12 hours ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Living in Qld and I get the impression that rugby league State of Origin is about as big as their grand final, both symbolicly and in terms of finances to the game.  I wonder if in AFL the players and possibly even their clubs were paid enough and or penalised for not making them selves available for selection, if it could be made a big specktical in the AFL again.  You listen to the way guys like Robbie Flower use to talk about the honour and opertunity to play State footy and you'd have to think that sort of motivation would still exist and if anything I would have thought the parochialism between the states has always been their from the fan's perspective.  Get all the gun players on the park and I recon they would pack out the G.

I haven't got evidence to support this statement, but I suspect NRL State of Origin is killing NRL. State of Origin has become so big, the weekly NRL Premiership season has become a secondary event. 

2 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I haven't got evidence to support this statement, but I suspect NRL State of Origin is killing NRL. State of Origin has become so big, the weekly NRL Premiership season has become a secondary event. 

The NRL has ALWAYS run a poor second to State of Origin; having said that, if anything, going by the amount of talk on the "street", the State of Origin has lost some of its popularity.

15 hours ago, sue said:

One, next Sunday. 

I don't understand the antipathy to these games.  The players seem keen to participate and it gives us something a bit different to watch during the annual footy drought.  If people think it is silly, they don't have to watch it (and if they don't like the ridiculous hype the commentators make about it, there is the volume switch thank god).  The injury rate seems pretty low, no worse than training.    The Irish get the advantage of the familiar round ball, Oz has the advantage of having fully professional super-fit players and tackling, though I wouldn't mind if tackling was not allowed.    

So what if it is a 'game that doesn't really exist'.  I can't get emotionally involved but am interested enough to watch it.  Better than many other 'real' sports.

I'm with you on this Sue.  This is the only opportunity the players get to pull on a jumper for "their country", so why not let them have their day in the sun? 

I would also be interested to know how many players have suffered injuries bad enough to affect their following year's season in comparison to the number of players who have injured themselves during the off season shooting hoops, jumping on trampolines etc, badly enough to affect their following year's season.

None of the players seem to object to it... just the supporters who seem to think that they have a say in what the players get up to outside of the normal season.

6 minutes ago, hardtack said:

I'm with you on this Sue.  This is the only opportunity the players get to pull on a jumper for "their country", so why not let them have their day in the sun? 

I would also be interested to know how many players have suffered injuries bad enough to affect their following year's season in comparison to the number of players who have injured themselves during the off season shooting hoops, jumping on trampolines etc, badly enough to affect their following year's season.

None of the players seem to object to it... just the supporters who seem to think that they have a say in what the players get up to outside of the normal season.

Not sure I agree with that totally hardtack. There are always players selected who then have injuries from the previous season that prevent them taking part. Reminds me of the old state of origin days when a number could not make the game.

For me it is simple.

I have no interest in the games, my concern is the injury one for any MFC player.

 

Just now, old dee said:

Not sure I agree with that totally hardtack. There are always players selected who then have injuries from the previous season that prevent them taking part. Reminds me of the old state of origin days when a number could not make the game.

For me it is simple.

I have no interest in the games, my concern is the injury one for any MFC player.

 

Yes, but I doubt that they are complaining OD... I saw Selwood interviewed on the sidelines during the game, and he didn't seem too upset about being selected despite his carried over injury... in fact he seemed rather disappointed that he couldn't take the field. 

I enjoyed yesterday's game as a spectacle and as I said, I think you'd probably find that there are less injuries to players from this than there are through non footy related injuries during the off season.

I love the International Rules games until one of our players get injured.

25 minutes ago, hardtack said:

Yes, but I doubt that they are complaining OD... I saw Selwood interviewed on the sidelines during the game, and he didn't seem too upset about being selected despite his carried over injury... in fact he seemed rather disappointed that he couldn't take the field. 

I enjoyed yesterday's game as a spectacle and as I said, I think you'd probably find that there are less injuries to players from this than there are through non footy related injuries during the off season.

Each to his own I guess but it holds no sporting interest for me at this time of the year.

 

Anyone know where you can find a replay of yesterday's game online?
I love the IRS

2 hours ago, hardtack said:

The NRL has ALWAYS run a poor second to State of Origin; having said that, if anything, going by the amount of talk on the "street", the State of Origin has lost some of its popularity.

HT, given you are from Sydney, it is little surprise a few of the locals on the street are losing interest.  Queensland has won 11 of the last 12 series, of course NSW supporters are over it!

That said, if you look at recent crowd numbers, I think they would show your comment to being quite off the mark.

2017 - 185,189 (Total crowd numbers)

2016 - 138,111 (Game 3 a dead rubber)

2014 - 180,432

I have deliberately left 2015 out because one game was at the MCG, which historically inflates the crowd size due to the popularity of the game in Vic.

I've also compared 2017 with 2014 as both series had 2 games in Qld and 1 game in NSW.  The stadium in QLD fills up at around 53k.

