Instead of State of Origin?

[TheMase]

Couldn't they do something like ...

East (vic, nsw, qld, tas?) Vs REST (sa,nt,wa)

OR

East Vs West
Which is basically the same anyway

Any thoughts?

Maybe just one game a year or something, at the end of the season.

 

[Asgardian]

Something like the American All star Pro-Bowl after their Super Bowl, would be the only way it could work nowadays.
Even in America they have a lot of stars pull out of this annual event in Hawaii, how you overcome this occurance I just do not know

 

[Pessimistic]

State of origin might have provided some rare sunshine over inWA this year. Ironically the eagles killed it off more than anyone else

 

[Warpig]

Why not have 2 matches in the East Vs West format:

1. Under 21 Players only - imagine the raw talent running around that one!

2. Open to all players with prizemoney up for grabs....I'm talking about $10k per player ($220k in total). Surely they could get a sponsor to cough up that sort of money. It's been paid before to the Pura Milk Saints, The Blue M&M Blues, The Orange Kangaroos etc etc.

Get rid of the Ansett Cup, play 30 rounds and use these 2 fixtures to provide the break players would need. One after 10 rounds, the other after 20 rounds.

Enforce a rule that players could not play in both matches, ensuring that every player got at least one week off, if not 2 during the season.

If you do the sums, the season would run for 1 week longer than this season has.

My solution for an even draw!

 

[CJH]

Why not stop trying to contrive meaningless football matches?

 

[TheMase]

The whole idea is to reward players for their efforts.....

Like All-Australian .. but you cannot play for the country against anyone else (except international rules .. but its hardly the same)

So they can be rewarded for their half of the country ...
East Vs West

You could always have a All-Australian SQUAD, 44 players (plus 6 emergencies)

Then you could make two teams and play a match ..

i dunno .. thoughts going through my mind!

 

[Peter P]

I disagree that "International Rules" is hardly the same. It isn't the same but it is pretty close, and the series is building a tradition. Interesting when I went to the UK - the Brits I spoke with cared little for Aussie Rules or Gaelic, if they even knew of them. But those that had seen the Interules Tests on TV were intrigued and impressed. A couple of them commented "far more entertaining than our football [English Premier League]". Which is really interesting: ie The world now only takes notice if the games have an international dimension. Also it then may raise interest in footy and Gaelic themselves as the Interules series gets an annual following amongst sports fans.

As to an All-Stars match. Great idea. The americans have done it for years given they've had no-one to play [though that's changed in basketball]. The GAA does it for Gaelic football - sends two teams to the middle-east for some All-Stars match that gets TV promotional money somehow.

To give the game some real grit I suggest Victoria v the Rest. The Vics will be underdogs and you pack out the MCG. If they get a shillacking then the East v West match and you'd pack Subiaco or Footy Park for them.

 

[Dan26]

I'd like o see S.O.O back, but with the best 44 players in the country spread around two teams.

If it was an East s West match no one would care, because there would be no "meaning" or "passion" behind the teams.

My idea is to have a Victoria vs The rest of Australia match. This would allow the traditional hatred of Victoria to be fuelled as normal, in addition to allowing the best 44 players to all be on the field in the one match.

 

[raboyle]

I wish that State of Origin would not die, as I do love to watch it at AFL level. What happened though?

Hopefully no-one takes offence, but Victoria has a lot to do with it's demise. For example...1993, a crowd of 26000 at the MCG, But at Footy Park the following year, it was a full house!

But Victoria did come out in 1995 to fill the MCG, so don't think I forgot that.

Then, 1997, once again a full house at Footy Park. The 1999 game...another crappy MCG crowd!

Was it Victoria who had enough? We certainly haven't.

It seems that State Football on AFL level may have gone...but it has not disappeared at local level. 7,300 people went to Adelaide Oval to watch the SANFL play the VFL and that was worth going to. Not because the SANFL won, but it just brought back the old rivalry and that is great.

Plans are afoot to make sure that the SANFL and the VFL play more often, next year perhaps in Melbourne. So if you want to see state footy, at least support your locals.

 

[happy hawker]

The AFL is a national game now.

Players come from every part of the country, the old days of Victoria v SA with WA thrown in have long since lost the importance it once did.

The only possible solution is to have some kind of all star game which under the current system is near impossible to implement. If there were a conference system there would be the opportunity to play an East v West game but only if the AFL had the courage to change the unfair biased draw we have today. And theres no chance of that ever happening with the current administration.

SOO is dead and just because the South Australians fill football park to see SA v Vic. does not justify the retention of a concept which has lost it's national relevence. If it ever had any.

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

I cant see how S.O.O. could hold the same place in peoples hearts and minds anymore.

The concept of a Victoria Versus the rest concept would hold as much interest as a papua new gunea versus Fiji match to the "REST"...perhaps the interest would be in Victoria ? or as a television filler .

State football and S.O.O. served its purpose for 80 odd years, but now with the demise of the former VFL the relegation of the VFL's equivalent s the SANFL and the WAFL to state feeder leagues and the advent of a National Football comp ...there is little need for the S.O.O concept as there is no requirement to prove each football states prowess.

The AFL has taken the sting from S.O.O. The concept was there to showcase each individual states players, but with National league teams from each state..the emotion is with them, no longer with the various state leagues..

Adelaide, has a virtual state team in the 'Crows' This side uses the state team colours and in 'essence' the state teams name...the AFC garnered immideately the non Port SANFL following, that which effectively would watch a S.O.O. game...now there is little interest by these people in the SANFL and besides most of their former SANFL clubs now harbour Port players on their off weeks..( as well as Crows players ) So it is difficult to feel passion for the concept.

PA1870