Presented by The Golden Ticket - For Medallion Club tickets and Corporate Box tickets at the MCG and Marvel.
Who cares about their pathetic state rivalry.
Brain-dead game for brain dead fans.
I feel like… when people make these arguments, they forget that SOO died from a lack of interest, both public and player.The AFL because truck loads of dollars are driving past the door.
Wednesday night even as a lifelong rugby league fan was one of the highest quality and most intense games I’ve ever watched. Even as a Queensland fan I was kind of disappointed in the try at the end as it probably made the margin less reflective of the quality of the contest. Physical, angry, clinical, aggressive, skilful, gutsy - it was outstanding.
I don’t think you can manufacture that with afl. The edge of your seat nature of a good AFL game is different, it doesn’t come from anger and passion it comes from that fine line between success and failure when a marginally missed target with a kick can cost you a game or when a player in open space gets thwarted like the Castagna incident last weekend.
You don’t require a state rivalry or a ‘best of the best’ clash of line ups to create those sorts of games they just happen and the players at the lower end play their role in that.
I feel like… when people make these arguments, they forget that SOO died from a lack of interest, both public and player.
There isn’t much money in a one off game with 45k spectators.
Wednesday night even as a lifelong rugby league fan was one of the highest quality and most intense games I’ve ever watched. Even as a Queensland fan I was kind of disappointed in the try at the end as it probably made the margin less reflective of the quality of the contest. Physical, angry, clinical, aggressive, skilful, gutsy - it was outstanding.
I don’t think you can manufacture that with afl. The edge of your seat nature of a good AFL game is different, it doesn’t come from anger and passion it comes from that fine line between success and failure when a marginally missed target with a kick can cost you a game or when a player in open space gets thwarted like the Castagna incident last weekend.
You don’t require a state rivalry or a ‘best of the best’ clash of line ups to create those sorts of games they just happen and the players at the lower end play their role in that.
I think having a tournament/carinval every 2 years would have some merit. Reduce the H & A season to 20 weeks to accommodate for origin games.
Yeah but if the crowds can’t be arsed turning up, that seems to suggest they won’t be arsed watching either.See the TV money.
Origin died in the 90s, this is a different time. As I've said, only the players can deliver Origin.
Imagine the NBA all-star game - but half the good players don't turn up and the ones that do only shoot lay ups.
That's your modern AFL state of origin.
Hard pass![]()
Oh come on there is no way that NSW or QLD would have better talent than a top AFL team.
It died because players wouldn’t play it.
Unless they’re willing to do it and do it seriously, it’d just be a farce.
That's why you offer the players a bigger peice of the financial pie than usual, make it 50 percent. Then they are invested in also growing the concept each year for a bigger payday.
Looking at some rough numbers, west coast make around 40 million per year off games, so 11 home games that's 4 mill per game, Essendon around 3 million per year when accounting for memberships and ticket sales for 11 home games. The tv networks value a game at about 2 mill each (if you go off fox paying the NRL 20 mill for team 17 and 11 home games added to the season).
Offer the players 50 percent of revenue from representative games. So let's say SOO AFL brings in 15 mill per season across the 3 games - Vic metro v country, s.a v w.a, nsw v qld (best case). Across 25 players for each team it's 100k per player. Let's halve that to allow for worse case scenario and spend costs, players will get minimum 50k for playing one game extra, in their back pocket.
I would actually get the two states competing to agree on a scenario where winner takes all, or say winner gets 60 or 70 percent of the playing salaries. I reckon you'd see the intensity go up big time, you might even see some biff brought back. The other thing is the AFL couldn't come in being do gooders on harsh suspensions or misdemeanors during origin games, as it deters players from playing.
It's pretty simple, basically you incentivise playing (big payday, what they put in they get out of the success of SOO) and disincentivise not playing (any player selected that pulls out must also miss the following weeks h & a game). You also put the split round byes a few weeks post origin so the top players get a rest too.
Yeah but if the crowds can’t be arsed turning up, that seems to suggest they won’t be arsed watching either.
FWIW, the factors that killed SOO haven’t gone away. If anything, they have become stronger.
It's still a bit hard. Pay them for showing up and you'll just get an NBA All Star-game farce. Except it'd be even worse, because it's a full contact sport, so it'd be like watching a training warm-up. It'd be an insult to the viewers.
Pay only the winners and you disincentivise them from playing as they might not get anything. Especially if the selected squads are one-sided, the underdog team's players probably don't bother.
It's very, very hard to manufacture passion with money. Very hard.
We can certainly give it a go but I'm very sceptical.
It works in League as the two-team/state rivalry is so massive. The whole sport revolves around those two states and all the best players are either one or the other, so it's basically an all-star game too. In our game it's diluted because you have Vic, SA, WA and Tas to a lesser extent. There's no enormous 1v1 rivalry and hatred to really sustain it.
Also I would argue that the acceptance level of injury is higher in League.
Fans know because it has been part of the fabric of the code for 40 years that if their players get selected for Origin they are at risk of injury that will restrict their club football. It’s an accepted part of the game. Fortunately in my time watching SOO I can’t recall TOO many serious injuries that have completely wrecked a club’s season.
But imagine in one of their flag years if Martin had have done an ACL in a rep game and how tigers fans would have reacted.
Imagine if a Dan Menzel had 4 knee reconstructions, played a year of great footy then did it again in an origin game.
The fans would be nowhere near as sympathetic or accepting of the concept as what nrl fans are
Wednesday night even as a lifelong rugby league fan was one of the highest quality and most intense games I’ve ever watched. Even as a Queensland fan I was kind of disappointed in the try at the end as it probably made the margin less reflective of the quality of the contest. Physical, angry, clinical, aggressive, skilful, gutsy - it was outstanding.
I don’t think you can manufacture that with afl. The edge of your seat nature of a good AFL game is different, it doesn’t come from anger and passion it comes from that fine line between success and failure when a marginally missed target with a kick can cost you a game or when a player in open space gets thwarted like the Castagna incident last weekend.
You don’t require a state rivalry or a ‘best of the best’ clash of line ups to create those sorts of games they just happen and the players at the lower end play their role in that.
There is no way the AFL, or the clubs, would go for a shorter season. A couple of Origin games won't make up two rounds of the AFL season.I think having a tournament/carinval every 2 years would have some merit. Reduce the H & A season to 20 weeks to accommodate for origin games.
A couple of Origin games won't make up two rounds of the AFL season.