Reality is, SOO is as strong as ever, which is amazing given Qlds recent domination.  And while the SOO series is definitely more of a dream for a (league) kid growing up, the lesser players wouldn't call their GF ring "poor".  Just have to watch how much it meant to the Melbourne Storm team this year.

NRL has traditionally not been a finals play off sport but I admit it has well and truly gone that way in the last 20 years.

Traditionally being on top at the end of the home and away was the ultimate and of course SOO was huge.

First became involved with Qlders and NSW people in the mid 80's and their interest in this mid year series fascinated me. It is still the ticket they all want even more so than the finals.

Amazed that European soccer at the national level has not gone down the play off route. The various European cup play offs are examples of how popular it is with the fans.

1 hour ago, Ozymandias Greenblerg said:

Anyone know where you can find a replay of yesterday's game online?
I love the IRS

I can only find highlights: http://www.afl.com.au/video/2017-11-12/match-highlights-aus-v-ire-first-test

33 minutes ago, Demonland said:

I can only find highlights: http://www.afl.com.au/video/2017-11-12/match-highlights-aus-v-ire-first-test

Yeah that's the best I've found as well. Thanks anyway though. Someone will probably chuck it up on Youtube at some point. There are plenty of games from previous years up there

3 hours ago, The Chazz said:

HT, given you are from Sydney, it is little surprise a few of the locals on the street are losing interest.  Queensland has won 11 of the last 12 series, of course NSW supporters are over it!

That said, if you look at recent crowd numbers, I think they would show your comment to being quite off the mark.

2017 - 185,189 (Total crowd numbers)

2016 - 138,111 (Game 3 a dead rubber)

2014 - 180,432

I have deliberately left 2015 out because one game was at the MCG, which historically inflates the crowd size due to the popularity of the game in Vic.

I've also compared 2017 with 2014 as both series had 2 games in Qld and 1 game in NSW.  The stadium in QLD fills up at around 53k.

Reality is, SOO is as strong as ever, which is amazing given Qlds recent domination.  And while the SOO series is definitely more of a dream for a (league) kid growing up, the lesser players wouldn't call their GF ring "poor".  Just have to watch how much it meant to the Melbourne Storm team this year.

Yes, looking at those crowd figures, I'll have to retract my comments... maybe I've just switched off, but it seemed to me that there was far less build up in the media than I remember in past decades (I've lived here since 1979).

54 minutes ago, hardtack said:

Yes, looking at those crowd figures, I'll have to retract my comments... maybe I've just switched off, but it seemed to me that there was far less build up in the media than I remember in past decades (I've lived here since 1979).

Which is strange because there were a lot of good players playing. 

8 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Trouble is that all teams want to play Victoria. WA v SA or against an allies side just doesn’t work. 

NRL State of Origin is what it is because 2 neighbouring States absolutely hate each other. 

Just thinking about this a bit more, I think there is a way that state of origin could work for the AFL:

Cut the regular home and away to 17 rounds.

Reintroduce state of origin two groups of three/four match series.  Group 1, Vic, SA and WA.  Each team plays each other once and then a decider for the top two.  Group 2, Qld/NT, NSW/ACT and Tas.

The AFL could end up with close to the same number of rounds in a season, with the lesser number of games being made up by with the block buster status that the State of Origin games could take on.  The Qld/NSW games would feed a little off the Blues Vs Marrons (Cockroaches Vs Cane Toads) type mentality.  Though acknowledgeing it would never quite be the same as in league and have a huge imidiate finacial contribution, but could it might actually pull in some interest to AFL from the northern states and serve as a bit of a marketing exercise.  Tassie would actually finally get a team of there own and would be roundly supported as the underdogs.  AFLW also has some potential to fill the TV programing/rights void left by removing more games.

I'd personally love to see the best of the best play off against themselves on a state Vs state basis, I think others would too and support it on mass.  Time for the AFL to get innovative and take a risk again.

1 hour ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Just thinking about this a bit more, I think there is a way that state of origin could work for the AFL:

Cut the regular home and away to 17 rounds.

Reintroduce state of origin two groups of three/four match series.  Group 1, Vic, SA and WA.  Each team plays each other once and then a decider for the top two.  Group 2, Qld/NT, NSW/ACT and Tas.

The AFL could end up with close to the same number of rounds in a season, with the lesser number of games being made up by with the block buster status that the State of Origin games could take on.  The Qld/NSW games would feed a little off the Blues Vs Marrons (Cockroaches Vs Cane Toads) type mentality.  Though acknowledgeing it would never quite be the same as in league and have a huge imidiate finacial contribution, but could it might actually pull in some interest to AFL from the northern states and serve as a bit of a marketing exercise.  Tassie would actually finally get a team of there own and would be roundly supported as the underdogs.  AFLW also has some potential to fill the TV programing/rights void left by removing more games.

I'd personally love to see the best of the best play off against themselves on a state Vs state basis, I think others would too and support it on mass.  Time for the AFL to get innovative and take a risk again.

But that Compromises the Premiership season  

that is unacceptable. We are MFC Members first and foremost

SOO can only work betwen 2 States