give a s**t about SOO but I would like to see an all star game the week before the GF some what similar to the Pro Bowl in the NFL. It would need to be VIC vs the rest though

 

[Tandy]

Our H&A season and finals is far superior to The NRL. Only a league fan would argue that. Their SoO makes up for their regular season. I'd love for us to have SoO but we certainly don't need it to bolster up a season.

 

[Ice-Wolf]

8 Teams over 3 Weeks - potentially: Pre-Season, Mid Season BYE, Grand Final Week (exclude players from Grand Final Teams).

Vic
Tas
QLD
NSW
ACT
NT
WA
SA

Year 1 as follows, after that seeded based on results.

Week 1 - Qualifier
1. WA vs NT
2. Vic vs NSW
3. SA vs QLD
4. Tas vs ACT

Week 2 - Semi Final
A. 1. vs 4.
B. 2. vs 3.

Week 3 - Grand Final
A vs B

Maybe also use modified rules like Lightning or AFL X ect. instead.

 

[jarrod_island_doggies]

I couldn't give a s**t about SOO but I would like to see an all star game the week before the GF some what similar to the Pro Bowl in the NFL. It would need to be VIC vs the rest though

I can just imagine all of the kids growing up dreaming of playing for "the rest"

Carn' you resters!

 

[Pessimistic]

There was a suggestion of Captains/Vicecaptains v AAs/BnFs. Players qualifying for both can choose (or choose neither)

To get buy in, I would have each team sponsored by Supercoach or Dreamteam

Timing? Grand final Eve. Rotate around SA, NSW, QLD

 

[Jugada]

I can just imagine all of the kids growing up dreaming of playing for "the rest"

Carn' you resters!

No kid should be growing up dreaming of playing for any all star team really. It's just a bit of entertainment for the fans. Come up with some sort of catchy name for the non vics and she will be fine.

It doesn't need to be some huge heart on your sleeve event. That's what club footy is for. I'd rather just manufacture a once a year AS match

 

[jarrod_island_doggies]

No kid should be growing up dreaming of playing for any all star team really. It's just a bit of entertainment for the fans. Come up with some sort of catchy name for the non vics and she will be fine.

It doesn't need to be some huge heart on your sleeve event. That's what club footy is for. I'd rather just manufacture a once a year AS match

I'm on the other side of the fence; club is the bread and butter but rep footy is special precisely because of "representing" a bigger entity. I know different sports place the demarcation at different levels - League does it quite differently to most, with State triumphing over Country - but in general I think it's a bit different to win, say, a World Cup than the A-League or Bundesliga for example (many American major sports seem to be heavily in the club/franchise camp however).

 

[jarrod_island_doggies]

This is the best concept I've seen in recent times, possibly the only adjustment I'd suggest is combining QLD/NT and NSW/ACT to keep it at an even six sides, given footy has a history of these combinations at junior level:

 

[Admiral Byng]

It was abandoned due to lack of interest last time around, can't see anything has changed.

There is no way to get a format that works. You can't have a round robin competition with one side per state because the smaller state teams are going to be s**t without ever a hope of winning. Some states would struggle to name a squad let alone be competitive, it is not just a matter of naming 22 players, players must be selected for positions.

Combining smaller states into one side doesn't work either because the fans don't buy into it.

 

[zero]

This is the best concept I've seen in recent times, possibly the only adjustment I'd suggest is combining QLD/NT and NSW/ACT to keep it at an even six sides, given footy has a history of these combinations at junior level:
View attachment 508831

This works as a format. Home games can alternate between opponents. Id probably play the seventh side against an international all stars team as an exhibition for development reasons.

Player participation is actually fairly easy. The new games will generate piles of cash. The players who play get all of it, and it doesent count in any TPP cap. Dont play, dont get it. If thats the case, you would have the AFLPA very strongly supporting the players right to earn a fat paycheck for a weeks work. And any pressure exerted on players to skip the game due to club reasons will be considered an infringement of their right to earn and will be very strongly come down upon.

Scheduling, id go for a single early season weekend when all clubs take a week off. As a compromise you can have a second bye/split round added later in the season. Play the SOO weekend after round 6, split rounds 11 and 16, and the only thing we lose is some bullshit preseason games.

One thing that people dont anticipate is that most likely the game would be more like a game of yore, open and free flowing with less zoning and fewer stoppages.

 

[Admiral Byng]

The only games that work are SA v VIC and WA v VIC.

No other combinations work, even WA v SA hasn't worked even though you'd think they would be able to produce 2 evenly matched good sides.

It would be a bit unfair to simply play these two matches only and tell players from any other state they can't participate.

If the AFL want some sort of exhibition match they need to make it two evenly matched sides where all players are eligible to participate, which means not state based. They might as well make it odds versus evens birthdays or something.

 

[Blackhawk42]

SOO meant something when there were strong state competitions and it was a chance to see top players that you normally didn't (eg Stephen Michael).

My memory has SOO games being played on weekdays in the 1980s - I can remember rushing home from school to watch it. That won't happen again.

I was also there the day SOO died - it was 1989 mauling that Victoria handed out. That wasn't what killed it - it was Andy Collins bringing down his Hawthorn team mate Tony Hall in a tackle and wrecking his knee. Clubs started to seriously look at who was released to play SOO to the point where it was the b-graders from each club getting a run.

It had it's day and it was a lot of fun but club footy should always come first. BTW - I find it strange that SOO is so big in Rugby League. Where's the thrills of your team rising from the depths of despair, where's the rollercoaster ride of supporting your club through thick and thin, getting rewarded for turning up and watching all those horrible losses, etc? To me, it's like suddenly jumping on board a team when they make the Grand Final.

Watching your team win a Grand Final is terrific but means so much more if you've been there through the bad times. SOO doesn't give you that.

All of this.

I remember hearing an interview with an NRL player years ago and the question was asked, 'would you rather win a premiership or state of origin?'. He had to think about it and then gave a non-commital answer. Why even bother playing the entire season if the 3 weeks during the middle means more?

As for our game, it just isn't necessary anymore unfortunately. Would really only be better if it was state of TEAM origin. Let QLD/NSW team up and have the best players from West Coast and Freo, or Adelaide and Port play against a mix of Victorian club players. It's SOMETHING I guess. But just not sure it's necessary anymore with the way the national competition works.

 

[Gydafud]

If you came up with it while taking a dump I'd be all for it. On a train though? Meh

Could have been doing both? No wait...

 

[tigs2010]

Could have been doing both? No wait...

Frankston line?