AFL State of Origin - time to bring it back?

[iameviljez]

For a city that boasts about it, I have to say Melbourne coffee is extremely s**t. Rarely get a good one from any cafe any time I've been there. Obviously going to the wrong places, but there are other patrons in these places too.

Best one was the filtered brew my friend made at her joint in Clifton Hill, and that took forever!

Check out Proud Mary in Collingwood if you are round Clifton Hill way

 

[HirdsTheWord]

What also gets missed is the novelty of a packed 60-80,000 crowd for rugby league. That only happens on Grand Final day. The NRL have only had 3 crowds over 40,000 and that relied on a full round being played at a single venue over 3 days. Only 2 crowds over 30,000 in Sydney.

The novelty of that helps draw a crowd due to the atmosphere of the event.

The NRL have to literally give away free tickets to "sell" out their Grand Final, Their Origin on the other hand sells itself out.

I remember 2017 when Cowboys vs'd Melbourne they were literally handing out free tickets at work (i worked for a main sponsor at time in Sydney). Literally no one wanted them.

In AFL terms even if Brisbane vs'd Fremantle you would still get full paying sellouts at the MCG for a grand final.

 

[royboy2]

SEN had a crack at possible lineups

 

[royboy2]

Would it hurt to do a ceremonial jumper presentation to these players say as a part of the All Australian night?

 

[Philth]

Jeez.
That Victorian team would destroy all comers.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Jeez.
That Victorian team would destroy all comers.

SA must be pretty desperate if they need Sheds given his underwhelming 2022 form. And Pickett in the WA squad well before McIntosh and NMartin - that's just one poor oversight from that team.

 

[Pessimistic]

How far of country of origin or continent of origin are we?

 

[maskmcgee]

If they ever do bring it back I'd prefer to see WA v. SA.

 

[Woolly Mammoth]

I'd personally like to see it back, but its one of those things where it is very easy to say that because we all know it will never happen.
R.I.P the Big V

 

[parano1a]

How far of country of origin or continent of origin are we?

Australia v United States would be a tough ask for Mason Cox.

 

[Pessimistic]

Australia v United States would be a tough ask for Mason Cox.

More thinking Africa

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

How far of country of origin or continent of origin are we?

A few Irish might qualify under the "formative years" rule. Anyone else? Cox mentioned above.

 

[WilloTree]

Jeez.
That Victorian team would destroy all comers.

That SA team though...

Wouldn't bean North.

 

[kranky al]

Jeez.
That Victorian team would destroy all comers.

Couple of years ago the wa team was on a par… jueez weve fallen.

Ports gf record could be in danger

 

[Macca180]

I mean, they do give a damn - my fiancee's quietest ever night on emergency ward was in Townsville on the night the North Qld Cowboys won the grand final -

wow... no alcohol or drug related incidents.... celebrations must of been piss weak.

 

[Del28562]

Couple of years ago the wa team was on a par… jueez weve fallen.

Ports gf record could be in danger

If they are going to do it would need to be done properly, Vic country v Vic metro, Sa v wa, NSW v Qld, Tas v NT, no allies, and it it could be done at the end of season bye, using clubs from outside the 8, at the moment players and clubs don't care and don't want to get injured, where we have a state of origin match each week in AFL as well

 

[kranky al]

If they are going to do it would need to be done properly, Vic country v Vic metro, Sa v wa, NSW v Qld, Tas v NT, no allies, and it it could be done at the end of season bye, using clubs from outside the 8, at the moment players and clubs don't care and don't want to get injured, where we have a state of origin match each week in AFL as well

They would make a killing off the tv and gate receipts.. if it took off.

Maybe parcel a good deal out to the players for being selected and a huge prize for winning?

 

[iameviljez]

They would make a killing off the tv and gate receipts.. if it took off.

The problem is that the evidence from the AFL-era State of Origin says exactly the opposite, especially from Victoria.

 

[iameviljez]

wow... no alcohol or drug related incidents.... celebrations must of been piss weak.

I should clarify: she was busy as a one-armed paperboy once the game actually finished. Just everyone held off coming in till the thing was won.

 

[western royboy]

The problem is that the evidence from the AFL-era State of Origin says exactly the opposite, especially from Victoria.

We don’t play Interleague in the Country anymore, was dead before Covid, nothing in in for the AFL to play SOO so that’s the end of that.

 

[kranky al]

The problem is that the evidence from the AFL-era State of Origin says exactly the opposite, especially from Victoria.

That’s a chicken or the egg prospect.

The players dont care / theres no spite / crowds dont care.

If players actually got some serious coin for playing and double that for winning….

 

[emuboy]

No, let it go, consign it to the past and move on.

The NRL has a huge advantage over the AFL in that they have two main states with a big rivalry competing in New South Wales and Queensland which makes it easy to schedule a tournament. For the AFL it has three large states - Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, while AFL is also the dominant code in Tasmania and the Northern Territory and it is borderline in the Australian Capital Territory plus there are plenty of AFL competitions in the league states of NSW and Queensland, which makes it very hard to schedule a workable State of Origin. If for example South Australia was a rugby league state rather than AFL, the NRL would have the same problem at having a viable SOO competition with three large states.

Trying to resurrect SOO for the AFL would be a classic case of throwing good money after bad.

 

[iameviljez]

The players dont care / theres no spite / crowds dont care.

If players actually got some serious coin for playing and double that for winning….

I disagree - I think the crowd doesn't care and hasn't cared since the AFL became the national league. Footy diehards generally love the idea, but beyond that, most people are a bit meh because there's no real emotional investment in the jumper.

 

[iameviljez]

The NRL has a huge advantage over the AFL in that they have two main states with a big rivalry competing in New South Wales and Queensland which makes it easy to schedule a tournament.

Ironically, one of the reasons why the NRL's SOO product is so popular is because the AFL has smashed it in terms of club football and national reach. It kills the NRL on pretty much every figure that matters - attendance, national exposure, broadcast dollars... it has a decent foothold in Sydney and Brisbane, whereas very, very few people give a damn about the Storm.

 

[Gordon Farkas]

Besides, if we had SOO this year, and Hawkins did his knee, I'd be filthy.

Hawkins hails from NSW so probably wouldn’t be playing.

Jezza Cameron, on the other hand, is from Victoria and we wouldn’t want to risk anything happening to him.

If SOO did come back it would be just like it was in its declining years - lots of players would be ‘late withdrawals’ because they ‘pulled up sore at training’ / had ‘mild bruising’ / had just got their period / or whatever other lame excuses that they used to come up with.